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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