The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less, Revised Edition

The book’s thesis, summarized in its title and subtitle, is supported by three sections, eleven chapters. The reader is reminded that freedom and autonomy are critical to well being, and that choice is critical to freedom and autonomy. But, the reader learns, the vast number of choices available today often is experienced as a source of distress. I might describe some of the many excellent examples the author uses, or the potential solutions that the author proposes in the fourth section, eleventh and final chapter. But there are so many to choose from that preparation for a fuller review would distress me. So I choose not to write more, an act of freedom and autonomy that supports my continued well-being, and simply say, “It’s a good book; I like it.”

Quote: "Unless a man has the talents to make something of himself, freedom is an irksome burden.... We join a mass movement to escape individual responsibility, or, in the words of the ardent young Nazi, ‘to be free from freedom.’"I don't quite know what to think about this book. It may be that this author has recapitulated something quite profound.On the one hand, the author does have some extremely valid points, both in:1. The Logical sense that it is true that an abundance of choices can/ does actually run into diminishing returns-- as too much of anything can run into diminishing returns.2. The Empirical sense in that reality both past and present are replete with examples of people who do not suffer any harm as a result of having proscribed choices.***Example #1--In places such as China, choice there is extremely limited for most of life. (Just as one example: proverbs are extremely popular in order to save people the trouble of coming up with new sentences. Or new thoughts.) And yet that society has been there for thousands of years.***Example #2-- For Orthodox Jewish people, marital choices are made from a very limited set of people. And yet, the divorce rate is lower, and there are many more children per family. It is only when one shifts off into the direction of Modern Orthodoxy that there are fewer successful matches and more divorces because of a greater number of choices. ("A little philosophy inclineth man’s mind to atheism; but depth in philosophy bringeth men’s minds about to religion.")On the other hand, the question comes up...... "Is it better for an outside force to limit a person's choices? Or, is it something that he is better to do of his own volition?"The author opts for the latter choice.There is heavy borrowing of /citation from the Daniel Kahneman book "Thinking, Fast and Slow." (That was a good book, but probably a little bit too long to reread and so the recapitulation of those points from that text in this one are quite valuable.)I'm almost tempted to say that the graph that is placed on page 70 in the book is the synopsis of the entire Kahneman book).In some ways, this book is a lot of what we already have read many times before: 1)No, human beings are not calculators; 2)Yes, the decisions that they make are inconsistent based on inability to be a calculator.There's a lot of interesting discussion on maximizers versus satisficers. And how there is that tried-and-true personality type that will never allow a decision to come to an end. As in, they keep re-evaluating what they do have against what they could have had.There is also interesting discussion about the specific cases in which it becomes too hard to make a decision. And regrets of omission vs commission.Is "regret management" something in which a person could train himself?Schwartz certainly thinks so, even going so far as to offer us a list:1. Choose when to choose2. Be a choose and not a picker3. Satisfice more, maximize less4. Think about the costs of missed opportunities5. Make decisions nonreversible6. Practice an attitude of gratitude7. Regret less8. Anticipate adaptation9. Control expectations10.Curtail comparison11. Embrace constraintsVerdict: Worth the time and worth the price. ($8.55 with shipping.)

On the surface, the Paradox of Choice makes sense. When given only a limited number of options, we are actually happier with our choice. The author cites numerous studies showing this to be true. Do our grocery stores really need 37 different kinds of chocolate chip cookies?The problem with this book is that the author made his point in the first chapter and then took the concept too far. For example, he begins by arguing that Americans would be happier if government gave us fewer options. Schooling is one example he cites. Apparently - in his mind - parents these days are overwhelmed by the number of schooling options they have to consider. Private? Public? Charter? I just can't handle all these options! Or so he thinks. The reality is that millions of parents in America wish they had more and better educational options for their precious kids. Instead, millions of kids are stuck in failing public schools.In any case, I returned this book.

Excellent book about making choices using a different approach. Tells us, in summary, that to maximize our choices, just find an option that satisfied you ---- and by being satisfied, it has been proven to maximize our results. Believe it or not, I just spoiled the entire book for you! That is all the book boils down to. However, it explains the science behind why being satisfied is the path to satisfactory maximization. It spends the entire book explaining why. But, it's very interesting! You will not regret reading it.

