The Tyranny of Choice: a Cross-Cultural Investigation of Maximizing-Satisficing Effects on Well-Being
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Judgment and Decision Making, Vol. 7, No. 6, November 2012, pp. 689–704 The tyranny of choice: a cross-cultural investigation of maximizing-satisficing effects on well-being Arne Roets∗ Barry Schwartz† Yanjun Guan‡ Abstract The present research investigated the relationship between individual differences in maximizing versus satisficing (i.e., seeking to make the single best choice, rather than a choice that is merely good enough) and well-being, in interac- tion with the society in which an individual lives. Data from three distinct cultural groups (adults), drawn respectively from the U.S. (N=307), Western Europe (N=263), and China (N=218), were analyzed. The results showed that, in so- cieties where choice is abundant (i.e., U.S. and Western Europe), maximizers reported less well-being than satisficers, and this difference was mediated by experienced regret. However, in the non-western society (China), maximizing was unrelated to well-being. Although in China maximizing was associated with more experiences of regret, regret had no substantial relationship to well-being. These patterns also emerged for the individual facets of the maximizing scale, al- though with a notable difference between the U.S. and Europe for the High Standards facet. It is argued that, in societies where abundant individual choice is highly valued and considered the ultimate route to personal happiness, maximizers’ dissatisfaction and regret over imperfect choices is a detrimental factor in well-being, whereas it is a much less crucial determinant of well-being in societies that place less emphasis on choice as the way to happiness. Keywords: well-being, maximizing, choice, cross-cultural. 1 Introduction fault, because, with so many options, they have no ex- cuse for not getting the “right” one. Ironically, however, Autonomy and choice in individual decision making the more options there are, the more likely it becomes are highly valued in western societies. Greater choice that one does not choose the best option (e.g., Hanoch, can provide two types of benefits. First, it can enable Rice, Cummings & Wood, 2009; Hanoch, Wood, Barnes, choosers to find exactly what they want. And, secondly, Liu & Rice, 2011). These problems have become espe- it can enhance their feeling of autonomy and freedom. cially relevant in contemporary western societies1, where Nonetheless, various studies have recently cautioned that people are overwhelmed by near-unlimited options in all unlimited choice may come at a price and does not al- domains of life. In this regard, Bellah, Madsen, Sullivan, ways benefit mental health and well-being (e.g., Botti Swinder, and Tipton (1985) already argued that people & Iyengar, 2004, 2006; Botti, Orfali & Iyengar, 2009; in western societies feel increasingly uneasy about their Fisman, Iyengar, Kamenica & Simonson, 2006, Iyen- life decisions because they are unsure about whether they gar, Jiang & Huberman, 2004; Iyengar & Lepper, 2000; are making the right choices, and according to Schwartz but see Chernev, 2003; Scheibehenne, Greifeneder & (2000, 2009), this “excess of freedom” (p. 79) has re- Todd, 2009, 2010, for contrary evidence). In this regard, sulted in a dramatic increase in people’s dissatisfaction Schwartz (2000, 2004) argued that, as options are added with their lives and even in clinical depression. within a domain of choice, several problems may materi- However, not everybody may be equally sensitive to alize. First, the process of collecting adequate and com- the problems that come with exposure to an abundance plete information about options makes choosing more la- borious. Second, as options expand, people’s standards 1In line with Henrich, Heine, and Norenzavan (2010), we use the for what is an acceptable outcome rise. And thirdly, peo- term “western” to refer to those countries clustered in the northwest of ple may come to believe that any imperfect result is their Europe (including Belgium and the Netherlands), and British-descent countries such as the United States. Although we recognize the limi- This research was supported by a research grant from the National tations of this label, we believe it is the most appropriate label for the Fund for Scientific Research-Flanders (Belgium) awarded to the first present study. author. We refer to Western Europe, the U.S., and China as different “so- ∗Department of Developmental, Personality and Social Psychology, cieties,” with the term society being largely interchangeable with the Ghent University, Henri Dunantlaan 2, B-9000, Ghent, Belgium. Email: term culture. However, when using the term society, we want to signal [email protected]. that the distinction is not limited to cultural values, but also pertains to †Swarthmore College, U.S.A. substantial differences in, for example, economic and political systems, ‡Renmin University of China, People’s Republic of China. which are not explicitly captured by the label culture. 