Photo by Lou Murphy
Does more choice make us happier?
This is the question that drives Barry Schwartz, professor of psychology at Swarthmore College.
For example, yesterday I went to the supermarket to get some olive oil. There wasn’t just one brand. There were many different options: cold pressed, virgin, light, from Italy, from Greece, from New Zealand. In fact, there were over 30 different options for me to choose from. And the same goes for everything we encounter, from jobs to detergents: we’re faced with endless options.
So, does more choice make us happier?
Of course this is a question that only applies to our affluent, Western society. Because in poor countries, people have few options.
As Schwartz points out, an official dogma in our Western society proclaims: The more individual freedom someone has, the happier he or she will be.
Here are some problems that come with abundant choice.
- Choice make for preoccupation.
I am sure you too know about that: ‘Shall I stay or go?’, ‘Shall I quit this job for that one?’, ‘Shall I have an operation or not?’, ‘Shall I choose this person to be my life partner or that one?’ The list is endless. If we were to add up all the minutes and hours that we spend preoccupied with choices – I think it would add up to a large slice of our life.
- Too much choice equals paralysis.
We know this phenomenon as dithering! Actually, there is some interesting data here. A researcher investigated how people choose one of the many voluntary retirement funds that are on offer for employees in the USA. She found that for every 5 more options, the participation when down by 2%. So, if an employer reduced available options down from fifty to five, their participation rate went up by 20%. That is, when faced with too much choice, people stopped choosing because they felt overwhemed.
- More options make us dissatisfied with what we have.
Like Marty Seligman, Schwartz also makes the point that if we have more options, we end up less satisfied with the choice we have made. Why? Because if our choice doesn’t turn out to be perfect (which is won’t), then it is easy to imagine that another choice would have been better. The easier it is to choose, the easier it is to feel regret about the choice we made.
- Choice leads to self-blame.
The effect of the escalation of expectations is that if things don’t turn out right, we tend to blame ourselves. Schwartz sees a link between the explosion of depression in the industrial Western world, and the disappointment and self-blame that comes from too many choices.
As you can see, this is a substantial list of drawbacks that come with abundant choice. According to Schwartz, some choice is better than non, but more choice is worse than some.
According to Schwartz, people fall into two groups according to how they respond to choices. He calles them ‘Maximizers’ and ‘Satisficers’.
Are you a Maximizer or a Satisficer?
Answer the following question to find out:
“When I am in the car listening to the radio, I often check other stations to see if something better is playing, even if I am relatively satisfied with what I’m listening to” – yes or no?
If you answered ‘yes’, you are a Maximizer. If you answered ‘no’, you are a satisfizer. Research shows that Maximizers Do Better, Satisficers Feel Better.
Here are recommendations by Schwartz that he offered graduate students at their leaving ceremony:
- Don’t be a maximizer. Learn that “good enough” is good enough. You may end up with results of decisions that are slightly less good, but you’ll feel much better about them.
He qualifies this recommendation and says,
- Choose when to choose. There are many domains in life where we can consult experts when we have to make an important decision, to take some of the burdens off your shoulders.
- Foster loving relationships.
Close relationships impose constraints on our life. Schwartz’ point is that these constraints are not a cost; they are actually part of the benefit!
- Follow a Calling.
A calling satisfies – and binds. People with a calling are doing something that will not lose its value, even if they are stuck doing it for the next forty years.
- Keep your expectations reasonable. Don’t expect perfection in your work, in your love life, with your friends, with your kids.
- Agonize less about your many decisions. You can use that time and energy instead getting to know and understand all the people in your life.
Abundant choice does not make us happier
I think it’s important to keep in perspective that there are many people living in poverty who desperately need more choices. And there are people in authoritarian regimes who need more choice. But those of us who live in one of the Western industrial nations are confronted by too much choice.
There is an interesting line in a well-known Zen poem that bears on today’s theme:
The Great Way is not difficult;
Just avoid picking and choosing.
What is your experience of happiness versus choice?
***
Relevant links
- Secrets of Happiness Series:
Part 1: Authentic Happiness
Part 2: What are Your Signature Strengths?
Part 3: Future Happiness? Why We get it so Wrong
- Find books by Barry Schwartz here.
- A talk given by Barry Schwartz to student leavers
- Video clip of TED talk by Barry Schwartz: The Paradox of Choice
- An interesting article: Can Limitations and Restrictions be Liberating?
