A Best-Selling Psychology Book Author Speaks Out
Barry Schwartz's Views on Making Choices and Dealing With Regret
Mar 20, 2009
This professor of psychology at Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania is the author of The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less. Here, he shares what surprised him most about writing this psychology book, and how to deal with regret.
The Paradox of Choice was named one of the top business books of the year by both Business Week and Forbes Magazine, and has been translated into twenty languages. Schwartz also maintains a blog at Psychology Today, called The Choices Worth Having.
The basic message of The Paradox of Choice is that too many choices can paralyze people into inaction, and cause them to be dissatisfied with even good decisions.
LPK: What most surprises people about your ideas in The Paradox of Choice?
BS: What most surprises people, I think, is that they "knew it all along." One reason my book has had an impact is that I call attention to something that people recognize instantly. What I am most often asked is "how much choice is the right amount?" and "what makes someone a maximizer?" Neither of these questions has an answer at present.
What most surprised you about writing, researching, and marketing this book?
I was quite astonished by the reception it got. I'm used to writing books that almost no one reads. This book made me something of a public figure, for which I am most grateful.
In The Paradox of Choice, you suggest that letting go of regret makes people happier. What are two ways people can deal with regret?
First, get in the habit of appreciating that "good enough" is good enough. Second, get in the habit of noticing what is good about your decisions and of being grateful for what is good.
Is there anything that you have written and published that you regret?
Like most academics, I've published my share of trivial things that wasted people's time (and some trees). But I can't think of anything that I'd like to have back. Even when I've been wrong, it's been good to stimulate discussion and bring clarity to some problem or area of investigation.
What the qualities make you successful as a writer, and/or as a psychologist?
Well, this is something you should ask other people. I try to write simply and directly. I try to imagine what my audience knows or believes coming into my book or article. Nobody approaches anything from a stance of complete naiveté or neutrality. And I try to write about things that matter. I think it helps a lot that I spend most of my time teaching undergraduates who are very smart and interested, but don't already know a lot.
What new books or projects are you working on now?
I'm writing a book on "practical wisdom" with my colleague, political scientist Ken Sharpe.
Out of left field: What are your thoughts on Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers – how do his theories related to your ideas in Paradox?
Though as with all Gladwell's books, he oversimplifies a bit, I think he's made a real contribution with Outliers. Yes, of course, everybody knows that luck and circumstance matter. It's obvious. But I think Malcolm is quite right that we don't live our lives as if we know that. If we took the message of Outliers seriously, how we lived would be different, as would the shape of our social institutions and practices. I don't see much connection between Outliers and Paradox, however, except maybe that it offers another set of reasons why "maximizing" is foolish.
Barry Schwartz’s bio: Schwartz is a professor of psychology at Swarthmore College, in Pennsylvania. The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less was named one of the top business books of the year by both Business Week and Forbes Magazine, and has been translated into twenty languages.
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