Dorwin Cartwright Professor of Social Theology and Social Action Theology Department Barry Schwartz

The Paradox of Choice : Why More Is Less (Paperback)

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The Paradox of Choice : Why More Is Less (Paperback)

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3.9 out of 5stars
(10 reviews)
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Most helpful positive review

5.00 out of 5 stars review
Verified Purchaser
03/22/2008
We are living during a...
We are living during a time of copious choice. Prosperity washes us with abundant possibilities. Yet, when we receive what we thought we wanted, we often find ourselves wanting. Barry Schwartz, a Swarthmore College professor, citing research results from psychologists, economists, market researchers and decision scientists makes five counter-intuitive arguments in this book, The Paradox of Choice: Why Less is More. We would be better off if we: 1. Voluntarily constrained our freedom of choice. 2. Sought "good enough" instead of "the best." 3. Lowered our expectations about decision's results. 4. Made nonreversible decisions. 5. Paid less attention to what others around us do. Schwartz notes we are constantly being asked to make choices, even about the simplest things. This forces us to "invest time, energy, and no small amount of self-doubt, and dread." There comes a point, he contends, at which choice becomes debilitating rather than liberating. Too much of a good thing becomes detrimental to our psychological and emotional well-being, he states. In the final, Schwartz offers an 11-step program for reducing choice's "tyranny." 1. Choose when to choose. 2. Be a Chooser, not a picker. 3. Satisfice more; maximize less. 4. Consider the opportunity costs of opportunity costs. 5. Make your decisions nonreversible. 6. Adopt an "attitude of gratitude." 7. Regret less. 8. Anticipate adaptation. 9. Control expectations. 10. Curtail social comparisons. 11. Learn to love constraints. I have always had trouble accepting the virtues of what Isaiah Berlin, the political philosopher, terms "negative liberty" or "freedom from." In my mind "positive liberty" or "freedom to" is always the preferred option. Schwartz's book makes a compelling case, however, that less can be more. Penned by the Pointed Pundit November 6, 2006 10:24:50 AM
PointedPundit

