The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less

People often consider many relevant factors before making a decision, and when their options increase, decision making can become more psychologically burdensome. People base their decisions around fulfilling their goals, which they usually generate through their internal dialogue. However, Schwartz maintains that this internal dialogue is often informed by biased thinking.

Decision making is informed by three modes of thought: “Expected Utility,” or what we believe an experience will be like, “Experienced Utility,” or the actual lived experience, and “Remembered Utility,” or the way we recall the experience later. Schwartz explains that people tend to recall events inaccurately, since the human brain is biased towards remembering the end of an experience rather than the whole thing. Therefore, even if an experience is mediocre, if it ends very positively people are likely to repeat it. Another study demonstrated that people anticipated wanting a variety of grocery items over the long term, when in reality they preferred to go back to their old favorite foods.

In order to make decisions, people first need to gather relevant information. During this part of decision-making, too, people are prone to irrational behavior. People place the same importance on biased sources of information—such as ads, individuals on the internet, and anecdotal evidence—as they do on more neutral sources of information, such as consumer reports.