When academic choices reveal the complexity of decision-making processes: an exploration of heuristics

Quand l’orientation scolaire révèle la complexité des processus décisionnels: Exploration des heuristiques

Jeanne Lemarié (), Yolande Piris () and Fanny Reniou ()
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Jeanne Lemarié: LEGO - Laboratoire d'Economie et de Gestion de l'Ouest - UBS - Université de Bretagne Sud - UBO EPE - Université de Brest - IMT - Institut Mines-Télécom [Paris] - IBSHS - Institut Brestois des Sciences de l'Homme et de la Société - UBO EPE - Université de Brest - UBL - Université Bretagne Loire - IMT Atlantique - IMT Atlantique - IMT - Institut Mines-Télécom [Paris]
Yolande Piris: LEGO - Laboratoire d'Economie et de Gestion de l'Ouest - UBS - Université de Bretagne Sud - UBO EPE - Université de Brest - IMT - Institut Mines-Télécom [Paris] - IBSHS - Institut Brestois des Sciences de l'Homme et de la Société - UBO EPE - Université de Brest - UBL - Université Bretagne Loire - IMT Atlantique - IMT Atlantique - IMT - Institut Mines-Télécom [Paris]
Fanny Reniou: CREM - Centre de recherche en économie et management - UNICAEN - Université de Caen Normandie - NU - Normandie Université - UR - Université de Rennes - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique

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Abstract: School choice represents a consequential consumption choice that shapes students' trajectories in increasingly competitive and stereotype-saturated educational contexts. Despite its significance, the decision mechanisms underlying school choice remain understudied. Drawing on dual-process theory, this research investigates whether academic decision-making processes result primarily from deliberative calculation or are shaped by cognitive heuristics and biases. We conducted a qualitative study using semi-structured interviews with 20 students to map their decision-making processes. Our analysis identifies two key perceptual dimensions influencing decision outcomes: perceived complexity and perceived time-pressure. We find that students employ decision heuristics to navigate this complex choice environment. These findings challenge the classical dichotomy of dual-process theory. Rather than a clean separation between System 2 (deliberative) and System 1 (intuitive) reasoning, our data reveal a hybrid decision process in which deliberative reasoning is continuously informed, and often biased, by intuitive heuristic operations.

Keywords: perceived complexity; perceived time-pressure; dual-model; heuristics; decision-making process; school choice; modèle dual; heuristiques; processus décisionnel; orientation scolaire; pression temporelle perçue; complexité perçue (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026-05-19
Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://hal.science/hal-05639685v1
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Published in Congrès International de l'Association Française de Marketing, May 2026, Angers, France

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05639685

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