Issue 1 Explore JFM 2017
FYI
Research – When having choice doesn ’ t make us happy
Baba Shiv , Professor of Marketing at the Stanford Graduate School of Business suggests , ‘ there are contexts where we are far better off taking the passenger seat and someone else drive ,’ like choosing in difficult medical situations . He tested the theory on undergraduate students about to solve word puzzles . While one set of students was asked to choose between two teas — caffeinated or relaxing chamomile — the other group was told by the researchers which of the teas to drink . In the end , the students assigned a tea solved more puzzles than those who were given a choice .
Our take : In situations where things are beyond our control , it helps to detach from the process of choosing . Some advise ‘ trust the expert ’, some say , ‘ have faith ’. At times choosing not to choose is a wise choice .
Talk - The Art of Choosing
We all think we are good at making choices ; many of us even enjoy making them . Sheena Iyengar looks deeply at choosing . Her famous " jam study " quantified a counterintuitive truth about decision making -- that when we ' re presented with too many choices , we tend not to choose anything at all .
In this talk , she cites both trivial choices ( Coke v . Pepsi ) and profound ones , and shares her ground breaking research that has uncovered some surprising attitudes about our decisions .
Our take : An interesting talk for parents , non parents and teenagers to understand culturally different perspectives on ‘ choice ’.
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