The Paradox of Choice
Put out twenty-four kinds of jam instead of six and fewer people buy any jam at all. More options, fewer decisions.
2004 (the book); 2000 (the jam study)19 min read
American psychology
Barry Schwartz
1946
Psychologist, for many years at Swarthmore College. His 2004 book The Paradox of Choice argued that the expansion of consumer choice past a certain point raises regret, anticipated regret and opportunity cost, and lowers satisfaction. The argument reached an enormous popular audience; the experimental evidence for its central claim has since proved much weaker than the book suggested.