171. Paradox of Choice: Why More is Less, a Behavioral Economics Foundations Episode

<div style="color: black; padding: 10px; font-size: 115%;">I know you have a lot of options for what to listen to, and I’m glad you chose The Brainy Business. Especially because (as you’ll hear about on today’s episode), due to the paradox of choice, having too many options and decisions can leave people paralyzed instead of empowered. That paralysis can make it so people don’t make any decision at all, so you stick with the status quo of scrolling Instagram or playing a game on your phone. With over 2 million podcasts out there to compete with (plus all the YouTube channels, Netflix, and other streaming services, music options like Spotify and Pandora), plus games and email, and...well you get the idea...There are a lot of options out there that could have made tuning in a very complicated choice.</div> <div style="color: black; padding: 10px; font-size: 115%;">In today’s episode, I will tell you all about the paradox of choice: what it is, and why it matters for you in life and in business (including some tips for creating and presenting options to your current and potential customers).</div> <h3><span style="font-weight: 400;">Show Notes:</span></h3> <ul> <li><span style="font-weight: 400;">[00:06] Today’s behavioral economics foundations episode is about the paradox of choice.</span></li> <li><span style="font-weight: 400;">[03:02] As I mentioned in the introduction, the paradox of choice is a term and concept popularized by Barry Schwartz, whose book and popular TED talk have been shared around the world.</span></li> <li><span style="font-weight: 400;">[04:42] When presented with too many choices (like we have in most societies today) people become paralyzed, stressed, and feel stuck. It can cause mental anguish and regret. Some choices are good, but too much and we are definitely worse off.</span></li> <li><span style="font-weight: 400;">[05:24] The really important thing to know is that adding some choice is important. Because we humans can’t value one-off items, having at least some choice and comparison