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The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less, Revised Edition Paperback – Illustrated, May 17, 2016

4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 2,265 ratings

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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 preface from the author.

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.

As Americans, 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 counter intuitive 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 those that are important and ignore the rest, and ultimately derive greater satisfaction from the choices you have to make.

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Editorial Reviews

Review

“Brilliant.... The case Schwartz makes... is compelling, the implications disturbing.... An insightful book.” — Christian Science Monitor

“An insightful study that winningly argues its subtitle.” — Philadelphia Inquirer

“Schwartz lays out a convincing argument.... [He] is a crisp, engaging writer with an excellent sense of pace.” — Austin American-Statesman

“Schwartz offers helpful suggestions of how we can manage our world of overwhelming choices.” — St. Petersburg Times

“Wonderfully readable.” — Washington Post

“Schwartz has plenty of insightful things to say about the perils of everyday life.” — Booklist

“With its clever analysis, buttressed by sage New Yorker cartoons, The Paradox of Choice is persuasive.” — BusinessWeek

From the Back Cover

“Absorbing, witty, and persuasive.”—BusinessWeek Top 10 Business Books of 2004

“Brilliant. . . . The case Schwartz makes for a correlation between our emotional state and what he calls the ‘tyranny of choice’ is compelling, the implications disturbing. . . . An insightful book.”—Christian Science Monitor

“A revolutionary and beautifully reasoned book about the promiscuous amount of choice that renders the consumer helpless. A must-read.”—Martin Seligman, author of Authentic Happiness

Whether we’re buying a pair of jeans, ordering coffee, selecting a wireless 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 over-whelming abundance of choice. For Americans, choice is the hallmark of individual freedom and self-determination. But having too much choice can actually be detrimental: choice overload can make you question your decisions before you make them, set up unrealistically high expectations, and lead to self-blame for any failure. The result is decision-making paralysis, anxiety, and perpetual stress, and even clinical depression.

In The Paradox of Choice, Barry Schwartz shows how the dramatic explosion in choice—from the mundane to the profound challenges of balancing career, family, and individual needs—has led us to seek that which makes us feel worse. Synthesizing current research, Schwartz makes the counterintuitive case that reducing choices can greatly reduce stress, anxiety, and the frenzy of daily life, and offers eleven practical steps to help you limit choices to a manageable number, focus on the important ones, and ultimately derive greater satisfaction from the choices you have to make.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Ecco; Revised edition (May 17, 2016)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 304 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0062449923
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0062449924
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 8 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.31 x 0.68 x 8 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 2,265 ratings

About the author

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Barry Schwartz
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Barry Schwartz is the Dorwin Cartwright Professor of Social Theory and Social Action in the psychology department at Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, where he has taught for thirty years. He is the author of several leading textbooks on the psychology of learning and memory, as well as a penetrating look at contemporary life, The Battle for Human Nature: Science, Morality, and Modern Life. Dr. Schwartz is married and has two children.

Photo by Bill Holsinger-Robinson (Flickr: IMG_2638) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons.

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
2,265 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book easy to read and providing valuable insights into making better choices. They describe it as a thought-provoking and insightful read that provides great value for money. However, some readers feel the pacing is slow in parts and the book is repetitive.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

165 customers mention "Readability"146 positive19 negative

Customers find the book easy to read and engaging. They mention it makes important points about how we navigate in complex times. The Paradox of Choice is a well-written, quick read that sheds light on many aspects of decision making.

"...His compact and smoothly written book sheds light on many aspects of decision-making, the stress of `roads not taken,' the curse of high..." Read more

"...Learn to love constrains This book is worth the read, to hammer home the point of embracing a satisfaction based life, and how to..." Read more

"A very interesting and thought provoking book. Especially in this day and age of income disparity and disconnection, a book like this is well needed." Read more

"...In the end the book is worth a read - especially if you are a Maximizer who finds themselves overwhelmed...." Read more

125 customers mention "Insight"122 positive3 negative

Customers find the book provides great insight into how more choice may be causing problems. They describe the studies in a lively way that really brings them to life. The book is thought-provoking and an eye-opener for engineering students. It helps them understand their limitations and how more choices can lead to issues.

