The Paradox of Choice

The Paradox of Choice: How Less is More is a book I'm currently reading/studying. Barry Schwartz, a professor of Social Theory at Swarthmore College, discusses choice overload and its repercussions on our pursuit of happiness. How fascinating that freedom has a bell curve. Not enough freedom of choice, as in third world countries, obviously promotes less unhappiness. Just enough freedom of choice, as in lower/middle class America, makes us happy. However, too much freedom of choice, as in the wealthy elite, actually makes people less happy. How interesting, I think, to know that being able to choose anything you want (whether it be your career, a salad dressing, or a pair of jeans) makes us less happy.

And why is that? Schwartz uses the great example of wine. If a store has say 12 bottles of wine to choose from, and the wine you choose isn't so great, you feel marginally disappointed but chalk up the bad choice to there not being many options. Contrast that to visiting your local wine superstore (I'm thinking of Spec's) where there are hundreds and hundreds of wines to choose from. You choose a not-so-good wine, and all of a sudden your level of disappointment and regret is much higher because with all those options *you could've chosen better.* So the blame is shifted from the store to your own self.

Schwartz discusses countless interesting studies and experiements that demonstrate this phenomenon and more. The book is quite in depth but remains easy to read and follow. If you want the Clif notes, check him out giving his TED speech below.

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/barry_schwartz_on_the_paradox_of_choice.html