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:
- Paralysis rather than liberation - people prefer to make no decision rather than make a complicated choice.
- Less satisfaction with decisions as people have greater reason to regret the decisions they have made.
- Unrealistic expectations.
- 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
Consumer Psychology
→ This post is part of a series on consumer psychology:
- How Beliefs and Values Influence What Tastes Good
- Six Psychological Reasons Consumer Culture is Unsatisfying
- Buying Green is About Being Seen
- Faking It: The Psychological Cost
- Why Loud Music in Bars Increases Alcohol Consumption
- Why Do People Watch Scary Movies, Stay in Ice Hotels or Eat Bacon-Flavoured Ice-Cream?
- How to Choose Between Experiential and Material Purchases
- Ads For Unhealthy Foods Increase Children’s Consumption 45%
- Diners Spend More In Lavender-Scented Restaurant
- Barry Schwartz on Why Too Much Choice is Bad for Us
- Sex Doesn’t Sell (Neither Does Violence)
How to Be Creative
If we can all be creative, why is it so hard to come up with truly original ideas?
It's because creativity is mysterious. Just ask any scientist, artist, writer or other highly creative person to explain how they come up with brilliant ideas and, if they're honest, they don't really know.
But over the decades psychologists have given ordinary participants countless tests, forms and tasks and conducted hundreds of hours of interviews. From these emerge the psychological conditions of creativity.
Not what you should do, but how you should be...
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