"...The tone of Professor Schwartz's book is that of a friendly, intelligent neighbor, dealing with the same human dilemmas as you and I. He shares his..." Read more

"...A fantastic book on why more is less (or less is more). It is a fantastic essay on how the culture of abundance robs us of satisfaction in life, and..." Read more

"A very interesting and thought provoking book. Especially in this day and age of income disparity and disconnection, a book like this is well needed." Read more

"...Schwartz contends that it is. In accessible, engaging, and anecdotal prose, the author shows how the dramatic explosion of choice--from the mundane..." Read more

28 customers mention "Choice"24 positive4 negative

Customers appreciate the book's insights into choice. They find it helpful for reducing choice overload and making better choices. The author provides a clear understanding of modern decision-making and how to apply his ideas to everyday life.

"...Certainly not. Abundant options are a good thing, as long as we approach them rationally...." Read more

"...enjoy the first half of the book which really heightened my perception of having too many choices...." Read more

"...meets our criteria instead of waiting for the "best," consciously narrowing our options, practicing an attitude of gratitude, etc...." Read more

"...Finally, this book offers suggestions on how to make better choices and reduce stress...." Read more

9 customers mention "Value for money"9 positive0 negative

Customers find the book a good value for money. They say it's a fantastic book on why less is more, and that it's definitely worth it.

"...It shares enough case studies and examples of why more is less, and how to increase satisfaction life...." Read more

"...I am glad that I bought this book. I was definitely worth it." Read more

"Good book. If you have too much crap in your life this explains how less is more." Read more

"...The message is clear: less is more and learn to be content." Read more

4 customers mention "Fun book"4 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the book. They say it's a quick read and a good way to test the water.

"...and pitfalls of decision making, this is a very good and fun book to test the waters...." Read more

"This is a fun book that can be read in an evening or two. I really liked it. I found it gave me a good perspective on life in general." Read more

"...Insightful, interesting, and fun; can be a real conversation starter." Read more

"Thoughtful, Informative and Fun..." Read more

16 customers mention "Book repetitiveness"0 positive16 negative

Customers find the book repetitive and boring. They say it's tedious, anecdotal, and overly detailed in the first couple chapters. The content is outdated and the concepts are repeated too many times.

"...studies it cites are interesting, a lot of the book is filled with extremely repetitive content...." Read more

"...This makes an already repetitive structure even less engaging, as I'm distracted by the text's awe of smartphones and streaming services as I read..." Read more

"...While I felt the book was repetitive at times and often too long in defending ideas which didn't seem very controversial, it helped me understand a..." Read more

"...At times the book is repetitous or goes on too long about the obvious, but all in all a worthwhile addition to literature about how much our..." Read more

13 customers mention "Pacing"0 positive13 negative

Customers find the book's pacing slow in some areas and repetitive. They say it takes too long to get to any point and doesn't stay on track.

"...The reason I didn’t give it five stars is because it takes too long to get to any point...." Read more

"...This is very hard to do consistently, but I thought this was a good piece of advice. I also enjoyed the idea of being a chooser and not a picker...." Read more

"...Many of the studies are interesting, but the author covers them very fast...." Read more

"The concepts in this book are amazing. The book is a little slow in some places but overall one of my all time favorites for making me see things..." Read more

5 customers mention "Length"0 positive5 negative

Customers find the book too short. They say it's repetitive and goes on too long about the obvious.

"...This book is an exception. It's not long, but that's largely because there's no padding...." Read more

"...number of choices ultimately affects buyer satisfaction, the book comes up short." Read more

"...It is fairly short (about 10 pages or so), and is probably the best part about the book...." Read more

"...At times the book is repetitous or goes on too long about the obvious, but all in all a worthwhile addition to literature about how much our..." Read more

Missing letters.
3 out of 5 stars
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Printing is not too great. I'm not returning since I started underlining, and I can guess the word anyway... But it's missing letters here and there.
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Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on September 26, 2006
    Having a choice in life is a good thing; a person without choices is often miserable. As the number of choices grows, our happiness grows with them, but then it begins to decline. Having too many choices creates stress. Schwartz describes his visit to a local supermarket: "...next to the crackers were 285 varieties of cookies. Among chocolate chip cookies there were 21 options. ... Across the isle were juices - 13 `sports drinks,' 65 `box drinks' for kids, 85 other flavors and brands of juices, and 75 iced teas and adult drinks. I could get these tea drinks sweetened (sugar or artificial sweetener), lemoned, and flavored. ... I found 61 varieties of suntan oil and sunblock, and 80 different pain relievers - aspirin, acetaminophen, ibuprofen; 350 milligrams or 500 milligrams; caplets, capsules, and tablets; coated or uncoated. There were 40 options for toothpaste, 150 lipsticks, 75 eyeliners, and 90 colors of nail polish from one brand alone."

