by NPR/TED Staff
http://pd.npr.org/anon.npr-mp3/npr/ted/2013/11/20131115_ted_05.mp3
November 15, 2013 9:20 AM
8 min 13 sec
Part 5 of the TED Radio Hour episode .
About Barry Schwartz’s TEDTalk
Psychologist Barry Schwartz takes aim at a central tenet of western societies: freedom of choice. In Schwartz’s estimation, choice has made us not freer but more paralyzed, not happier but more dissatisfied.
About Barry Schwartz
“ The more options there are, the easier it is to regret.
– Barry Schwartz
is a professor at Swarthmore College. He studies the link between economics and psychology. In his 2004 book The Paradox of Choice, Schwartz wonders why is it that societies of great abundance — where individuals are offered more freedom and choice are now witnessing a near-epidemic of depression. Conventional wisdom says that greater choice is for the greater good, but Schwartz argues the opposite: He makes a compelling case that the abundance of choice in today’s western world is actually making us miserable.
Transition Studies 