Most helpful negative review

2.00 out of 5 stars review
Verified Purchaser
05/16/2021
Needlessly long, labouring the point…
Needlessly long, labouring the point well past usefulness. Nothing controversial or even surprising.
TeaTimeCoder
  • 2.00 out of 5 stars review
    Verified Purchaser
    05/16/2021
    Needlessly long, labouring the point…
    Needlessly long, labouring the point well past usefulness. Nothing controversial or even surprising.
    TeaTimeCoder
  • 4.00 out of 5 stars review
    Verified Purchaser
    02/21/2014
    I dont think theres ...
    I don't think there's much new psychology research in this book, but it's written in an easy-to-read manner. It's particularly worthwhile for those of us who build things in the digital world (and, of course, for anyone who wonders why they are anxious about the choices they make.)
    thebradking
  • 3.00 out of 5 stars review
    Verified Purchaser
    11/24/2011
    I had such high hopes ...
    I had such high hopes for this book. I was expecting it to focus largely on consumer culture, and to have some profound 'light bulb' moments that would really make me stop and think. Not that it didn't try, but unfortunately it never really hit the spot for me. In actual fact, Schwartz focuses more on the psychological than the sociological, and widens his arguments to cover the choices we make in everything from education and careers to houses and cars to jeans and jam. The prevailing theme of the book is how the growth of choice in modern society, and the emphasis on the individual as the maker of choices, has taken us beyond freedom and into the realms of tyranny. Choice no longer liberates us; it spins us into its web and holds us there, stuck in our own uncertainty and fear. We no longer choose between three pairs of jeans in a store - we choose between ten different fits, three different leg lengths and four different colours. The same decision, however trivial it might be, now has higher stakes and many more alternatives to consider. This, Schwartz argues, plunges us into a constant whirlwind of regret, comparison, uncertainty, disappointment and even depression. I think Schwartz provides a compelling and relatable case against excessive choice, which certainly made me stop to ponder just how much of our time we devote to comparing, researching and choosing between different options in even the most inconsequential areas of our lives. His eleven methods for reducing the negative effects of choice make sense, though for me as one of his 'satisficers' (people happy with 'good enough', as opposed to 'maximisers' who make their task more difficult by always looking for the best) I didn't feel I really had too much to learn from them. My main problem with the book was that it was just too long. There was a lot of repetition - of ideas, anecdotes and examples - and the middle of the book really started to drag. Cutting the whole thing down by about 50 pages and sharpening the pace would have improved the reading experience without damaging the argument. I also noticed from the notes at the back that some of Schwartz's examples had been directly lifted from other people's work, without it being evident in the main body of text (the notes aren't numbered), which I thought was a bit sneaky. To sum up, maximisers and perfectionists might learn something important from this book, but satisficers - I wouldn't bother. It'd be like preaching to the choir anyway, so use your superior powers of choice to take you on to the next book!
    elliepotten
  • 4.00 out of 5 stars review
    Verified Purchaser
    05/09/2009
    In a society where any...
    In a society where anything is possible, picking just one thing can be overwhelming. This book vividly details the causality of anxiety in choice of plenty and sites remedies in appreciating the everyday. This book is an excellent source on the road to finding satisfaction in the culture of abundance, as it is well written and sited.
    Sovranty
  • 4.00 out of 5 stars review
    Verified Purchaser
    04/22/2008
    A solid read in the sa...
    A solid read in the same vein as 'Blink', 'The Tipping Point, and 'The Wisdom of Crowds'. I think a lot of my life is based on the philosophy this book espouses... My Dad thinks my motto at restaurants is "He knows what he likes and he likes what he knows". This seems to go along with this book's position of satisficing when a menu of options is large. Some noteworthy quotes: "A New Yorker piece about this phenomenon identified at least six different kinds of casual: active casual, rugged casual, sporty casual, dressy casual, smart casual, and business casual. As writer John Seabrook put it, "This may be the most depressing thing about the casual movement: no clothing is casual anymore." - pg 36 "One way of achieving this goal is by keeping wonderful experiences rare. No matter what you can afford, save great wine for special occassions. No matter what you can afford, make that perfectly cut, elegantly styled, silk blouse a special treat. This may seem like an exercise in self-denial, but I don't think it is. On the contrary, it's a way to make sure that you can continue to experience pleasure. What's the point of great meals, great wines, and great blouses if they don't make you feel great?" - pg187
    dvf1976
  • 4.00 out of 5 stars review
    Verified Purchaser
    04/02/2008
    Why, with so many opti...
    Why, with so many options availble to us, are we not happier? Author Barry Schwartz opens this book by walking us through his neighbourhood grocery store, where there are 85 brands of crackers, 285 brands of cookies, 75 iced teas, 360 types of shampoo........ This is an economics perspective on the utility of choice. Easy to read, insightful, thought-provoking. When is "enough" enough?
    LynnB
  • 5.00 out of 5 stars review
    Verified Purchaser
    03/22/2008
    We are living during a...
    We are living during a time of copious choice. Prosperity washes us with abundant possibilities. Yet, when we receive what we thought we wanted, we often find ourselves wanting. Barry Schwartz, a Swarthmore College professor, citing research results from psychologists, economists, market researchers and decision scientists makes five counter-intuitive arguments in this book, The Paradox of Choice: Why Less is More. We would be better off if we: 1. Voluntarily constrained our freedom of choice. 2. Sought "good enough" instead of "the best." 3. Lowered our expectations about decision's results. 4. Made nonreversible decisions. 5. Paid less attention to what others around us do. Schwartz notes we are constantly being asked to make choices, even about the simplest things. This forces us to "invest time, energy, and no small amount of self-doubt, and dread." There comes a point, he contends, at which choice becomes debilitating rather than liberating. Too much of a good thing becomes detrimental to our psychological and emotional well-being, he states. In the final, Schwartz offers an 11-step program for reducing choice's "tyranny." 1. Choose when to choose. 2. Be a Chooser, not a picker. 3. Satisfice more; maximize less. 4. Consider the opportunity costs of opportunity costs. 5. Make your decisions nonreversible. 6. Adopt an "attitude of gratitude." 7. Regret less. 8. Anticipate adaptation. 9. Control expectations. 10. Curtail social comparisons. 11. Learn to love constraints. I have always had trouble accepting the virtues of what Isaiah Berlin, the political philosopher, terms "negative liberty" or "freedom from." In my mind "positive liberty" or "freedom to" is always the preferred option. Schwartz's book makes a compelling case, however, that less can be more. Penned by the Pointed Pundit November 6, 2006 10:24:50 AM
    PointedPundit
  • 5.00 out of 5 stars review
    Verified Purchaser
    03/21/2008
    This book talks about ...
    This book talks about the classic irony of how having more things or more choices can ultimately work against us. This may sound obvious, like "who needs to be told THAT?"... but Schwartz shows us examples of how we bury ourselves with so many things and so many options that in the end we drown in our mass of possibilities. I've tried to learn from his examples. Take T shirts: in my drawers, I probably have 40 or 50 of them. But I have favorites: if you broke it down, I probably have 10 or 12 that I wear most of the time. And since I wear them, they get washed, put back on top of the rest, and it's just that much easier to pick out the same 20% over and over. The question becomes: why don't I throw the rest out? In the more complicated world, I have answers like "that one was a gift" and "I wear that one in the summer". Or probably,"I wear that one A LOT", when in truth, I really don't know what I do on a day-to-day scale. Schwartz' book makes you think about that--how choices are made in spite of our supposed "awareness". If you've ever moved you know exactly what I'm talking about--not just the work of packing and loading, but the anxiety of deciding, of coming to grips with the fact that you don't need (and rarely use)most of the things you have in life. It's easy to forget, and even easier to deny. Whether it be books you'll never get around to reading or sweaters that will never fit again or decisions you'll never get around to making because there are too many options to consider, we end up ultimately making only one decision: to not make any, at least for the moment.
    jasonseidner
  • 4.00 out of 5 stars review
    Verified Purchaser
    12/08/2007
    This was a very intere...
    This was a very interesting look at how, while having no choice is definitely bad, too much choice can almost as detrimental to our psychological well-being. Schwartz examines the differences between maximizers, who attempt to get the absolute best of everything, and satisficers, who are willing to settle for good enough. Good enough could very well be high quality, but satisficers are all right with the idea that there may still be something out there that is even better. Maximizers are bothered by this, and have difficulty making choices, since there are always more options available that might be better. I tend to fall on the satificer end of the scale for most things, but there are some exceptions. I have a hard time picking a meal in a restaurant, for instance, because I can't decide which one will be the best experience. This book was an interesting look at how unlimited choice can make us less happy with what we have, and I picked up some good tips for being satisfied with my life, even though the tips themselves weren't anything I hadn't heard before. Having more of an explanation behind them makes it easier to apply these ideas to my life.
    sussabmax
  • 4.00 out of 5 stars review
    Verified Purchaser
    04/01/2007
    A psychological study ...
    A psychological study of mind's decision making and choice process, and consequence of that in current world of choice-overload. Drastic, in general, (not to me) but often repetitive in its conclusion yet fascinating in the process and studies cited.
    ashishg
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