The Art of Choosing

Sheena Iyengar showed--famously--that six jam choices are better than 24. Her research led to companies all over the world cutting their product lines and--counter-intuitively--boosting profits. Trader Joe's owes Iyengar a great debt. It carries about one-tenth of the jam choices, but I always leave buying at least a couple jars.Iyengar also delves into the cultural differences that distinguish Americans from the Eastern world. Like Jonathan Haidt in  The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion , Iyengar shows how Americans are culturally different, much different. Here, Iyengar writes about Americans value liberty and freedom of choice. A Japanese toddler will perform better on a puzzle, for example, if told that her mother picked the puzzle to solve. By contrast, an American toddler will ask incredulously, "Really? You asked my mom to pick?" Reviewing the preferences for domains for choice, Iyengar concludes, "Americans desired personal choice in four times as many domains of life as did the Japanese."We should take heed of the simple truth that, as Iyengar recounts over and over, with more choice comes more regret. Followers of fundamentalist faiths are the happiest because, as Iyengar writes, "The presence of so many rules didn't debilitate people; instead, it seemed to empower them. Many of their choices were taken away, and yet they experienced a sense of control over their lives." Unitarians and atheists are the most susceptible to pessimism and depression, she finds. Collectivist cultures might value familial duty to the detriment of choice, so much so that children are asked to enter into arranged marriages. But it turns out, Iyengar shows, that arranged marriages usually have better outcomes than love-based ones.Iyengar saves the best parts of the book for the end. There, she writes more like an old friend, giving the reader sage advice gained from time, on how to make better decisions on all things big and small. For big decisions, get some help. "We frequently look to sources of authority and expertise to alleviate the burden of a difficult decision--finding someone who tells us that we went the right way in a tough bind can go a long way toward making us feel better about it, even if the actual outcome remains unchanged," she writes. And you'll make better choices--and leave yourself with less regret--if you remind yourself of your most deeply committed principles. "The key is to recognize--to return to the words of de Tocqueville--that in order to "hold fast" to something, one must allow oneself to be held to something," Iyengar advises. "That commitment may be one of the hardest things to practice in a world of so much choice.""And what about a grander goal, more important than choosing the best flat-screen? To lead a better life, Iyengar counsels us to define our narrative. Use a simple exercise: "Write three versions of the story of your life (or a particular period in your life), looking in turn through the lenses of destiny, chance, and choice. Which of these versions is most motivating for you? Which one encourages you to try harder, push further, reach higher? Which emphasizes that you have the power to go from where you are today to where you want to be tomorrow?"A lot of what Iyengar writes is described elsewhere in this genre, both in the best-seller from Iyengar's former mentor,  Thinking, Fast and Slow , and in a more Malcolm Gladwell-ish format in  How We Decide . But I got the impression while reading Iyengar's book that she earnestly wants to help her readers make better choices and lead better lives. Her book is not just academic pursuit, but a gift of knowledge from someone that knows so much about her field that she can't help but share it with us.

The Art of Choosing is an overview of how choice impacts our lives. That is obviously a broad subject and this book discusses both how having choice can change one's motivation but also how too much choice can overwhelm and individual. The book discusses how cultural background can affect the difference in perspective on choice and its importance to certain individuals and groups and how different backgrounds make people respond differently in different choice regimes. The book is a mixture of topics and provides a good background to the behavioural sciences, but also draws real conclusions about the pros and cons of our choice filled world and how to manage the often overwhelming choices we are presented with.The book starts out by describing how when people believe they have an active part in shaping their life with the choices they make they have a strong sense that perserverence pays off and as a result act accordingly. It goes through some interesting experiments showing that the perception of being able to affect one's life in the animal kingdom motivates different animal behaviour than when an animal is helpless to endure exogenous shocks. The lesson is a powerful opening to the book and serves as a foundation of choice empowering people and their world view. The book then discusses various social experiments about levels of satisfaction based on when individuals choose for themselves vs are assigned tasks and how these differ given cultural contexts. It discusses a multitude of phenomenon from arranged marriage to grocery shopping to making serious medical decisions. The various behavioural science experiments are well chosen and introduce the reader to actual responses and various examples of cognitive dissonance that arise.The book concludes by discussing the way in which we should deal with the fact that choice can be overwhelming simultaneously to us always strictly wanting more choice. The book ties the idea that since choice gives us the belief that we create our destiny, when presented with choices with outcomes which no matter what we are unhappy with, we internalize blame that is unavoidable. Taking advice when our relative information set is poorer than others helps us make optimal choices and remembering that choices are made in the context of the opportunity set available are lessons that the author thinks the reader should absorb.All in all this is an interesting read with some interesting points. It serves as decent introduction to people interested in decision making and choice. The book covers ground that much other literature in the behavioral sciences has discussed, but its emphasis on choice is quite unique. In particular the first and last third of the book are quite strong and worthwhile reading.

That rare astonishing book that is both a value to someone who knows nothing about the topic – and someone, like I, a professor of law who studies negotiation and choice and knows the research well.One of the best features is that it intermingles hard to except science with very personal and gripping stories. For example, she explains how parents were given the choice about what to do with a child born with a severe disability or often less happy and filled with more regret and those were told what to do by doctors. In addition, she shows how many of our seemingly most personal choices may reflect social circumstances. This seems most obvious when she explains how her parents were in an arranged marriage. But it is more provocative when she Reviews research the people whose liberal political views evolved actually had the changes in tandem with others who went to the same school, such as Bennington College.In addition, this is one of the rarest of treats and audiobooks – the voice is actually quite calm and enthusiastic at the same time.One warning: although she clearly reviews the research that shows that people can digest only seven ideas, plus or -2 depending on the individual, there are no clear 5 to 9 steps of how to make a decision in this book. Nor they're the kind of every day case studies at the end that would allow one to integrate the examples of research in the book. But then again: wouldn't that make A great workbook?

Llego en muy mal estado

I expected more from this book. The theme is fascinating, the author has academic credentials, but the book does not deliver what it promises. I finish your reading a little frustrated. Cites dozens of scientific articles and gets lost among them. Objectivity is lacking.

A must read book 📚

I love the fact that the author is blind and she managed to write such an accurate book on psychology of choice. Lots of good example and a book that at every page never ceases to surprise and make you smile. A bit longer than similar books but definitely worth it!

Fantastic book.Great mixture of scientific facts and interesting tales. Pleasant to read.Already used some advices for my daily life.