Hick’s Law, also known as the Hick-Hyman Law, is a psychological principle that describes the time it takes for a person to make a decision as a result of the possible choices they have. Formulated by British and American psychologists William Edmund Hick and Ray Hyman in the 1950s, the law states that the more options available, the longer it will take for a person to make a decision.
Mathematically, Hick’s Law can be expressed using the formula:
Here, T is the time taken to make the decision, n is the number of choices, and b is a constant that can be interpreted as the time taken to process each bit of information.
Hick’s Law quantifies the decision-making process, suggesting a linear increase in decision time with an increase in the number and complexity of choices. This principle has wide-ranging applications in fields like ergonomics, user interface design, and organizational management, particularly in contexts where the simplification of choices can lead to more efficient decision-making processes.