689 Judgment and Decision Making, Vol. 7, No. 6, November 2012 Tyranny of choice 690 of choice. It has been argued that people who always self-determination are considered to be the ultimate way want to maximize the outcomes of their choices are most to pursue personal happiness and well-being (Schwartz, vulnerable to the negative effects of too much choice 2000; 2004). Importantly, the seminal cross-cultural (e.g., Schwartz, 2000; Schwartz, Ward, Monterosso, work on value clusters by Shalom Schwartz (1999) has Lyubomirsky, White & Lehman, 2002). For these people, shown that personal autonomy is not only highly valued an excess of options becomes problematic because, to in the U.S. but also in Western Europe. Indeed, both make sure they choose the optimal option, all information cultures consider personal choice as an important path about each alternative has to be considered, which is of- toward happiness, and although in Western Europe, the ten difficult or even impossible. Moreover, there is likely number of options for some choices in everyday life (e.g., to be a lingering doubt that the best option has neverthe- buying cereal) may not be as excessive as in the U.S., less been missed, especially when it has not been possible the options are certainly also abundant (Henrich, Heine to consider all options. Hence, the potential for regret is & Norenzavan, 2010). Hence, a negative relationship ever present, because there is always the possibility that between maximizing and well-being can be expected in there is a better option “out there”, and failing to find it Western Europe as well. means a failure to optimize personal satisfaction. On the However, Henrich and colleagues (2010) also argued other hand, people can approach choices differently, us- that to understand human psychology, behavioral scien- ing a “good enough” strategy, in which any option that tists cannot assume their findings obtained in western meets a certain threshold of acceptability is considered countries to be broadly generalizable. In particular, the satisfactory. In this approach to choice, the individual authors explicitly referred to substantial differences be- does not have to consider all information about each op- tween western versus non-western societies “in the extent tion, the standards for what is acceptable are more mod- to which people value choice and in the range of behav- est (meaning that several options can be satisfactory) and iors over which they feel they are making choices” (p. 71) these standards do not depend on the number of options as prime examples for their assertion. In non-western so- (because adding more options does not suddenly render a cieties, the context and meaning of individual choice may good option unacceptable). Moreover, there is no failure be quite different from the U.S. and Western Europe; in- in choosing a merely decent, but not perfect, option when dividual choice may be less valued, the number of options adopting a “good enough” approach to choice. in everyday choices (e.g., job or consumer choices) may Importantly, Schwartz et al. (2002) found considerable, be more limited, and “personal” choices may to be more stable individual differences in people’s dispositional ten- strongly directed by the government. For instance, in dency to use either a “good enough” strategy or a “max- China, the opportunities to hold state sector jobs and have imizing” strategy. People on either side of this disposi- employer-provided healthcare benefits were greatly influ- tional continuum have been labeled satisficers and maxi- enced by China’s hukou system, which is an institution mizers, respectively, and the latter group is expected to be that controls population movement (Liu, 2005). More- more vulnerable to the problems that arise from an excess over, in at least some Asian societies, the very notion of of choice. Indeed, various studies showed that maximiz- “choice” is less salient and less tied into definitions of self ers experience higher levels of regret compared to satisfi- than it is in western societies (e.g., Markus & Schwartz, cers and that they show lower levels of satisfaction with 2010; Savani, Markus, Naidu, Kumar & Berlia, 2010). decisions, and lower levels of well-being more generally. It could be argued that, if choices and options in a They are more dissatisfied with their lives, less happy, society are less abundant, gaining adequate information more depressed, and less optimistic (e.g., Chang et al., about the different options to make a choice is actually 2011; Dar-Nimrod, Rawn, Lehman & Schwartz, 2009; more achievable. Also, people’s standards for what is Iyengar, Wells & Schwartz, 2006; Purvis, Howell & Iyer, acceptable are likely to be more modest and an imper- 2011; Schwartz et al., 2002). fect outcome can be more easily attributed to the mere lack of a perfect option in the limited set of possible out- 1.1 The potential role of society in the re- comes, or to external factors such as government regula- lationship between individual maximiz- tions. Finally, if notions of the self are less tied up with ing and well-being the idea of choice, making imperfect choices is likely to be less consequential.