The Maximization Paradox: The Costs Of Seeking Alternatives
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
4-1-2009
Published In
Personality And Individual Differences
Abstract
Contrary to the common belief that more options lead to better decisions, recent research has demonstrated that choosing from a large number of options can have detrimental psychological effects. We investigated whether people were willing to sacrifice resources for more options, and whether choice-making orientation moderated such willingness. As predicted, people who were motivated to make the best choice possible—“maximizers”—were more willing to sacrifice resources such as time to attain a larger choice array than were people who tend to search for a satisfactory choice (i.e., “satisficers”). Additionally, maximizers who sacrificed to attain more options were ultimately less satisfied with their choice relative to maximizers who chose from a small assortment, and to satisficers (Studies 2 and 3). We term the pattern in which maximizers tend to sacrifice resources to attain more options that ultimately reduce their satisfaction, the “Maximization Paradox”.
Recommended Citation
I. Dar-Nimrod, C. D. Rawn, D. R. Lehman, and Barry Schwartz.
(2009).
"The Maximization Paradox: The Costs Of Seeking Alternatives".
Personality And Individual Differences.
Volume 46,
Issue 5-6.
631-635.
DOI: 10.1016/j.paid.2009.01.007
https://works.swarthmore.edu/fac-psychology/102