<p>Satisficing is goal directed and satisficers intend to achieve satisfactory results. Therefore, satisficing seems to involve conscious choices being made. </p>

<p>However, in Unconscious Thought Theory (UTT), <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=cG49BAAAQBAJ&amp;pg=PA233" rel="nofollow">unconscious thought produces superior decisions compared to conscious thought when decision making is complex</a> and there are paragraphs of <a href="http://inctpped.ie.ufrj.br/spiderweb/pdf_2/Dosi_1_An_evolutionary-theory-of_economic_change..pdf" rel="nofollow">Nelson and Winter (1982)</a> that indicate that satisficing can be achieved from a sequence of mechanical, automatic steps of rule following.</p>

<p>Therefore looking at both H.A. Simon's conception and the findings from Nelson and Winter, satisficing can be either conscious or unconscious.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-09-13T00:05:26.990Z
2016-09-13T00:05:26.990Z
Chris Rogers
<p>I haven't found anything that speaks directly to this question, but here is the account Simon (1990) p9 provides of satisficing</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>If the task domain has little structure or the structure is unknown to
  us, we apply so-called "weak methods," which experience has shown to
  be useful in many domains, but which may still require us to search a
  good deal. One weak method is satisficing--using experience to
  construct an expectation of how good a solution we might reasonably
  achieve, and halting search as soon as a solution is reached that
  meets the expectation.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Simon, H. A. (1990). Invariants of human behavior. Annual review of psychology, 41(1), 1-20. </p>

<consciousness><bias>
Is satisficing conceptualised as being unconscious/automatic, or conscious/volitional?
user1205901 - Слава Україні
# Is satisficing conceptualised as being unconscious/automatic, or conscious/volitional?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2016-09-12)

I haven't found anything that speaks directly to this question, but here is the account Simon (1990) p9 provides of satisficing

> If the task domain has little structure or the structure is unknown to
> us, we apply so-called "weak methods," which experience has shown to
> be useful in many domains, but which may still require us to search a
> good deal. One weak method is satisficing--using experience to
> construct an expectation of how good a solution we might reasonably
> achieve, and halting search as soon as a solution is reached that
> meets the expectation.

Simon, H. A. (1990). Invariants of human behavior. Annual review of psychology, 41(1), 1-20.

**Tags:** consciousness, bias


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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2016-09-13. Score: 2 | Accepted answer

Satisficing is goal directed and satisficers intend to achieve satisfactory results. Therefore, satisficing seems to involve conscious choices being made.

However, in Unconscious Thought Theory (UTT), [unconscious thought produces superior decisions compared to conscious thought when decision making is complex](https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=cG49BAAAQBAJ&pg=PA233) and there are paragraphs of [Nelson and Winter (1982)](http://inctpped.ie.ufrj.br/spiderweb/pdf_2/Dosi_1_An_evolutionary-theory-of_economic_change..pdf) that indicate that satisficing can be achieved from a sequence of mechanical, automatic steps of rule following.

Therefore looking at both H.A. Simon's conception and the findings from Nelson and Winter, satisficing can be either conscious or unconscious.


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