Are More Options Really Better?

By Alexa Papandreou '22

A few weeks ago, I found myself in need of a new pair of jeans. What seemed like an easy task resulted in a 2-hour endeavor, as I was frozen in a state of indecisiveness. With the hundreds of options, I felt an immense amount of pressure to pick the “perfect” pair, and I fell victim to unrealistically high expectations within myself. So even when I finally made a choice, I felt unhappy with my decision.

Why did this happen? Recently, psychologists have debunked the long-held idea that more choices are better. It seems logical that with more options, there is a higher chance of satisfaction, but in reality, having too many choices has been found to damage our psychological and emotional well-being. Psychologist Barry Schwartz argues that there is a point at which too many choices become negative and can “result in paralysis rather than liberation”.

Schwartz created the term “Paradox of Choice” to explain why people are often so unhappy with their decisions. When we are given too many choices, we are overwhelmed and don’t know what to decide. This is called choice paralysis and explains why we sometimes struggle to make important decisions. Even after we make a decision, Schwartz argues that too many choices leave us feeling unsure and worried that we might have overlooked a better option. He calls this opportunity cost and claims it can reduce our happiness and confidence in our current decision. To make matters worse, because there are so many choices, there is also an escalation of expectations; numerous options increases the expectation that we will choose the “best “ one. When we doubt our choice, we begin to blame ourselves for feeling regretful.

Thinking back to my search for jeans, even after I had submitted my order, I couldn’t help but wonder if I had passed up a better alternative. An hour later, I found myself searching other websites, just to make sure I had not missed out. Ergo, I began feeling “buyers’ remorse” and a sense of guilt for failing to choose the “perfect” pair. This regret added to my anxiety about missed opportunities and decreased my overall satisfaction with my purchase. Because we live in a society where businesses try to expand consumers’ options, they also increase cognitive dissonance and the chance that consumers make the wrong decision. While it may seem like a good idea to spend a lot of time exhausting all your possible options, it is also okay to settle for what is good enough and prioritize your happiness and well-being in the process.

"The Paradox of Choice | Barry Schwartz." Video. Youtube. Posted by TED, January 16, 2007. Accessed November 29, 2020. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VO6XEQIsCoM.

"Psychology of Choice." Keep It Usable. Accessed November 29, 2020. https://www.keepitusable.com/blog/the-psychology-of-choice-how-we-make-decisions/.