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Contrary to what we would think, Iyengar’s study actually shows that people are less likely to consume when given too many choices (Iyengar, 2011).  In her TedTalk she tells us about four different methodologies that can help us improve our experience of choosing.  She proposes Cut, Concretization, Categorization, and Condition for Complexity.  Cut is the concept that less is more.  The less choices the more people will actually spend.  Iyengar explains that too many choices can seem overwhelming, she tells us “we can't actually do the math of comparing and contrasting and actually picking…” (Iyengar, 2011).  Concretization is being able to not only see the differences between all the choices but also realistically understand and perceive the consequences of these choices. Categorization is the idea that it’s easier to choose when there are many categories as opposed to many choices.  The last technique is Condition for Complexity.  The idea here is that we can handle a lot of information but it needs to be bite size and given to us incrementally from easier to more complex.  

I definitely have to agree with Iyengar when she tells us that less is more.  I personally feel extremely overwhelmed when given too many choices.  An excellent example of this is when I go to restaurants to have a short and concise menu and one that is a 10 page book of food choices.  I have a harder time deciding what to eat and end up ordering something that isn’t satisfying or choosing something that I don’t even like.  One of my favorite restaurants is an Italian restaurant that has a two page menu with only about 10 items.  Then they offer a few different specials each night.  My dining experience at this place is always optimal and satisfying.  One would say that it would get boring eating at this restaurant yet I find the experience to be novel and amazing every time.

Another technique that I feel assists me in choosing easier and better is Condition for Complexity.  I love to shop at Zappo’s for athletic shoes.  One of the main reasons is because of how well they filter the shopping experience.  There have been some shopping sites that I have used that just offer you the different name brands.  You then have to sift through pages and pages of Nikes, or New Balance trying to find the shoe that fits your needs.  I remember always feeling extremely overwhelmed by this process and then having to navigate to a secondary page to make comparisons. The entire experience was cumbersome and confusing and most often I would not make a purchase with the idea that I would look at the site another day.  Zappo’s on the other hand conditions for complexity.  One way is their many filters.  When you shop on Zappo’s for shoes you filter first by gender then by size.  Then you can filter to choose by type (running, hiking, cross-training, etc.) and then by brand.  Finally you can filter down to style and color.  This is a prime example of taking something that has a plethora of choices and simplifying the process into bite-size decisions that I have to make. 

References

Iyengar, S. (2011, November). How to make choosing easier [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.ted.com/talks/sheena_iyengar_choosing_what_to_choose

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I have received a lot of training in the disciplines of yoga and reiki.  For those of you that are not familiar with these types of practices, they are millenarian practices that incorporate the use of intuition as an effective way of working with the energy of the body.  Through these practices I’ve learned to become more self-aware of that “gut-feeling” and to listen to the subtle messages from my subconscious.  Hoch, Kunreuther and Gunther (2001, p. 39) discuss how “cognitive abilities are poorly equipped to solve complex dynamic-optimization problems” and explain that sometimes our intuitive guesses can be on target.  But they also warn that a good manager must know when to trust our intuitive process and when to “cede the stage f the formal mathematical tools available from decision analysts and in decision-support software (p. 40).  

One of the things I do try to do when making decisions is to become fully aware of all of my options and the consequences of each option.  When making a decision I try to use a combination of rational thinking along with intuitive thought. One thing that I have learned through this class on decision making is the importance of an awareness of the decision-making process.  Although I like to rely highly on my intuitive nature, Hoch et. al. explain how “a systematic approach can help avoid imprecision in the decision process” (Hoch, Kunreuther, & Gunther, 2001, p. 3).   One such approach is what Hoch et. al. (2001, p. 3) call dynamic programming which is “a process for solving multistage decision problems”.  The theory here is that one can solve a complex problem by breaking it up into stages and by solving the problem starting from the last stage and moving backwards towards the first stage.  This is what they call “backward induction”.  This would be similar to how you would try to strategize in a chess came by trying to “see” forward into the future to “to the end game when you consider your opening moves”.  This type of forward thinking is something that I am not accustomed to doing in my own decision-making process.  Because I rely highly on my intuitive nature, I rarely am looking into the future but instead basing decisions on a more automated process that pulls from my past knowledge and experiences.  In fact, Hoc et. al. explain our human limitations or what they describe a myopia or limit to forward planning (Hoch et al., 2001).  I am definitely guilty of this type of limited forward planning.  Part of it is related to pure laziness especially when dealing with complex problems.  The stress related to problem-solving is enough to make it cumbersome to try and look into the future.  That mixed with my natural impatient and impulsive nature make it difficult for me to have that kind of foresight.  

In conclusion I think as I mentioned earlier a combination of forward future planning and intuitive thinking with the used of dynamic decision analysis tools and resources would be a complete strategy for decision-making processes in the future.

References

Hoch, S. J., Kunreuther, H. C., & Gunther, R. E. (2001). Wharton on making decisions. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.