THE DECISION SERIES: CHOICE OVERLOAD
Having more options is always better right? Well contrary to popular opinion this is not always the case. this article explains the psychological phenomenon of "choice overload" and why having more options is not always a good thing.
THE DECISION SERIESPSYCHOLOGYPHILOSOPHYQUALITY OF LIFE
Written by Anthony Truong
11/30/20253 min read
Choice overload is a psychological phenomenon where having too many options may lead to decision paralysis, stress, dissatisfaction and/or anxiety. This generally occurs when the number of options/avaliable choices exceeds one's cognitive and/or emotional capacity/ability to process.
During these moments, individuals may suffer from the concept of opportunity cost, where one worries and fixates about the potential loss from options not chosen and/or processed. This can trigger and lead to anxiety and thus analysis/decision paralysis and/or poor decision making.
For example, imagine you're really craving some Trolli lollies and enter a candy store to buy some. You open the door and are hit with a delightful sight of wonderous sweet treats. Colours, shapes and delectable smells of flavours flood your senses. You literally don't know half the brands and candy types in the store. You know you love Trolli lollies but you are overwhelmed with potential choices. Are you really going to just buy your standard packet of Trolli worms?
You spend the next hour going through the store and researching all the different new options that are now available to you. You're not sure what to buy and/or what you really want now. It's starting to feel a bit stressful and you are starting to feel a bit of pressure and anxiety to buy something that has to be good. In the end you make a snap decision and buy 3 new packets of lollies that you've never had before, all the while spending 5 times the money you were expecting to.
You get home and try the new lollies. New lolly A tastes overwhelming sweet to a sickening extent, you dislike it. New lolly B tastes too artifical, yuck. New lolly C tastes really good but it doesn't satisfy the sweet craving that the Trolli lollies normally do. So now you feel bad for wasting time, money and making poor decisions. You tell yourself that you know for sure there are other better lollies in the store that will satisfy your sweet tooth and that you just need to do more research next time. You pledge to choose the right new lolly next time, all while disregarding the Trolli lollies that you know have always satisfied your sweet tooth.
HOW DOES CHOICE OVERLOAD OCCUR?
Firstly, certain individuals are more prone to suffer from choice overload than others. To know if you are more prone you need to determine which direction your natural mindset points towards.
Do you always try to make the best decision possible and tend to overthink?
If so you are likely a "maximiser" and would be more prone to the effects of choice overload as you would naturally put and feel more pressure, stress and anxiety on yourself during this phenomenon.
Alternatively, if you find yourself to be one who makes decisions by choosing the first option that meets your minimium criteria, rather than strictly looking for the best option, you are likely a "satisficer" and more resistant to the effects of choice overload.
Going by this logic, to protect oneself from choice overload we want to try to apply more principles of the "satisficer" and have a decision framework that serves us by reducing potential choices/options that don't align with what we want. An example of a decision framework is included but not limited to below:
- Identify what you want and/or are looking for with clear criterias.
- Identify what you don't want and/or are not looking for with clear criterias.
- Filter down your potential options/choices using this criteria.
- Acknowledge that there is no "best" option, as it is impossible for us to ever know whether a decision/option is the best.
- Choose the most logical and/or convenient option/choice that is avaliable from the filtered options that match your desired criterias without any undesired criterias.
Having more choices is indeed a good thing but the key is to knowing yourself and staying disciplined with knowing what you want and don't want in your life.
HAVING MORE OPTIONS IS GOOD RIGHT?
Everyone wants to have the most choices and options because we want access to the best that we can get. And of course to get the best that we can get we need to have access to the biggest pool of options to choose from, because why would you choose a life of scarcity over abundance right?
However, contrary to this common notion, individuals can experience choice overload. A paradoxical effect where they suffer signficant dissatisfaction post-decision and/or debilitating anxiety and analysis/decison paralysis when they are overloaded with choices/options.
