We Asked a Psychologist About What Happens in Your Brain When You Change Your Mind

As you fall deeper into the stiff, uncomfortable embrace of adulthood, the important life decision stakes get higher and higher. Whether you're sussing out a menu or figuring out your next career move, picking one option automatically closes off 10 others. And as soon as one bad life decision happens, others seem to follow.

The more aware of this I become, the more inclined I am to change my mind a million times, eventually becoming totally paralysed by a complete lack of trust in my own judgment.

Hoping to gain a bit of control over my life and start making more 'informed', 'lasting' choices, I enlisted the help of clinical psychologist Dr Rosalind Case. She gave me the lowdown on how I can take advantage of my brain's endlessly neurotic ability to question all of its decisions, and start changing my mind (and life) for the better.

VICE: Hi Dr Rosalind. I'm constantly changing my mind about stuff. What does it mean to be so indecisive?

Dr Rosalind Case: It can actually take quite a lot for us to change our mind or go back on our decision, because this might involve admitting that we got something wrong. So, even when contradicting information is stacking up in front of us, we can be emotionally reluctant to let go of the original decision we've made. It can take a bit of courage sometimes to admit that our original decision was flawed and decide to go in another direction.

I think I change my mind about stuff too often, though.

Yeah, some of us seem to be innately more attracted to considering issues from a range of perspectives—while other people may seem quite fixed and concrete in their views, making it harder for them to change their minds.

Is there a way I can force my brain to get serious and focus on new goals?

Sure. When we establish new goals, there are several things we can do to help us move towards those goals. It helps to ensure that any goals you establish are in line with your values, realistic and achievable. It's certainly possible to focus on new and different goals at any stage of your life, but it does help to be mindful of the feasibility of the goal and whether it is something that you're actually motivated to do. If you're not motivated, then achieving that goal will be much harder.

How much of my decision-making is dictated by my cognitive abilities versus my wild, whimsical emotions?

Well, we may like to imagine that we are very rational beings who, when faced with several different options, systematically evaluate each on it its own merits before arriving at the best possible decision. But evidence suggests that a lot of our decision making tends to be emotion-driven, intuitive, and automatic.

So my brain isn't helping me out at all, really.

Humans are subject to cognitive biases. We may pay a lot of attention to some information and ignore other important facts if they don't fit with our values or beliefs. We tend to base a lot of decisions on our previous experiences, which can be useful sometimes, but may not always lead to the best outcome.

Seems unfair.

In an ideal world, humans might systematically work through all of the possible options and evaluate them in relation to their goal. But that's actually really hard work on the brain—it takes more energy time than an impulsive, intuitive decision. So we tend to rely on the latter.

Are some brains better at decision making than others?

There are particular neurological factors that contribute to decision-making and problem-solving abilities, impulse control and the capacity to think about consequences. Many of these types of cognitive processes are associated with the development of the frontal lobe of the brain, which is the last part of the brain to mature when a person reaches adulthood. This capacity differs from person to person, so you may have specific traits or abilities that enable you to be more thoughtful and reasoned in that decision-making process. But there are also dynamic, environmental factors that can negatively impact on our decision-making. For example, it's difficult to make good decisions when you're intoxicated.

Huh, I've never found that. Are there other ways I can get better at making decisions?

One of the things that improves the quality of our decisions is the quality of information that we have access to. So, educating ourselves and accessing information about a particular issue is likely to help us make a good decision. We can also then say we've made an 'informed' decision. Seeking advice from trusted family, friends or colleagues can assist in obtaining a range of perspectives. And it can help to just slow down; take time to work through the decision-making process. You can also write things down if it helps you to clarify the matter and consider all the costs and benefits of each possible decision.

This article is presented in partnership with Melbourne Polytechnic

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