Choices and persuasion
Choice overload
Also called Analysis paralysis, Paradox of choice
Too many options can make people put off a decision or feel less happy with what they pick, though the effect depends heavily on context.
More choice sounds better, but comparing many options takes effort, and the fear of picking wrong can stop people deciding at all.
Help people choose rather than just removing options: recommend one, group them, let people filter, or start with a short list and offer the rest on request.
In practice
A streaming service that opens on a short row of 'top picks for you' tends to get people watching sooner than one that opens on a grid of thousands of titles.
Common mistake
Treating it as a law. A 2010 analysis of many studies found the average effect close to zero; experts with clear preferences often want more options, not fewer.
Where it comes from
Sheena Iyengar and Mark Lepper's 2000 jam study found more shoppers bought jam from a table of 6 flavours than one of 24. Barry Schwartz popularised the idea in The Paradox of Choice (2004).