Spoiled for Choice: With Guests Barry Schwartz & Jen Glantz

Choiceology with Katy Milkman

Charles Schwab

Investing, Social Sciences, Behavioral Economics, Science, Society & Culture, Decision Making, Charles Schwab, Dan Heath, Business, Katy Milkman

4.7 • 1.5K Ratings

🗓️ 17 August 2020

⏱️ 33 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Traditional economic theory says that more choice should always be better than less. After all, if the cereal aisle has corn flakes, honey nut corn flakes, toasted coconut corn flakes, chocolate corn flakes, multi-grain flakes, and all the rest, you’ll surely be able to find the breakfast carbs that suit your taste buds perfectly. But it turns out that, in certain situations, more choices can be counterproductive. In this episode of Choiceology with Katy Milkman, we look at how having too many options can sometimes produce anxiety, reduce satisfaction, and even lead us to abandon the decision we’d planned to make altogether.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Thank you know,
0:05.0	welcome to Jake's jeans. Can I help you find something today?
0:10.0	Hi, yeah, I'm just looking for, know just a regular pair of jeans sure sounds good
0:16.8	okay would you like boot cut flared straight cut wide legs skinny slim fit cargo fit or are you just looking for like a loose fit
0:27.8	just you know like regular jeans okay, maybe you could tell me the style you'd like.
0:36.0	We have pre-strunk, distressed, acid wash, black denim, stretch,
0:42.0	sharp denim,
0:42.9	black denim, and resin timber stitch.
0:46.5	Oh, jeez, I don't know.
0:48.5	Uh, you know what, I'm to have to think about it. I'll come back.
0:57.0	Have you ever found yourself at a shop or maybe the grocery store staring with
1:05.5	indecision at shells filled with 20 varieties of the same product?
1:11.1	Maybe shampoo or breakfast cereal or a new smartphone.
1:15.0	How did it make you feel?
1:18.0	Intuitively, and according to good old fashion economics, it seems like it's always better to have more choice.
1:27.0	It's certainly better than no choice at all.
1:30.0	But while more choice is sometimes a positive thing, it can very often get in the way of your ability to decide.
1:38.0	Today on the podcast, we'll look at what happens when we get overwhelmed by options when it comes to making decisions about everything from jam
1:46.8	Right we've got apricot strawberry raspberry
1:49.6	Raspberry orange marmaline to jeans cut flared, straight cut, wide legs, skinny, slim fit,
1:57.0	to one of the most important events in your life.
2:00.0	So for the flowers on the table at the reception, would you like white roses with
	...

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