The Paradox of Choice: Why More is Less

by Barry Schwartz (2004)

Have you heard the phrase, "paralyzed with choice?" It's used to describe the state of overwhelm experienced when too many options make decision making difficult. In this book, Schwartz suggests that some choice is good, but more choice is not necessarily better.

Consider how you offer your clients or customers choices. Studies cited by Schwartz show, "A large array of options may discourage consumers because it forces an increase in the effort that goes into making a decision." (Page 20) If you offered fewer choices at a time, you might actually increase your sales.

Decision-Making Influences
Good decision-making involves knowing your goal(s), evaluating the importance of each goal, arraying the options, evaluating how each option will meet the goal(s), picking an option and later using the consequences of your choice to modify the way you evaluate future options. (Page 47) While the process seems straightforward, the abundance of information available-some good and some not so good-makes it more difficult to evaluate options. We are bombarded with information, whose purpose is to make us believe that one product, service or point-of-view is superior. It's more difficult to determine which is most relevant to our specific goal(s) because there so much to consider.

Schwartz describes two types of decision-makers, the maximizers that look for the best and the satisficers who seek a good-enough solution. The maximizers tend to be less satisfied with their decisions because they are always concerned that there is a better option they have overlooked. Satisficers, however, are content with an excellent option, and do not worry that a better option exists somewhere beyond their field of vision.

"Losses hurt more than gains satisfy," according to research cited by Schwartz. Buyers take greater risk to avoid a loss than they will take to achieve a gain. "People tend to avoid taking risks-they are "risk averse"-when they are deciding among potential gains, potential positive outcomes. (Page 69) Given the option to choose a gain of $100 or the chance to flip a coin for either $200 or nothing, most people choose the sure thing; however, if the choice is to flip a coin to determine whether to lose $200 or nothing, or take a sure loss of $100, most will flip the coin and hope for no loss.

Schwartz notes that as options increase and the effort involved in making decisions increases, mistakes hurt more. Too many options means the decisions require more effort, mistakes are made more often and the psychological consequences of mistakes are more severe. (Page 74)

Making Choices
"Given the high value we place on autonomy and freedom of choice, you would think that having it would make us happier." (Page 115) People whose strive to have the best, rather than good enough, tend to be less happy, less optimistic and more depressed. "What seems to be the most important factor in providing happiness is close social relations." (Page 107) Being connected to others, even if it decreases freedom of choice, is correlated with higher levels of happiness.

Having more choices is a burden. "As the number of options continues to proliferate, making an exhaustive investigations of the possibilities impossible, concern that there may be a better option out there may induce you to anticipate the regret you will feel later on, when that option is discovered, and thus prevent you from making a decision at all." (Page 163) We pay for choice in the form of time, effort, opportunity costs and anticipated regret.

"Unlimited choice, I believe, can produce genuine suffering. When the results of decisions-about trivial things or important ones, about items of consumption or about jobs and relationships-are disappointing, we ask why. And when we ask why, the answers we come up with frequently have us blaming ourselves," according to Schwartz. (Page 201) The result of this self-blaming is often helplessness and depression.

We can limit the psychological stress associated with too many choices. Schwartz offers the following eleven suggestions:

1. Choose when to choose: decide which choices really matter and focus time and energy there. Make other (i.e., smaller) decisions quickly.
2. Be a chooser, not a picker: a chooser considers the options and the meaning of the decision in selecting an option and see that maybe none of the options fit, while the picker is overwhelmed by the options and selects passively.
3. Satisfice More and Maximize Less: learning to accept good enough will simplify decision-making and increase satisfaction.
4. Think About the Opportunity Costs of Opportunity Cost: limit thinking about the attractive features of the options rejected.
5. Make Your Decisions Nonreversible: when we make a decision that we will not reverse, it frees up energy for improving the option rather than second-guessing it.
6. Practice an "Attitude of Gratitude": improve the subjective experience by choosing to focus on what's good about the choice rather than what's disappointing.
7. Regret Less: adopt the satisficer's standards, reduce the number of options considered, and practice gratitude for what is good in the decision.
8. Anticipate Adaptation: know that the thrill of the decision will fade and the new item, relationship or job will become ordinary over time.
9. Control Expectations: remove excessively high expectations.
10. Curtail Social Comparison: comparing ourselves to others less will increase satisfaction with our decisions. "Focus on what makes you happy, and what gives meaning to your life."
11. Learn to Love Constraints: rules, standards, norms and individual experiences create habits, which make some decisions routine, saving energy for the others that need more time, energy and contemplation. (Pages 222-235)