Paradox of choice
The paradox of choice (in German Auswahlparadox or selection paradox ; the suspected behind phenomenon is in English as choice overload hereinafter) is in the decision theory a paradox that the purchasing behavior relates at different levels of product variety, and in particular on a field study of Sheena Iyengar and Mark Lepper from 2000. The Iyengar and Lepper paradox can be abbreviated as “Too many decision alternatives hinder the decision-making process” or “Less is more”.
The study
In a study from 2000, the scientists Sheena Iyengar and Mark Lepper came to the conclusion that a larger selection of jams leads to a reduction in the desire to buy. In their study, Iyengar and Lepper set up tasting tables with different types of jam in a selected supermarket in California on two Saturdays that they would later sell to customers. The number of varieties varied between 6 and 24 options depending on the respective test arrangement. With a large selection of 24 types, 60% of customers tried at least one type, but only 3% said they were willing to buy the jam. With a smaller selection of six types, only 40% tried it instead, but 30% of customers also bought a jar of jam.
Interpretation and Conclusions
Too many options or too large a selection lead to the fact that no decision is made instead of the wrong one. Possible explanations are that the differences between the offers are no longer clearly recognizable. This is why some customers prefer not to buy anything for fear of making the wrong decision.
In a book "The Paradox of Choice - Why More Is Less", psychologist Barry Schwartz generalizes the results and argues that eliminating consumer choice can significantly reduce shoppers' fear.
The study triggered numerous further investigations, in which criticism was also made of the universal validity: Certain conditions must therefore apply to election overload. Scheibehenne u. a. give an overview in a meta-analysis .
literature
- Barry Schwartz: Guide to Dissatisfaction: Why Less Makes You Happier. Econ, Berlin 2004 on Wissenschaft.de
- Martin Krengel: Categorization Effects : A behavioral analysis of the effect of assortment categorizations on the selection process for complex consumer goods. Springer-Verlag 2014.
- Michael Riemenschneider: The value of product diversity: the effect of large product ranges on consumer behavior. Springer publishing house.
- Florian Bauer, Hardy Koth: The unreasonable customer: Understanding and influencing irrational decisions with behavioral economics. Redline Economy 2014.
- Joachim Hurth: Applied trade psychology. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 2006, p. 156.
Web links
- Spoiled for choice - decision is the worst in Spiegel Online (June 6, 2012)
- The agony of choosing jams in the Frankfurter Allgemeine (April 14, 2012)
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Iyengar, Sheena & Lepper, Mark (2000). When choice is demotivating: Can one desire too much of a good thing? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 79, 995-1006
- ↑ Barry Schwartz: The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less, Revised Edition Harper Collins, 2009
- ↑ meta-analysis of Benjamin Scheibehenne, Rainer Greifendeder, Peter M. Todd Can There Ever Be Too Many Options? A Meta-Analytic Review of Choice Overload Journal of Consumer Research , Vol. 37, 2010