Overchoice in Modern Life

[cromwell]

It's really simple IMO,when you have access to so much you care little for it,when you have little you cherish what little you have.

[Nalaar]

Barry Schwartz wrote a short but handy book on this topic called 'The Paradox of Choice: Why less is more' well worth a read if it's available to you.

[Borg Refinery]

I reckon it contributed to ToyRUs going bust.

Toy Russians going bust? This is terrible news.

I think I used to recognise this when my kids were little. On the way to the shop I used to ask them what they would like. Having decided they then arrived in front of the counter with so much choice with child attracting colours that their eyes would grow wide and they might go for really strong cough sweets for no other reason than that they were at the front of the counter and in bright coloured packs. It was at this point that I would remind them of our conversation on the way and prompt them to ask for what they had already decided.  It was at that point that I noticed they suddenly gained confidence made their purchase and happily took it home.

Kind of like Boris with Tory voters then. 

Decision making I think is something that we need training in. Weighing up the pros and cons and trying to see beyond the obvious or popular  representation until the decision is your own and not merely following the crowds.

Training? What sort of 'training'?

If you mean being taught critical thinking skills from an early age then I agree.

Just as an aside, the last bit was put in primarily to hopefully appease Deppity and hopefully get him to contribute, as he's into calling all this stuff commie pinko woke crap. Judging by the 'depth' of the replies so far, my mission has failed so biglyly it's best this thread die a quiet death in the corner. 

[T00ts]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overchoice

I think it's more the illusion of overchoice in as far as we can see, not referring to what lies beyond the choices we make that we can't see/haven't made yet/don't understand.

No idea if that makes any sense, but basically this seems to be a hige problem in today's society; and can lead to paralysis, or impaired decision making or, perversely, oversimplification to eliminate the mental stress of having a wide variety of choices. You see this a whole lot in politics IMHO especially.

Anyway, feel free to tell me if it's faggy pink maoist woketard kommie ^^nting bollocks will you. I'm honestly not sure myself. 

I think I used to recognise this when my kids were little. On the way to the shop I used to ask them what they would like. Having decided they then arrived in front of the counter with so much choice with child attracting colours that their eyes would grow wide and they might go for really strong cough sweets for no other reason than that they were at the front of the counter and in bright coloured packs. It was at this point that I would remind them of our conversation on the way and prompt them to ask for what they had already decided.  It was at that point that I noticed they suddenly gained confidence made their purchase and happily took it home.

Decision making I think is something that we need training in. Weighing up the pros and cons and trying to see beyond the obvious or popular  representation until the decision is your own and not merely following the crowds.

[Barry]

I reckon it contributed to ToysRUs going bust.

[Borg Refinery]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overchoice

Overchoice or choice overload[1] is a cognitive impairment in which people have a difficult time making a decision when faced with many options. The term was first introduced by Alvin Toffler in his 1970 book, Future Shock.[2]

Psychological process   Edit
The phenomenon of overchoice occurs when many equivalent choices are available.[3] Making a decision becomes overwhelming due to the many potential outcomes and risks that may result from making the wrong choice. Having too many approximately equally good options is mentally draining because each option must be weighed against alternatives to select the best one. The satisfaction of choices by number of options available can be described by an inverted "U" model.[4] In this model, having no choice results in very low satisfaction. Initially more choices lead to more satisfaction, but as the number of choices increases it then peaks and people tend to feel more pressure, confusion, and potentially dissatisfaction with their choice. Although larger choice sets can be initially appealing, smaller choice sets lead to increased satisfaction and reduced regret. Another component of overchoice is the perception of time. Extensive choice sets can seem even more difficult with a limited time constraint.[5]

Examples of overchoice include increased college options, career options, and prospective romantic relationships. Many of these increased options can be attributed to modern technology. In today's society we have easy access to more information, products and opportunities.

I think it's more the illusion of overchoice in as far as we can see, not referring to what lies beyond the choices we make that we can't see/haven't made yet/don't understand.

No idea if that makes any sense, but basically this seems to be a hige problem in today's society; and can lead to paralysis, or impaired decision making or, perversely, oversimplification to eliminate the mental stress of having a wide variety of choices. You see this a whole lot in politics IMHO especially.

Anyway, feel free to tell me if it's faggy pink maoist woketard kommie ^^nting bollocks will you. I'm honestly not sure myself.