The Paradox of Choice: Why More is Less by Barry Schwartz

A few weeks ago, I got one of those ubiquitous Macy’s advertising circulars in the mail. I scanned through it quickly, and noticed a set of 300-thread-count sheets on sale. The price was amazing, and I pointed it out to E, saying, I want that! Since I say those words at least four times a day, usually with no resulting action, he replied, in his usual unflappable manner, “So go get it.”

The following weekend, I was at the mall for an unrelated item and remembered the Macy’s sale. I thought I’d go take a look at the sheets, though I was far from committed. When I got there, I saw that most everything in the bedding department was on sale. Not only were the 300-thread-count sheets on sale, but so were the 100-, 200-, and 400-thread count sets. There were also two or three different styles in each thread-count, and each had a different palette of colors available. I looked at every single option, touched them all, imagined them all on our bed, compared prices and value, weighed pros and cons. I spent half an hour in the bedding section, got completely frustrated, and left with nothing but a headache.

Barry Schwartz’s book, The Paradox of Choice: Why More is Less, is about me. As soon as I saw the book, I knew I had to read it. His premise is exactly what I have come to suspect: as our society presents us with more and more choices for everything from jeans to careers, we become increasingly anxious and dissatisfied with the choices we make. We are often paralyzed by the number of choices available and end up making no choices at all. I can absolutely, totally relate to that premise. I feel like that all the time.

Schwartz’s points are logical, clear, and interesting. The concept of “maximizing”—always wanting to go with the absolute “best” choice available, versus “satisficing”—going with the “good enough” choice, is central to his discussion. He also delves into issues of regret, opportunity cost, comparisons, and the root of happiness, and how they all relate to how we make choices and react to choices we’ve already made.

Unfortunately, Schwartz spends most of the book—ten of its eleven chapters—presenting evidence for the psychological and societal causes of this phenomenon, and only one chapter giving suggestions for what we can do in our daily lives to combat it. Not that the ten chapters aren’t interesting, clear, well-written and supported. But it did start to feel a little like preaching to the choir, and all I wanted really was for him to tell me what to do.

Fortunately, one important thing I learned from this book is that though I sometimes feel overwhelmed and unhappy in the exact ways Schwartz describes, I am not doing too badly overall. While I may remember the Macy’s incident vividly, I guess there are many more instances where I am more practical and “satisficing” about my choices. I am apparently not as much a maximizer as I feared, and I already have put many of his tips into practice (for example, deciding before comparing vacation destinations that I will only choose between two or three or not dwelling on the options not chosen once a choice has been made).

The good news is that I think I am better at making the big life choices, like real estate and marriage. It’s just the body lotion and shoes that still get me every time.

The Paradox of Choice: Why More is Less by Barry Schwartz

Tags: book reviews psychology shopping Barry Schwartz