The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less by Barry Schwartz

You may have noticed that about half of what I'm reading lately comes from Laurie's Blog, and this is no exception. Here, Schwartz describes 2 kinds of decision-makers (Satisficers and Maximizers), then describes each one's decision-making process in terms of buying a sweater. A satisficer has a set of criteria regarding cost, fit, color, etc. When a satisficer finds a sweater that meets the criteria, he or she stops looking. A Maximizer, though, will attempt to find the very best sweater available to him. The paradox is that the satisficer, who may have actually settled for an inferior sweater, will be much more satisfied than the Maximizer, largely due to regret (e.g., what if there was a better sweater she missed?). So, Schwartz says, the glut of options available to us as consumers actually produces feelings of less satisfaction, as well as more pressure to maximize our decisions. The book is really a meta-analysis of decision-making studies, some of which I remembered from Professor Laughlin's class. I thought it was really interesting, and I'm trying to pay more attention to the decisions I make. But like I said, I'm a dirty hippie. I love to rail against our consumer culture.