    Those wide choices may seem appealing, but Schwartz brings our attention to what he calls `the darker side of freedom' - the stress of choice. This paradox is the most pronounced in the financial markets. Even though his book is about the paradox of choice in general, I read it with an eye towards the financial markets, my own trading, and what I see in other traders.

    Shall we trade stocks, futures, or options? If stocks, shall we trade the more seasoned issues on the NYSE or look for riskier high-growth candidates on the NASDAQ? Should we track agricultural, tropical, or financial futures? And what about the forex? Should we buy or write options, or look into more complex strategies, such as spreads? And worst of all - what if another market makes a spectacular move while our attention is focused elsewhere? No wonder the majority of traders feel so stressed. Schwartz says "Choosing almost always involves giving up something else of value. ... The overload of choice contributes to dissatisfaction."

    "Losses hurt more than gains satisfy. ... The cost of any option involves passing up the opportunities that a different option would have afforded. ... Conflict induces people to avoid decisions. ...Emotional unpleasantness makes for bad decisions. ... The desire to avoid regret leads to inaction inertia. ... An overload of choice contributes to dissatisfaction."

    Every trader who kicked himself after a profitable trade for having `left more money on the table' will chuckle at a cartoon of a kid in a t-shirt that says "Brown ... but my first choice was Yale." Schwartz shows how people are divided into `maximizers' who always strive for the best and `satisficers' those who settle for some reasonable level of success. "Almost everyone who scores high on maximization scale also scores high on regret." You can decide to be a maximizer in a very small number of situations that truly matter to you and be a more mellow satisficer in the rest of your life. "We would be better off seeking what was good enough instead of seeking the best."

    Connections with trading kept running through my mind while reading this book. How many successful people kick themselves, feeling that their performance was not good enough. How many stay way too long in a bad trade because of `sunk costs.' Schwartz exposes the endless flow of coulda-shoulda-woulda as `counterfactual thinking.' He shows how keeping records of decisions impacts people's attitudes towards those decisions. I have been saying over and again that keeping good records is the single most important step towards becoming a successful trader.

    The tone of Professor Schwartz's book is that of a friendly, intelligent neighbor, dealing with the same human dilemmas as you and I. He shares his thinking about our problems by talking with us, not at us. His compact and smoothly written book sheds light on many aspects of decision-making, the stress of `roads not taken,' the curse of high expectations, etc.

    The mere fact of outlining a problem is a big step towards clarity, but after 10 chapters, I felt ready to hear about his proposed solutions. They were delivered in Chapter 11 (which I hope had nothing to do with the eponymous chapter of the bankruptcy code :-)). Professor Schwartz's advice was lucid, logical, and sensible - but you will have to read it yourself (I do not describe it here because reciting solutions without having worked through the problems is likely not to be useful.)

    I highly recommend this book to all traders. My only quibble is the paper quality of the paperback - it is grayish, and should have been much whiter! But the publisher offers you no choice!

    www elder com
    44 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on March 25, 2015
    THE PARADOX OF CHOICE by Barry Schwartz
    Four and Half Stars- Must Read for anyone interested in "decision making"

    A fantastic book on why more is less (or less is more). It is a fantastic essay on how the culture of abundance robs us of satisfaction in life, and more importantly bring in depression. It shares enough case studies and examples of why more is less, and how to increase satisfaction life.

    Key Idea: Giving people too many choices tends to lessen their satisfaction.
    “Maximizers” are people who, given a choice, will exhaustively search all the options, seeking all possible information, in order to make the best possible choice. This behavior generally consumes a lot of time, and often leads to nagging doubts, perhaps where no one clear winner emerged.
    “Satisficers” are those who settle for a choice that is “good enough” for them These people are generally happier with their choice, and spend less time choosing, leaving them free to enjoy other things.

    Counterintuitive wisdom

    1. We are better of if we embraced voluntary constrains of choice on our freedom of choice, instead of rebelling against in thme
    2. We are better off when we choose good enough instead of seeking the best
    3. Lower your expectations about the results of your decisions
    4. We are better off if our decisions are irreverseable
    5. We are better off if we paid less attention to what others do around us

    Summary of the book by Chapter:
    Lets go shopping: Every area of our life from the super market to the education market offers way too much choice.

    New Choice: Filtering our extraneous information is the key function of consciousnesses.

    Deciding and Choosing: Figure your goals out, rank them, evaluate options and their likelyhood to meet goals, pick winning option .
    Growth of options and opportunities means decisions require more effort, mistakes are more likely and psychological ocnsequence of mistakes is more severe.

