the+paradox+of+choice

The Paradox of Choice: Why more is less By Barry Schwartz Review By John Peters This book is, as its title might suggest to the more perceptive reader, about a certain paradox associated with the so called “freedom of choice”. Not listed anywhere in our constitution, this freedom has nonetheless taken root in American history and culture, thriving with time. Basically, what the freedom of choice entail’s is the ability of a person to decide for one’s self about, well, everything: health care, food brands, even down to what type of fit one’s jeans have. The irony behind this is that, logic might seem to convey that with more options in the world, everyone would be happier; better able to find the perfect fit for themselves in nearly every category of life, and therefore with more options should come greater happiness. However, counter intuitively, since the early 1950s, Americans have, on average, reported being less satisfied with their lives than their predecessors, despite not only being twice as wealthy (adjusted for inflation of course), but having a nearly infinite amount of choices in daily life. Schwartz argues that this is a result of too many choices, that the sheer volume of decisions presented to the average American on a daily basis is not only overwhelming, but harmful to one’s very psychological well-being, and then discusses ways to reduce this overload of choice. Consider that, at a local supermarket, there are nearly 275 different varieties of cereal, 285 different cookie variations, and 175 different salad dressings. Sound like overkill? It is. With such a multitude of options available to us, finding the very best value could very well require all day, not to mention a very sophisticated calculator, and a very patient person. The problem is, with so many choices, we are overwhelmed and typically just pick out our favorite Captain Crunch and move on, never even noticing all the multitude of other options available to us, and hence losing possibly better options (Reeces Puffs, perhaps?). This is even more so in the case of more expensive purchases, such as electronics, or better still, like cars. Simply driving down Alpharetta highway, one is assaulted by countless balloons and signs, each sporting advertisements for jeeps, Hondas, or even Jaguars. Now, every teenage boy and girl at Milton is looking to get the best possible car for their budget, or maybe their parent’s budget, and car shopping is notoriously difficult by itself. Why? Because every car you find has slight differences, making each car unique enough to be it’s own type, but similar enough to all the others to paralyze shoppers. Is this Accord going to fit my needs better than that Camry? Or should I go with the Civic? Questions like these induce painful amounts of hesitation, and more importantly to Schwartz’s argument, regret. After all, even after you have painstakingly combed every used car lot and meticulously researched each individual vehicle make and model, you are left with a lingering sense of, ‘hey, what if after I buy this ’04 bright red Ford Mustang, a new ’05 neon yellow one comes onto the market for the same price?” and that’s even before you have actually committed anything! After actually parting ways with all those hard earned dollars, the openings for so called buyers-remorse increase exponentially with each new car out on the lot! Add to this the idea that we, as members of the human race, are inexplicably horrible at figuring out what we actually want, and you have a recipe for a mental breakdown. Believe it or not, things get still worse. All this trouble, and we still haven’t addressed advertising, which complicates the decision making process further still. As is made quite beautifully clear in the novel, the typical American is exposed to about three thousand ads a day, or around two hundred per waking hour. That’s three per minute you’re awake. Think you’re above being effected in any grad manner by this uninterrupted stream of advertising non-sense? Think again. Even tiny changes in wording can have huge effects on our decision making process. Take for example, one scenario in which you, a doctor on some remote terrain, are dealing with a horrible outbreak of a horrible virus, with which 600 of the locals have been stuck down: You must choose between two possible treatments: A, which will save exactly 200 people, or B, where there is a two thirds chance that everyone infected will die, but a one thirds chance that you might save all 600. Most people would quickly choose A, but what if the question was worded differently? You must choose between two possible treatments: If you choose C exactly 400 people will die, or D, where there is a one thirds chance that no one will die, and a two thirds chance everyone will die? In this scenario, an incredible majority will answer that they would employ treatment D, which is exactly the same as B, over the treatment they choose not a minute before hand (A/C) which is in fact quite hypocritical, and yet each argument undoubtedly makes sense and seems the very best thing to do at the time. Don’t fall to despair quite yet though! After revealing the seemingly erratic and horribly unpredictable nature of our decision making process, Schwartz goes on to find patterns in the madness. For example, people will almost always make the choice that minimizes possibility for regret. In the above example, part 1- the idea that you might kill off 200 otherwise saved souls is unacceptable for the sake of a 1-in-3 chance, while in the second bit, the idea of voluntarily letting 400 die is equally regrettable when there is a 1-in-3 chance of saving them. Luckily for those of us who may not understand the nuances of the decision making process quite as well as the author, Barry Schwartz has come up with a somewhat fool-proof system in order to simplify the innumerable choices we are faced with everyday. Through these procedures Barry Schwartz hopes reduce the mental clutter, and improve the psychological well-beings of his readers. It is as follows:  1. Choose when to Choose- Decide which things are of the utmost importance to you and focus your time and energy on those decisions, not things like a new toothpaste.  2. Be a Chooser, not a Picker- If something is not necessarily of huge importance to you, just go with the flow and CHOOSE one of the normal, habitual products, rather than try to sift through all those other fancy brands.  3. Satisfice more and Maximize less- In essence, instead of always looking for the very best sweater at the very best price (maximizing), at least sometimes just settle for the one that’s good enough, and forget about the rest of those options (satisfying). In this way, you reduce the anxiety of having to shop around and all the anguish tied to it.  4. Think about the Opportunity Costs of Opportunity Costs- Basically, by focusing on what you’re giving up to have something (20 new songs for your Granny’s birthday gift) you dwell on the negative and create regrets. By focusing instead on what you gain from a transaction (maybe 25 new songs on YOUR birthday!) you help to stay, well positive and happy.  5. Make your decisions non-reversible- This allows you to allocate energy into improving a current situation (like marriage) instead of constantly ‘trading up’ and never being satisfied. Also, interestingly enough, when simply not having the option to return something seems to decrease the likelihood of wanting to return that something.  6. Practice an “Attitude of Gratitude”- Corny rhymes aside, this means instead of imagining better alternative to our own (the opportunity costs) try thinking about worse ones, which then make your situation look better. Instead of “Wow, I wish I had chosen that job over my own, he makes a ton now!” try “Gee Wizz, I could have ended up out of work if I’d taken that job at the Big Three automakers!”  7. Regret Less- basically, do all the above things to do this.  8. Anticipate Adaptation- Realistically, expect that your luxury yacht may not be quite as much fun when you take it out for the thousandth time as it was the first fishing trip. Be prepared for your mind and body to adapt to new pleasures, and also hurts.  9. Control Expectations- In short, don’t shoot for the moon; aim for the sky, that way when you hit the moon, it’s all the more exciting, and if you miss, you aren’t caught off guard.  10. Curtail Social Comparison- Although this is a hard one to do, try to consciously stop, or at least reduce the amount you compare yourself to your peers, focus on what makes //you// happy.  11. Learn to Love Constraints- Just what it sounds like. Multiple studies have shown, quite convincingly, that a little bit of structure with freedom to move inside those boundaries is very healthy for you.

TaaDa! That's the book! I would indeed reccommend this book to any and all who might be interested in learning all about the intricacies of how we, as humans, tend to make decisions.

Words: 1500. Exactly. A bit over the suggested, but still impressive.