NOVEMBER 1998, VOLUME 26, NUMBER 2, Abstract 7
EXECUTIVE DECISIVENESS AND THE SERENITY PLACE
Harry Stanton, University of Tasmania
Twenty-four business executives from the same firm were matched on their decisiveness thermometer scores. Each was then paired with that person closest to them on decisiveness scores. One member of each pair was randomly allocated to an experimental group and the other to a control group. Those in the experimental group experienced two 50-minute sessions spaced one week apart learning the serenity place procedure as aid to decision-making while those in the control group spent the same amount of time reading articles on problem-solving and decision-making. One week after completion of treatment the decisiveness thermometer was again administered, this process being repeated six months later. The executives also provided unstructured anecdotal reports on these two occasions.
After this six-month measurement had been completed, those in the control group experienced the same two treatment sessions as the experimental group. In this way they acted as their own controls and provided further data on the effect of the serenity place approach.Results indicated that, although no improvement in decision-making was discernible one week after completion of treatment, a highly significant effect emerged at the six-month follow-up.