© Orin C. Davis, All rights reserved Orin C. Davis, Ph.D. Quality of Life Laboratory

 Researchers (Sheena Iyengar, Barry Schwartz, others) have found that too much choice is a bad thing  Leads to choice paralysis  But isn’t choice good?  More options means better options  Higher standards  But then we are responsible for our choices

 Constantly looking for the very best  Aiming for perfection  We want to choose the best option  “Eyes on the prize” – going for the goal  Bounded rationality  We never know everything about the situation  We also don’t know if things we know now will stay the same  Focusing illusion – we can’t see past changes

 Lower levels of (?):  Self-esteem  Well-being  Life satisfaction  Higher levels of (?):  Social comparison  As long as I’m doing better than everyone else  But if I’m not, that’s really bad!  Regret

 When the best outcome is needed, it is more likely to be obtained  Stronger drive  More help-seeking behavior to get where one needs to go

 Set a threshold of “good enough,” and accept the first thing that crosses it  Loses out on absolute best opportunities, but puts in less effort, too  “Perfect is the enemy of the good” ?  Tend to be happier, have higher self-esteem  Satisficers can be good enough  Which does not prevent them from striving to be better  Fewer social comparisons