One of the best books I’ve ever read — and I’ve read hundreds, if not thousands. I refer to it often and have just bought a second copy so that my kids (high school and college) can read it as well. I can’t recommend it highly enough and would love to take a course taught by this professor.This book is easy to understand and examines the ripples of even our most basic choices in the marketplace. You go to buy a pair of jeans and behavioral psychology, evolution, consumerism, economics, social and cultural influences, and cost/benefit ratios are suddenly in play.How many times have you thought, “Good grief! When is enough enough?” Or “Can’t I just go into a store and find a basic ....” Yes, there can be too many choices, and there are plenty of negatives to having them. This book shines a light on the (likely) unconscious choices we make and the after effects. It will continue to affect how you think long after you finish reading.

The title and back cover synopsis made this sound like a intriguing read. Sadly as my reading progressed I became more and more tired of subtly different experimental tests on choices. I kept putting the book down and coming back to it hoping to be re-inspired: I wasn’t. Finally I jumped to the last section “What can we do” where the author makes some suggestions about behavioural change. A little of this made sense, but my sense of relief when I turned the page to see the substantial reference section was palpable. I wonder how many books have to be sold to become a “national bestseller”?

The title of this book makes it quite clear what the book is going to be about. Schwartz argues that an overabundance of choice can have negative side-effects. I think the book makes a decent case for this argument.His research says that people differ along a continuum between 'maximizers' and 'satisficers.' Maximizers tend to spend much more mental effort in making the absolute correct choices, and especially for them the abundance of choice can be debilitating. This part was interesting, and it gave me some insight into why I'm not so affected by the abundance of choice, and why others are. I'm a 'satisficer'; I don't stress much over any little choice. I don't worry much if my choices are absolutely perfect. Sometimes good is good enough.But ultimately, the rest is somewhat forgettable. Not horrible, just not incredibly interesting either. The book is OK, not amazing. For people who constantly worry about every little thing they do, this book could be recommended, because it does give some tips on how to deal with that. But that's not me.

I'm one of those responsible for the paradox. One of those "on the other" side of the counter. With over ten years spent in marketing its hard for me to look at this book as a consumer only, although I believe a lot of consumers would benefit from the read. This is definitely not, nor was it intended to be, a book on marketing but it makes you ask serious questions about it, especially if you happen to be involved professionally. Should we, the marketers of all kinds, ever quit the chase and stop flooding consumers' minds with countless products, brands, promotions etc? Is not simplicity the best way to advance through the market? End there comes ethics. Do we do the right thing? Do we cross the fine line between delivering valuable alternatives to the market and creating havoc of information that is not possible to be ever digested by a normal human being?The book is written from the point of view of a person who is very concerned and disturbed by what's going on with information flood that we as a consumers face. Still, there are serious implications for business, so it seems legitimate to view the book as an inspiring piece for marketing and advertising professionals as well. It will remind them, or should I say remind us, we do not work in vacuum, and what we do influences life of people and societies, sometimes in a very negative way. So while far away from simplistic, demagogic diagnosis blaming modern economy and especially marketing for all the evils of the world, it is calling for a serious reflection. That's my view. And it is surely biased as I guess the word "marketing" does not appear even once in the book. Never the less, please read it marketers and it will make you look at your job from a different angle.

Great book to make you think more, of choices you've made and why—and sometimes, why you didn't. Opposing the opinions of 1star ratings, I didn't stay with impression that author would suggest dictatorship with no choice possible, rather he advocates the existence of limits in amount of choice one is obliged to make, since there are limits to everything else. It's a great book to think after reading it all and processing your own choices in past. One should not take a sentence of the book out of context and make conclusions without making the links. In the end author suggests fair amount of choices and knowing ones own limits to choose, gives one a freedom to live and enjoy the choices made. Nevertheless, even if it is good to reevaluate choice after it has been made to know if it was good or bad more to prevent bad choices in future, living without excessive amount "what if(s)" after choice is made is essential for being happy with what one have chosen. It would be like acknowledging the choice you've made and more forwards to do it better if it was bad before, or be happy with it if it was good and let new experiences to happen instead of reprocessing the previous. In the end there is always something better, something newer as the time goes on (new and/or better models of products), what is important, is to live the moment (at the moment choice was made it was the best choice for you, so you should enjoy it, and if it was a bad choice, move forwards, don't stick to process of decision, when the choice have been already done), don't stick to the past and look in future. Author gives very good explicit examples of his ideas from numerous investigations conducted by various researchers.

This is my audible book of 2019