Center for Behavioral Decision Research

CBDR : Seminar Series : Seminar by Barry Schwartz

The Paradox of Choice

	presented by Barry Schwartz (Swarthmore College)


	Thursday, September 11	link to paper
	12pm
	Porter 223D	link to Speaker's Site

	Abstract:

	Logic seems to demand that the more choice people have, the better off they are. But in recent years research has indicated that what is logically true may not be psychologically true. Too much choice can induce paralysis, bad decisions, and reduced satisfaction with even good decisions. These problems are especially acute for people who are out to get the "best" (maximizers) instead of just "good enough." It seems, therefore, that the relation between choice and well being is non-monotonic. In addition to describing research that supports the above assertions, the talk will suggest a deeper point: experience in the context of choice may "leak" into experience of the results of that choice. The existence of such leakage poses challenges to any normative account of what makes decision making "rational."

	Host at CMU: Bruine de Bruin