    When Only The Best Will Do: When you seek and only the best will do you are a MAXIMIZER. When you seek the good enough and not worry about consequences you are a SATISFIER.
    Maximizers tend to: make more product comparisons, take longer to decide, compare their decisions to others, experience more regret that others, feel less positive about their decisions.

    Choice & happiness: Every choice we make is a testament to our autonomy. The choice of when to be a chooser may be the most important choice we have to make. The more control people have, the less helpless they feel, the less depressed they will be.
    Time spent with dealing with choice is time spent away from being in life.
    Some constrain can afford liberty, while freedom will bring enslavement, it is wise to choose the the constrains.

    Missed opportunities: Examine opportunity costs - more the choices, we diminish our subjective experience of benefits, thus we are worse off.
    When people have too many options and trade offs, they avoid making decisions options we consider usually suffer from companions with other options
    One reason why maximizers are less happy, less satisfied with their lives, and more depressed than satisfiers is precisely because the taint of tradeoffs and opportunity costs washes out much that hshould be satisfying about the decisions they make.

    The Problem of Regret: Two factors affect regret a) personal responsibility for the result b) how easily we can imagine the counter factual better alternative.
    Regret looms more for the maximizer than the satisfier.

    Everything suffers from Comparisons: Curse fof high expectations, curse of social comparisons due to race for status,
    Maximizers are more concerned with social comparisons than satisfiers. Increasing available options seems to usually reduce satisfaction.

    Whose Fault is it?:Helplessness induced by failure or lack of control causes depression. Depression more common when only the best will do.

    What to do about Choice?:
    1)Choose when to choose.- think of cost associated with decisions.
    2) Be a chooser not a picker -
    3)Satisfy more, maximize less
    4)Think about opportunity costs of opportunity costs - dont be swayed by new and improved
    5) Make decisions non reversible
    6) Practice an attitude of gratitude
    7)Regret less
    8) Anticipate adaptation - focus on how things are as opposed to as they were
    9) Control expectations
    10) Avoid social comparisons
    11)Learn to love constrains

    This book is worth the read, to hammer home the point of embracing a satisfaction based life, and how to learn to love constrains. BUY THIS BOOK, which was voted as a TOP 10 book for the year by Business Week to understand why" less is more, and how to increase the satisfaction in your life."

    Mahipal Lunia
    www.TheRenaissancePath.com
    33 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on January 16, 2025
    A very interesting and thought provoking book. Especially in this day and age of income disparity and disconnection, a book like this is well needed.
    2 people found this helpful
    Report

Top reviews from other countries

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  • Andrea Willman
    5.0 out of 5 stars Highly Recommend
    Reviewed in Canada on March 15, 2024
    By the end of my work day I am stumped by the simple question “What’s for Dinner?”. Now I know why. The book is insightful AND well written (so easy to read). And the chapters are broken into small manageable sections. So I can read a page or two each night. I know that doesn’t sound important, but it’s actually a big deal. I don’t need to ask myself if I can manage 20 pages ☺️ (one less decision).
  • Marcela Avalos
    5.0 out of 5 stars Para ti, si te cuestionas tus desiciones.
    Reviewed in Mexico on January 7, 2024
    Soy una persona que tiene dificultades tomando desiciones y siempre dudo de si lo que elegí estuvo bien. Este libro abre el panorama de que las elecciones del día a día van más allá de nosotros. Me encantó.
    Report
  • Walter
    5.0 out of 5 stars A Revelation on the Impact of Choice
    Reviewed in Brazil on August 29, 2023
    "The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less" by Barry Schwartz is a captivating exploration of the relationship between choice and happiness. Schwartz's revelation that an excess of options often leads to dissatisfaction challenges the conventional belief that more choices equal more freedom. Through insightful research and relatable examples, the book highlights how an abundance of choices can overwhelm and hinder decision-making, reshaping how we perceive our options. Schwartz's accessible writing style makes complex ideas easy to grasp, inviting readers to reconsider their approach to decision fatigue and regret. In a world saturated with choices, this book offers a transformative perspective that encourages embracing limitations and focusing on what truly matters for a more fulfilling life.
  • Santosh Redij
    5.0 out of 5 stars best book to understand why we are unhappy despite having everything
    Reviewed in India on June 8, 2024
    I had always wondered if I am not giving my best in choosing the best options for me in my life, be it tangible or intangible. This book made me realise that I am on the right path, as I think I am close to being a satisficer, the one who wants only good enough in his life and do not run for perfection. Thanks Barry.
  • Thomas Floreani
    5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent livre
    Reviewed in France on February 24, 2024
    Excellent livre, permet de mieux comprendre la psychologie du choix.