The Paradox of choice: How more choices can make it harder.

Do you think more choices are always better? Here is what the paradox of choice theory suggests.

In 2000, Sheena Iyengar and Mark Lepper did an experiment and came up with a remarkable study. They conducted “the Jam experiment”. On the first day people were presented with 24 different samples of Jam on a display table and those who will try the samples will receive a $1 coupon. On the other day they were presented with only 6 samples.

So, which day would you expect to have more sales?

Larger displays surely attracted more customers but people who saw smaller displays were more likely to buy these jams. 

More choices may give you more freedom to choose, but the more choices you have the less satisfied you’ll be. The concept is explained in the book called “The paradox of choice: why less is more” by American Psychologist, Barry Schwartz. 

Being presented with too many choices makes it difficult to make decisions and that causes “choice paralysis”. Being bothered by it you’ll decide to procrastinate till tomorrow which never comes. 

But what if someone overcomes the “Choice Paralysis”?

Suppose making a choice out of 24 options. Then, you’ll think about the other possibilities with other choices that you could’ve made. With more choices, your expectation of the best product also goes up.  That leads to dissatisfaction with the choice you made and eventually regret. 

Is there anything wrong with being dissatisfied?

Because this dissatisfaction can lead to self-blame, anxiety and even clinical depression in the longer term. Imagine taking a decision and you have only one choice. Even if you are not satisfied with it, who would you blame? You will blame the surroundings because you had no other choice while choosing. 

But what if you took this decision out of 100 other choices? This time you’ll blame yourself. This isn’t just about choosing the right kind of jam. 

So, is it bad to have more choices? 

Having more choices isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It’s great to have options that are relevant to me. Optimize your choices. Choose things that fit best in your expectation. After all, life is too short to regret your choices. 

Also Read – How Cartoons became a medium of Allied Propaganda during the Second World War?

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