Trudna decyzja

Difficult Decision

Consider this experiment first. An upscale supermarket set up a stand where its customers could sample twenty four varieties of gourmet jam. Those who agreed to taste them could try as many kinds of jam as they wanted and then received a coupon which allowed them to buy a jar at a discount. The next day the shop carried out the same experiment but with only six flavours to choose from. On the first day the wide selection of jams attracted much more interest than the small one the day after. At the same time however, it turned out that when the time came to purchase the preserves, people who visited the shop on the second day, were ten times more likely to buy the product than those who popped in on day one. The test was repeated several times with different products but the results were constantly the same. Why? The first group of shoppers was so overwhelmed with choice that they chose to buy nothing. They were simply not able to compare the twenty four options they were confronted with and fell prey to what is called in psychology the paradox of choice.