psychology

In my earlier post discussing the paradox of choice, I confessed I am a self proclaimed chronic maximzer. For instance, years ago I was frustrated with my can opener. It was difficult to use and often took several trys to fully open a can. When I held it, my hands were uncomfortable. I, of course, went to Amazon to find a replacement. Searching for “can opener” on Amazon yields: 1-48 of over 1,000 results for “can opener” [Read More]

Freedom. A core tenet of United States culture. What embodies freedom more than individual choice? Following this logic, more choices = more freedom. Therefore, having more choices is always virtuous, right? The Paradox of Choice Barry Schwartz counters this reasoning in his book The Paradox of Choice: Why More is Less. He argues that too much choice can have negative consequences. In particular it can have these effects: Decision Paralysis - We don’t feel confident we’ll make the best choice, so we don’t make any decision at all. [Read More]