Extreme Power to Choose

Fewer choices mean more time for life’s important decisions

Which cereal should we eat for breakfast, what songs should we put on our iPod, which shoes should we wear? Do we have too many choices in our lives these days? Choices can be down right exhausting.

I know a hardcore scientist who wears the same five outfits each week. He shops once a year at JC Penney. He buys virtually the exact same outfit in different colors with small variations. Then he names them based on the days of the week. He actively seeks to limit the number of choices he has to make every morning so he can focus on decisions that are actually important. He eats the same lunch every day for weeks so he doesn't have to agonize over what to eat. I'm not suggesting we all follow his lead. But there might be a lesson here.

Why we want more choices

Recently I read an interesting book called The Myth of Choice by Kent Greenfield, a professor of law at Boston College. He claims that we treasure choice, not because it helps us form better decisions, but because having choices make us feel like we are in control of our lives and masters of our fate.

Being able to choose is as American as apple pie. Have you ever wondered how many different kinds of cereal are in the breakfast aisle in the supermarket? I have actually counted them! There are close to 200 different kinds of cereals in most major supermarkets!

The jam experiment

A group of PhD social science students performed an experiment at Stanford University. They created two jam displays for sampling and purchase—one with six flavors, one with 24 flavors. Their study determined that 60 percent of shoppers stopped at the jam table when there were 24 flavors, as opposed to 40 percent, when there were six. But when it came down to buying behavior, the results were opposite. Only 3 percent of people who stopped at the 24-flavor table actually bought a jar of jam. However, 30 percent purchased jam from the six-flavor display. This experiment was repeated several times, producing similar, consistent results. The experiment revealed that more choices don't necessarily motivate us to choose. In fact, the opposite was the case.

Why sex sells

Dr. Greenfield believes that too many choices can make us vulnerable to manipulation by those who know more about our own tendencies than we do. That's why sex sells. Parts of our brain are very reptilian. These parts can be awakened when we view an attractive person, or smell cookies or perfume. Studies show that when the reptilian part of our brain is activated, we become short-term oriented and very creative and determined in satisfying these urges. Stimuli can also present choices that lead to future subconscious purchases. I'm sure everyone has noticed the recent increase in product placement in movies and television shows. While our conscious mind is enjoying the show, our reptilian brain wants that lifestyle and the joy of entertainment leads to increased sales for the products that we may not have even noticed and do not need. The implications of such marketing have proven a very hot topic in economics today, especially concerning our youth. The recent epidemic in childhood obesity is partially due to so many product placements in displays and various medias.

Conclusion

It is important to realize that choice is really just a tool to help us accomplish our goals. When making a choice, it’s important to have at least two, maybe even three choices. We don't need hundreds, so long as those few choices are meaningful. However, the average American makes approximately 70 choices per day. We need to be more choosy about choosing and get rid of the choices that create confusion and aren't worth our time.