The Paradox of Choice - Why More Is Less

The Paradox of Choice - Why More Is Less
1 hr 4 min 7 sec - Apr 27, 2006
Average rating: (705 ratings)

Google TechTalks April 27, 2006 Barry Schwartz

A very interesting video from Google about consumer behaviour and the nature of choice. Barry Schwartz is very charismatic and certainly knows how to get your attention.

All in all a very educational video which gave me a few good ideas at work.

Added: 16 April 2008

I think this is a very important video from many different perspectives. Barry certainly covers the marketing side of things very well...

Like it or not, he is describing the behaviour of an "average" consumer in America. This sort of "choice paralysis" he mentions obviously exists and we all know that to be true. Next time you go to the supermarket, please choose some tea for me, OK? Just plain tea will do...

Geddit?

Certainly many corporations did indeed get it - and are doing very well from restricting the choices available to the consumer. One might argue that this is just crazy to say - that absolutely and unequivocally, the more choice we have the happier we are. And what about Free Will, right...?

But I have a feeling he is digging a little bit deeper. In fact, he says it himself - he wants to explore the Dark Side of Choice. Is it really true that an infinite increase in choice leads to Nirvana?

He argues that the satisfaction curve is not monotonic. Basically, past a certain point, there is a sudden downturn in the levels of happiness in situations where we are overwhelmed by the amount of information available to us.

He gives examples on how to deliver plentiful choice without overwhelming the consumers as well. The answer happens to be in "trees"... Well...

So I don't necessarily agree that he argues against choice - he does ask us to remember this early on. However, he is subtly prompting us to consider the assumptions we may have about choices in general - and our expectations about how the act of choosing is supposed to make us feel.

I believe this to be an important lecture - for both marketers and Seekers of Truth. And I do believe that it is important to remember the context in which this video is delivered. At the end the day, the purpose here is to derive maximum amount of profit from the optimisation of consumer behaviour.

The ending to this lecture is great. In my opinion, the last comments at end credits are quite inspirational to any person - not just Google.

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