Summary: "We're aware of the positive effects of choice but not the negative ones, so we attribute any harm caused by too much choice to some other cause, perhaps even to too little choice." The Art of Choosing, page 205 Stop me if you've heard this one: A behavioural psychologist sets up a taste testing booth in a specialty supermarket. On alternating days, she puts out 30 flavours of jam for consumers to try. The other days she puts out only six flavours. In both cases, people who stop try, on average, two flavours before receiving a coupon for $1 off, and continuing with their shopping. (More on this study in a second) Did you just register that? Thirty flavours of jam. The fact that this didn't faze you should tell you something - we are inundated by choice. The freedom to choose is a powerful one. Our Western culture is built on it, and the globalization of the last 20 years has only pushed it to the next level. Do a quick Google search for "jam", "shoes" or "sunglasses" (or virtually any other product, for that matter), and you'll instantly be supplied with literally hundreds of thousands of options. But why? Because we demanded it. Because, the rationale goes, "if choice is good, then more choice is better". Because we want an opportunity to express our individuality - our unique tastes - at every turn. As Sheena Iyengar explores in The Art of Choosing, however, there may be a limit to the value of exponentially increasing options. And, most interestingly, there may actually be harm in going too far. Which brings us back to the Jam study... Golden Egg The Tipping Point of Choice "Even though the latter attracted more attention, more than six times as many people made a purchase when we displayed the smaller set of jams." The Art of Choosing, page 187 So, this behavioural psychologist sets up a study where we (consumers) are presented with 6 options and given an incentive($1 off coupon) to make a decision (purchase a jar of jam). Then, another batch of consumers is presented with 30 options and given the same incentive to make a decision. More options, more chance of making a decision, right? More chance of finding the exact jam that matches our unique needs and therefore making us happier, right? Wrong. As it turns out, those consumers that were presented with fewer options were six times more likely to make a decision as to which jam they'd be happy purchasing. So what's going on here? In The Art of Choosing, Iyengar explores dozens of research projects (many of which, including the infamous "Jam Study", she was instrumental in orchestrating) that examine the choosing process that we are all subjected to in our daily lives. And the fascinating result is this: while we all enjoy the process of selection - of being able to express our uniqueness and to exercise our independent thought - there are other factors at play that can turn the choosing process into a stressful experience, factors that can actually diminish happiness, rather than increase it. Too many options, it turns out, can do more harm than good. Coincidently, I had a chance to experience this first hand this weekend, at a friend's cottage. The catch phrase of the weekend was FOMO - "fear of missing out". For a couple of people, every activity decision was a stressful one - not because of what the choice provided, but because of what it might not provide. Going snowshoeing meant missing out on cross country skiing. Staying in to socialize and play games meant potentially missing out on some great outdoor adventure. While it turned into a running joke for the getaway weekend, "FOMO" acted as a great example of the stress that too much choice can inject into our daily decision making. GEM #1 Magic Number 7 (Plus or Minus 2) "This study shows that people can learn to choose from more options, but they're less likely to drown if they start off in the shallows and then slowly move toward the deep,
