Scientific Definition
Too many options produces worse decisions and less satisfaction.
Plain-English Definition
Too many options produces worse decisions and less satisfaction.
Feynman Explanation
Optionality is a feature until it's a tax.
Core Principle
Too many options produces worse decisions and less satisfaction.
Mechanisms
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Too many options produces worse decisions and less satisfaction.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Inputs (Triggers)
Pending editorial review.
Outputs (Behaviors)
Pending editorial review.
Behavioral Signature
Optionality is a feature until it's a tax.
Examples
- Iyengar's jam-shelf research.
- Product design, comp design, benefits design.
Pending editorial review.
Famous Experiments
Pending editorial review.
Design Principles
- Curate. Default well. Reduce option counts.
Measurement Approaches
Pending editorial review.
Evidence
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
The Perverse Incentive Lens™
How this behavior is exploited — and how to redesign around it.
- Curate. Default well. Reduce option counts.
Pending editorial review.
Pending editorial review.
Interactive Mini Network
Click any neighbor to re-center the graph and follow the threads of connection.
Knowledge Graph Neighbors
Auto-linked to the rest of the Human Behavior Taxonomy by family, domain, dimension, and shared keywords.
How options are presented changes which ones get chosen.
Decision quality degrades over the course of a day.
Defaults bypass active cognition.
Two ways of thinking, both real, both useful, often mis-deployed.
Brain weights existing state heavily.
Fast intuitive vs. slow deliberative thinking.
Glucose, omega-3s, sleep, and hydration each influence decision quality.
Naming an emotion reduces its intensity.
Cumulative physiological wear from chronic stress.
Emotional override of rational processing.
Brain region tracking conflict, error, and effort.
We treat AI as more humanlike than it is.