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The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less
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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 302
EAN: 9780060005696
ISBN: 0060005696
Label: Harper Perennial
Manufacturer: Harper Perennial
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 304
Publication Date: January 01, 2005
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Release Date: January 18, 2005
Studio: Harper Perennial
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Editorial Review:In the spirit of Alvin Toffler's Future Shock, a social critique of our obsession with choice, and how it contributes to anxiety, dissatisfaction and regret. This paperback includes a new P.S. section with author interviews, insights, features, suggested readings, and more.
Whether we're buying a pair of jeans, ordering a cup of coffee, selecting a long-distance carrier, applying to college, choosing a doctor, or setting up a 401(k), everyday decisions--both big and small--have become increasingly complex due to the overwhelming abundance of choice with which we are presented.We assume that more choice means better options and greater satisfaction. But beware of excessive choice: choice overload can make you question the decisions you make before you even make them, it can set you up for unrealistically high expectations, and it can make you blame yourself for any and all failures. In the long run, this can lead to decision-making paralysis, anxiety, and perpetual stress. And, in a culture that tells us that there is no excuse for falling short of perfection when your options are limitless, too much choice can lead to clinical depression.In The Paradox of Choice, Barry Schwartz explains at what point choice--the hallmark of individual freedom and self-determination that we so cherish--becomes detrimental to our psychological and emotional well-being. In accessible, engaging, and anecdotal prose, Schwartz shows how the dramatic explosion in choice--from the mundane to the profound challenges of balancing career, family, and individual needs--has paradoxically become a problem instead of a solution. Schwartz also shows how our obsession with choice encourages us to seek that which makes us feel worse.By synthesizing current research in the social sciences, Schwartz makes the counterintuitive case that eliminating choices can greatly reduce the stress, anxiety, and busyness of our lives. He offers eleven practical steps on how to limit choices to a manageable number, have the discipline to focus on the important ones and ignore the rest, and ultimately derive greater satisfaction from the choices you have to make.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - A Must-Read Manual for Those Suffering from Mall Malaise
The unease that has been plaguing me for years now -- I call it "Mall Malaise," finally has scientific basis! It appears to be true - instead of choice bringing more happiness, it actually can frustrate and depress us when taken to the extreme.
Schwartz's easy-to-read analysis of the pluses and minuses of choice, coupled with scientific/psychological studies on why we feel as we do, will help a generation of overachievers and overconsumers find peace in the midst of plenty.
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Rating: - Insightful, Never Boring
In this book, Schwartz explores why people make strange decisions, why we can often make decisions that are totally irrational and why the plethora of today's choices make it hard for decisions makers to be content with the decisions they've made after they've made them. Schwartz presents the latest research on why some people seem so happy with a decision they've made when presented with few alternatives and why some people fret over decisions where no avenue has been left unexplored. Nothing too ... Read More
Rating:  - Repetitive and pedantic
The author's point is that having too many choices doesn't improve life; and, in fact, it can even be detrimental. It takes extra energy and thought to choose from among the dizzying array of choices that surround us; but that effort doesn't yield a corresponding increase in satisfaction with our choice and often yields _less_ satisfaction than if we had made a decision faster. That's it. That's the whole book. A person could read the first two chapters, the last two chapters, skip the (largely ... Read More
Rating: - Provides an interesting look at how too much choice has a negative impact on well-being
My husband and I, both professionals (he's an attorney, I'm a psychologist), had previously had many conversations about how the plethora of choices available in modern-day life--from being able to find virtually every TV program ever made online to owning an iPod that can hold every song we'd want to hear to having access to endless reviews on amazon whenever we need to purchase a new product--somehow seemed detrimental to us, although we were never able to quite put our finger on the precise nature ... Read More
Rating: - Choices: how to think about it and avoid the pitfalls of too many options
Schwartz has a compelling argument: the more options we have for each choice, the higher our expectation and the longer the decision process. For a number of people (especially those that like to 'maximize' every decision) this can be a very frustrating and potentially debilitating. He reports on studies that show how people are actually better off (more satisfied with outcomes) when given fewer choices. Clearly, this concept has been understood for a while, especially in marketing circles where the goal ... Read More
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