The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less

As an experience or object becomes more familiar, it becomes less novel and pleasurable. This process is called “adaptation.” For example, someone may be very excited to drive their new car and appreciate its different features, but after several months, they may lose this happy feeling as their car becomes more familiar. Schwartz thus argues that people should anticipate adaptation and understand that their initial feelings about their choices will not last forever.

The availability heuristic is a bias that causes people to overestimate how likely something is to happen based on the availability of information about it. For instance, if people frequently read news about car accidents, they will overestimate their statistical likelihood. Schwartz connects this bias with consumer behavior, noting that people tend to lean heavily on what they have heard about most frequently, even if it is somewhat unreliable data, like personal anecdotes. This bias contributes to people making irrational buying decisions but feeling like they are well-researched.

Schwartz uses the term “choice overload” to refer to situations in which consumers face a vast amount of choices of a certain product. For instance, he reports counting 285 brands of cookies at a store. Schwartz presents choice overload as a detrimental burden to people’s mental health.