When does choice overload us?
Itâs not as easy as saying itâs 3 options or 5 or 9.
There is no magical number.
Instead, there are four specific factors that tip us into overwhelm.
Thatâs according to a meta-analysis by Chernev, Böckenholt, and Goodman (2015).
They reviewed 53 choice studies, covering a total of 7,202 participants, and determined that people get overwhelmed when:
1. Comparing apples and oranges
People struggle when the options donât line up neatly side by side, or thereâs no clear winner.
Think of three insurance policies where one leads with price, another with excess, and the third with whatâs covered.
Thatâs why in Australia, the government requires every private health insurer to provide a summary of each policy in the same standard format.
2. It feels hard
If they feel rushed, if the information is laid out in a confusing way, or if they know theyâll have to justify their choice to someone else, theyâll be prone to overwhelm.
3. They donât know what they want
If someone is new to the category or hasnât worked out what matters to them, every extra option becomes one more thing to weigh up with nothing to measure it against.
They donât know what they should know, so they canât filter out unimportant information.
4. Itâs a task, not a treat
When the goal is to get the decision over with rather than enjoy exploring, more options feel like more work instead of more possibility.
The irony?
When presenting options to your customers and colleagues, you have a lot of choices to make.
Itâs not as simple as fewer options. Itâs how you differentiate them and how your options match their frame of mind.
People say they want choice. What they really want is clarity.
P.S. Just quietly, my new book launches on Monday.
Ref: Chernev, A., Böckenholt, U., & Goodman, J. (2015). Choice overload: A conceptual review and meta-analysis. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 25(2), 333â358
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