The Far Side of Perfect: Too many choices
Watching my son painstakingly decide which trinkets he’s going to buy with his arcade winnings -- all of which would have been much cheaper to simply purchase rather than spend $20.00 on arcade games -- I was reminded of Barry Schwartz’s The Paradox of Choice: Why More is Less, which raises the question as to whether too much choice is, to put it simply, “too much.” I think he’s on to something.
Now I’m a “pro-choice” kind of gal, and there are times when having several options is essential, like in Presidential elections. But these days, it sometimes feels as if the entire world is a multiple choice test; only with way more options than “a, b, c, d” and the dreaded “e. none of the above.”
Take the simple act of ordering a cup of coffee. It was only a few years ago that Starbucks published a 14-page manual on how to order their coffee. TIME magazine even calculated that given all the different options, you could order a Starbucks’ coffee 19,000 different ways. That’s a different cup of coffee every day for 52 years. Not being organized enough to bring my instruction manual with me, I generally end up going for my usual “tall regular coffee of the day.” My version of “none of the above.”
Now, there are some instances where having a lot of choice can be quite useful, as long as you know what you want. For example, the other day I ventured into Old Navy to buy jeans. Faced with a towering wall of intimidating denim, loud music and teenagers running around with headsets completely ignoring the helplessly and hopelessly unhip old lady in the jeans aisle, I almost gave up. But, then I noticed a chart where you could choose which of four styles you wanted for the waistband – from belly-baring to one that actually hits at your waist; next you could locate your size; select short, regular or long; and, finally, bootcut or not. I don’t think I’ve ever bought a pair of jeans more quickly in my life. Why? Because according to the chart there was only one pair on that entire wall that would work for me. And I was able to find it in record time -- without having to actually converse with any teenagers.
On the opposite end of the spectrum is a visit to Ben & Jerry’s. Should I get the Vermonty Python or the Vanilla Swiss Almond Carb Karma? One scoop or two? Cone or cup? Yet no matter what I decide I can never help wondering if I would have enjoyed the Phish Food or Cherry Garcia even more. However, when it’s a cold, snowy weekend and I’m sitting home on a Saturday night watching chick flicks, sipping Chardonnay and craving sweets, nothing tastes better than to finish off the long-forgotten Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough pint discovered in the back of the freezer lodged behind the frozen chicken (exp. date 2005).
Why? Because having too many choices can cause us to second, third and exponentially re-guess our first choice, taking away most of the enjoyment and in some cases even diluting the quality of our options. This must be why I now have more than 500 television stations to choose from, and can still never find anything worth watching. Yet when faced with a single option, we can take satisfaction in knowing that we made the best possible decision – even if it involves finishing off a pint of 1,000+ calorie ice cream.
Perhaps life would be less stressful if we adopted the pre-school approach of limited options. I know that mealtimes in my house go much more smoothly when my son only has to decide between the Scooby Doo or SpongeBob macaroni and cheese. And if he doesn’t like that, then he gets “none of the above.” But, wait a second … when did macaroni and cheese become a multiple choice question?
Too many choices!
A few years ago when I tried to replace my cellphone that had mysteriously stopped working, I was offered a camera phone. I very politely told the saleswoman that I didn't want a camera phone. That was all they had at the store! So, I went to another store and after politely refusing all attempts to upsell me, I bought a phone. That phone is now on its last legs. Any wagers that I'll be able to buy "just a phone"?
Posted by: Hazel Boone | January 03, 2008 at 12:22 PM