Exposing the Mythology of Choice

It is almost an article of faith for decision scientists that it is better for people to have choices and be free to choose among them. And it is by making those choices that we enrich our lives. But is it true? Sheena Iyengar in a recent talk at TED neatly debunks three core myths about choice.

Sheena Iyengar’s research exposes these three myths:

• It is better to make your own choices
• More choices means better choices
• You must never say “no” to choice.

American school-aged children were compared to their Japanese counterparts in how they perfomed in an anagram game. If the Americans were given a choice as to the subject of the game, they performed much better than if the choice was made by someone else. The same was true of the Japanese, except when the choice was made (or they believed it was made) by someone they trusted (eg, their mother). Then they performed much better than the Americans with free choice. For the Americans having your mother choose was a real turn-off!

We all think it is better to have more variety on the supermarket shelves. And since we all think we can tell the difference between Pepsi and Coke, we like having a choice of brands of soda. But for Eastern Europeans, the real choice is between soda, juice and water. All the different varieties of soda are indistinguishable. They are just “soda”. Too much choice can be irrelevant and sometimes paralysing—we just can’t make a choice.

Finally, Iyengar talks about the agonising choice faced by some parents with children born with brain damage. When given the choice of choosing themselves when to turn off the life support, or to let the doctor decide, Americans will choose to make the decision themselves. And they will feel terrible about it. The French, on the other hand, prefer to delegate the decision to the doctor, and their experience is a lot less negative than for the Americans. However, ask the Americans whether, with hindsight, they might have preferred to let the doctor decide, and they will reject the notion. It is their right and duty to make the tough choice, and they are determined to exercise it.