Imagine you are on your way to a special occasion at a restaurant you’ve always wanted to try. It’s a fancy place that required booking months in advance, so you won’t be returning soon. When you arrive and see the menu, there are many items that love to order. Then, the waiter arrives and shares the daily specials. All of them sound incredible!

After careful consideration of the spectacular options, you decide on your order. But, this was not an easy decision and many attractive options had to fall by the wayside. But you enjoy your meal. That is, until you see two of the items you didn't order going to another table and, lo and behold, they look even better than what you ordered!

Afterward, you’re disappointed to realize you remember more about what you didn't eat than what you did.

My guest on this episode is Dr. Barry Schwartz, a New York Times bestselling author of several books including The Paradox of Choice. Barry was a psychology professor at Swarthmore College for decades and he now teaches at UC Berkeley Haas School of Business. I have been a big fan of Barry’s work for years and what he describes in The Paradox of Choice are several well-researched but counter-intuitive psychological realities including the fact that when we have too many options, we tend to hate the process of decision making, may make poor decisions, or make no decision at all.

I recently learned that my Grandpa Ben, who owned a dress shop for over 50 years, understood this truth. Although he did not have much conventional education, he was very smart. When a customer entered his shop, he offered only three dresses that he thought would best match the customer. Somehow, my grandpa knew that more options would overwhelm them and would reduce the chances of a sale.

In this episode, Barry will describe a host of fascinating findings that will improve your understanding of the invisible forces that guide our judgment and our decision-making processes. In addition to his books, Barry has had several excellent and well watched TED talks that have garnered millions of views and I recommend those as well.

But for now, join Barry and me as we have a lively, fun, and fascinating discussion about the paradox of choice.

https://www.ted.com/speakers/barry_schwartz

https://www.swarthmore.edu/profile/barry-schwartz Book Link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0060005696/ref=cm_sw_r_as_gl_api_gl_i_T9AKY9CW03Z5D3TEA6TT?linkCode=ml2&tag=superpsyche0b-20 This is an affiliate link. It will provide me with a small commission on purchases made through it and help the podcast (but it won’t affect the price you pay).