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
‘.
