Common Craft Blog
Paradox of Choice
By leelefever on May 14, 2004 - 12:57pm
As usual, I get some of my best reading done at 35,000 feet. On the trip I just returned from last night, I read Barry Schwart's The Paradox of Choice- Why More is Less
I'm about 2/3 of the way through it and really like it so far. The basic premise is that, as a culture, we value choice and assume that more choices mean better experiences and outcomes. Yet, the research shows that choice has a downside.
Schwartz backs up his claims with a bevy of research on how people navigate decisions regarding choice- and what effects the decisions have on them. The results are often couterintuitive, showing that having multiple options can actually prevent people from making a decision and in many cases, prevent them from being satisfied with that decision.
The take-home for me was that an increase in choices also increases a person's anxiety about having made the correct one. For some people (what he calls "maximizers"), this anxiety can be crippling.
It provokes lots of thoughts about the choices I make every day- do I copy with crtl+c, right click, or edit menu?
Read it.
Paradox of Choice
I believe Schwartz is on the right track.
Saying that someone has a choice is the same as saying there are different actions they could take.
Presumably, taking one action vs. another leads to some needs being more strongly met or protected, while other needs become more exposed.
If the needs involved in the dilemma are important, people can take a very long time to decide what to do. Some people will even refuse to decide, until reality (circumstances) forces their hand.
I find this subject matter interesting, and I think understanding it is important for people that are truly interested in becoming more effective problem solvers.
I have a whitepaper on dealing with dilemmas in software engineering. I'd welcome comments from anyone that is willing to read it. The paper can be found at http://www.common-sense.com/Articles.
Thanks for an interesting book to chase down.
Best,
John Sambrook