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People make fun of me because when I go to a restaurant, I’ll just order the first thing I see that looks good. That means that if I like the first entree, I don’t need to see the rest of the menu. I’d rather make a good choice quickly than make the best choice after a lot of contemplation. If it’s not great then I’ll know that for next time.
On the other hand, when I’m shopping for a car, I’ll research every possibility, considering makes, models, trims, options, colors, new vs. used, etc. I actually think that’s fun, unlike reading a menu, which seems like work. Some people might think that sounds completely backwards, and that’s fine–we can all choose when to choose.
@Hunter
I agree with you about the menu thing! I once spent a year working as a consultant mostly living in hotels in cities other than my hometown, and thus always eating out at restaurants and cafes. Might sound like fun, but after no longer than a week of it it becomes fairly dreadful (especially when eating in public without company) – and the menu thing is the worst. The bigger the selection a restaurant had, the more aggravating I began to find it, until I literally began to just find the main meal section of the menu, close my eyes, and stab randomly at it with my finger to decide my meal. It was always nice food, of course, and that way the agony of choice stopped plaguing me!
I sure am glad I’m a “poor” student again, living in the same apartment every day and eating the same cornflakes for breakfast every morning…
@Hunter
@Mete
I think there is a fine line between feeling the freedom of “The world is my oyster!” and getting disoriented by too much choice.
The other thing that strikes me is that my creativity is much stronger if I am constrained . If I set out with a white page and give myself total freedom of what to write – nothing much happens. But when I set myself a topic or question, my creativity starts to spark. It’s as if my mind rubs up against the barriers I have set myself and that friction starts ideas to flow.
Is there anyone else who experience that?
This is as clear as hell to me. Maybe less in writing as in painting. Years and years ago, when I was a student at the academy of visual arts, on some sunny day the professor would send us out in the fields with words simular like this: ‘find yourself something to paint after nature, but don’t hesitate to long, don’t make to much of a fuzz of it. If you have found something you like, set a few lines and just start to paint and things will come to you by themselves, will gather and will tell you how they like to be painted.’ And he also gave some words of Cezanne: ‘If you have found a spot, don’t start to paint immediately, but first sit down and allow your senses to become familiar with your surroundings, so they don’t come distracted anymore from your subject. Then start to paint.’ Of course as a young student I didn’t listen very well and kept on searching and searching for the perfect thing to paint, never allowing myself to be with whatever simple things I saw. This left me with a whole lot of thought and beautiful and long walks, but very few paintings. I taught myself very well to walk away from the subject. Now after many many years I just begin to see a little what the professor ment by his words and painting is becoming more and more mysterious to me.
@AmazingMess
That’s very interesting! I think it’s very true that searching for the ‘perfect’ opportunity or ‘perfect’ job, or ‘perfect’ partner blinds us to many other good options.
I’m wondering whether less choice makes us more creative and being more creative makes us happier?
I definitely believe we have too many choices now, especially for things which are unimportant, like groceries. Now that I am a parent and I shop more, I find myself quite brand loyal simply because I don’t want to take in all the different possibilities for shampoo, for example. When the supermarket withdraws a product I buy, like they did recently with my son’s no-nut low-sugar muesli bars (believe me, hard to find) then I freak out at the thought that I now have to assess another 20 muesli bars to find a substitute. Agh!
I also believe the presence of so many choices in today’s world makes it very difficult for people to tune into their innate intuition about what is right for them. Look at the internet; it’s fabulous in so many ways, but if you wanted to research some options before you made a decision, then you’d be reading for a week at least because there’s so much information out there.
I really believe we have all the answers we need inside of us, we just have to be still and ask for them.
Nice blog by the way.
@ Kelly
Thank you for your lovely comment, Kelly. I read your words and thought: “Oooh – smooth style… she must be a writer!” Then I had a look at your spirited blog and it turns out you are!
I agree that it’s quite difficult to use the internet wisely. I tend to do a lot of research for my posts on the ‘net. Sometimes it’s difficult to know when to stop. How much information is enough? How much choice is enough?
I took a long walk with the question you have put up, and yes, less choice makes us more creative (to work with the very few things that are available forces me to come up with creative solutions) and yes, being more creative makes us happier, but It also makes us more sad. Maybe it reads like this: being more creative intensifies our experience.
@AmazingMess
Your point is very interesting. Could you please say more about creativity making us more sad?
As a man who likes to channel surf, I am definitely a “Maximizer”.
