Decision making

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I hope you guys don't mind me asking so many questions today...I'm just having a difficult time understanding AS here...

I often have an extremely difficult time making simple decisions. For example, I was in Target the other day shopping for some items for my sons first birthday party...and for whatever reason I couldn't figure out what I wanted. I kept weighing all kinds of detailed options, that really didn't make much of a difference either way. About an hour later, I had only a few things in my cart and pretty much gave up for the day. However...when it comes to other decisions, often expensive or very important decisions, I'll just make one on the fly without doing any research or putting much thought into it. I had an easier time picking out a home to purchase than I usually do choosing an item off of a Chinese menu!

Is this common? Does anyone else do this? Thanks.

Same here. I don't know why it is though....

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Probably 75% Aspie, 25% NT... and 100% ADHD

Aspie-quiz results:
Aspie score: 138 of 200 / NT score: 78 of 200 => Very likely an Aspie.

Plenty of people on the spectrum have difficulty making decisions, myself included.

Not long ago, I had a thread with pretty much the same topic, and if you're interested you can take a look - a lot of people in it had the same problems with making decisions. http://www.wrongplanet.net/postt203975.html

Our neurological problems cause our mental processing problems, including troubles making decisions.

I have trouble with decisions.

I almost feel I have more difficult with arbitrary decisions (for which there are no rational criteria of choice) than more complicated, "difficult" ones.

For instance, I took a French test once in which the writing part required composing very short story. I spent whole minutes picking the names of the 2-3 characters, I knew I didn't really care, the professor didn't care, and nobody else would ever read it, and yet.....

In video games I usually just avoid the problem by taking names from other games or using some rational basis for naming (a description or a pun).

I can be quite indecisive, though I'm not quite as indecisive as I was when I was a kid.

It's an executive function thing. We don't know what to do. D=

I've had undercover security guards follow me around in stores and I'm only now realizing that the reason is because I spend so damn long in one section of a store making a decision. I'm sure they probably think that no human being could take 20 minutes to make a $4 purchase so I must be a shoplifter. Of course, I'm the most honest person in the world so I take it VERY personally.

It's harder to make choices when there are too many options. That's why it's easier to buy a house (of which there are relatively few in your neighborhood/price range) than to shop at Target (where there are multiple choices of brand and size for every item, and thousands of items.) Even neurotypical people have trouble with this sometimes. In autistics, it can be related to executive dysfunction, as someone else already mentioned.

I find decision making hard as well. When I'm in at the supermarket and I'm supposed to buy something to drink is one example. So many options. I usually stand there for 5-10 minutes before I'm able to make up my mind. No idea why.

My dad suffered from abulia, and I believe it was part of his AS. Interesting to hear that it's part of executive dysfunction, because he had huge executive dysfunction.

Thanks everyone, this was helpful. I'll check out that other related thread