Too Many Options Are Depressing, Lead to Uncertainty

They say it’s good, recommended actually, to have more choices to go with, instead of just one thing that we have to stick with no matter what. However, a new study in consumer behavior comes to show that, where options are concerned, having too many is actually detrimental to us. Having too much choice often leads to depression and feelings of uncertainty because we can’t tell anymore if we’ve made the right choice or not, the study shows, as the Telegraph informs.

From television channels to the types of milk or fruit available in supermarkets, the sheer amount of variants is overwhelming. In fact, there are so many things to choose from that we’re torn by uncertainty and doubts as to whether we made the right choice or not, researchers say. At the same time, while we’re focusing on picking the right thing for us, we’re actually losing sight of what could be good for society, as we become increasingly selfish.

“People can become paralyzed by too much variety and wracked with uncertainty and regret about whether they have made the right decision. Ultimately they can be less satisfied by the choices they have made. The study believes that the problem is that when you have too much choice, you become obsessed about what your decision will say about you. Then when you have made the choice you worry that it is wrong. Choice can also foster selfishness and a lack of empathy because it can focus people on their own preferences and on themselves at the expense of what is good for society as a whole,” the Telegraph writes of the findings.

Conducted on Americans by researchers led by Professor Hazel Rose Markus of Stanford University’s Department of Psychology, the study also reveals that, ironically enough, Americas constantly hear of their freedom, their choices and self-determination. At the same time, the wide array of choices available does nothing in terms of improving subjective well-being. On the contrary, a decrease is noticeable in direct relation to how large the number of options is.

“We cannot assume that choice, as understood by educated, affluent Westerners, is a universal aspiration, and that the provision of choice will necessarily foster freedom and well-being. Even in contexts where choice can foster freedom, empowerment, and independence, it is not an unalloyed good. Choice can also produce a numbing uncertainty, depression, and selfishness. And even what counts as a ‘choice’ may be different for non-Westerners than it is for Westerners,” Prof. Markus says.