Barry Schwartz on Why Too Much Choice is Bad for Us

Thanks to Olenka who pointed me to this great talk by Barry Schwartz on why too much choice is bad for us.

Too many choices cause:

  1. Paralysis rather than liberation - people prefer to make no decision rather than make a complicated choice.
  2. Less satisfaction with decisions as people have greater reason to regret the decisions they have made.
  3. Unrealistic expectations.
  4. Self-blame - when experiences are not perfect, people blame themselves.

Schwartz also argues that in modern affluent societies, too much choice may be a significant contributor to depression. He is the author of 'The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less'.

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Making Habits, Breaking Habits


In his new book, Jeremy Dean--psychologist and author of PsyBlog--looks at how habits work, why they are so hard to change, and how to break bad old cycles and develop new healthy, creative, happy habits.

"Making Habits, Breaking Habits", is available now on Amazon.

Reviews
The Bookseller, “Editor’s Pick,” 10/12/12 “Sensible and very readable…By far the most useful of this month’s New You offerings.”

Kirkus Reviews, 1/1/13 “Making changes does take longer than we may expect—no 30-day, 30-pounds-lighter quick fix—but by following the guidelines laid out by Dean, readers have a decent chance at establishing fulfilling, new patterns.”

Publishers Weekly, 12/10/12 “An accessible and informative guide for readers to take control of their lives.”

→ You can dip into the first chapter, or check it out on Amazon.com.

Published: 9 September 2007

Text: © All rights reserved.

Images: Creative Commons License

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