I might suggest that there is no problem with choice itself (even if we have “too” many choices available). The problem may be in that we assign value to our decisions that are not in alignment with our reality or principles. For example, we place too much importance on some decisions and find ourselves unable to make a decision without significant research (I know that as “analysis paralysis”). Or as Schwarz mentions, we blame ourselves when a decision turns out to be sub-optimum. Instead, we should think of that type of decision as a learning experience which should guide future decisions. Instead, the value some people assign is “failure” and the way to avoid that is to restrict options.
Another way to think of it, is that I’ve got over 200 stations to watch on TV … and while I may spend 30 minutes watching South Park, I should have learned that is not a good use of my time, instead of blaming the excessive number of stations I could have watched. GREAT POST. – Mike@ Zendonut
@Mike
It’s an interesting thought, Mike, that part of the problem is the value we put on particular choices. You say: “The value some people assign is ‘failure’ and the way to avoid that is to restrict options.” That’s very true. To go out on a limb and risk ‘failure’ is scary – but it is the only way to learn. I remember a fantastic talk by Tal Ben-Shahar where he said: “Learn to fail or fail to learn!”
There is a lot of ‘auch’ in creativity and it goes hand in hand with destruction. In order to come up with something new the old has to go. Than there is choice witch is almost always inreversible. (I’m speaking of painting now, of course creativity is much broader than art alone). And also almost always it is a matter of ‘kill your darlings’ as someone once has put it. So the sadness of the consequences of choice and the destruction of the old goes with the joy of finding something new.
@Amazingness
I resonate with your point about creativity.
When I’m writing, I wear two hats: I’m the Writer, as well as the Editor. I try and keep the two very separate, because when I’m looking at a piece of writing with the eyes of the Editor, my creativity goes out the window. Whereas, when my Writer is in charge, I fall in love with each idea and sentence. Not a millimetre of objective distance!
Your post reminded me that both parts of my spilt personality – the Writer and the Editor – are part of the whole creative process.
My Editor is brutal: All she says is, “Kill that!” or, “No, not like that!”, “Oh gawd – won’t you ever learn to spell?!”
When I’m in the Writer, I’m elated and LOVE life.
When I’m in the Editor, I drag my tail and plod.
Interesting post. But it seems to me that if you are going to summarize the ideas in a fellow’s book, you ought to cite the book and the author upfront (i.e., these ideas are from Barry Schwartz’ book The Paradox of Choice) and maybe give a direct link to Amazon.com or other seller so the author can derive benefit from his ideas.
Ineresting post. But it seems to me that if you are going to summarize the ideas in a fellow’s book, you ought to cite the book and the author upfront—I didn’t see the author’s name or the name of the book at the beginning of the article and didn’t know you were summarizing his latest book!
@Eleanor
My apologies for not being clear enough about this. It’s a good idea to include an Amazon link. I’ll take your suggestion to heart.
Your post makes one think! Great article. Thanks for allowing me to comment!
I always have been an idecisive person.. because life shows me multiple options everywhere… its really difficult for me… why is it so?
… Wow. Just wow.
All of your articles are beneficial to me. In fact, some are about learning to do such and such or be more such and such which are major problems I have.
But this one probably resonates more with me than any others I have read.
I suppose that would be because choice and decision-making IS becoming a major problem for me.
It’s ridiculous, really. I find that I am terrible at decision-making.
Of course I choose the right choice in a right or wrong situation without hesitation, but that’s not what I mean.
I’m talking about little choices. Simple choices.
I have such a wide variety of choices in my life, and I find it so incredibly overwhelming that I choose or do nothing.
For example, groceries. When choosing stuff when I go shopping with my mom for the family. I feel so stressed. I shouldn’t feel this way. There is absolutely no reason to. Yet, I do.
I am obsessed with making lists. I have a To-Do List which is general but refers to sub-lists which are much more extensive. Such as…
To-Do List
-Art Projects (see Art Project List)
Art Project List
-Blah
-Blah
-Blah (blah)
-Blah
I get out of school at 12:00 PM every day and have quite a healthy chunk of the day ahead of me. Yet there are so many things I want to do, so many ideas I have about doing something, that I stress for about an hour trying to decide but then end up doing nothing or just watching TV.
This is a great article. I’ll definitely come back to it again in the future.
@ Trent
Making choices can be difficult. There are two things I suggest.
1. Practice making wrong choices.
Most times any action is better than dithering. If you get used to making imperfect choices – that’ll make you less uptight about getting it ‘right’.
2. If you have two options and can’t decide, flip a coin and stick with that choice. It will take away the dither
@ Mrs. Jaksch
Ah, thank you for your tips.
The second one appeals to me most. It also amuses me that there was always such a simple solution like that, yet I never thought about it!