The Wabash College Lecture Committee at Wabash College will present Barry Schwartz, who will give a public lecture at 8 p.m. Thursday, March 29 in Baxter Hall, room 101. The title of his lecture will be "The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less."
Schwartz’s talk will be based on his book, "The Paradox of Choice" in which he says "As Americans, we assume that more choice means better options and greater satisfaction. But beware of excessive choice: choice overload can make you question the decisions you make before you even make them, it can set you up for unrealistically high expectations, and it can make you blame yourself for any and all failures. In the long run, this can lead to decision-making paralysis. And in a culture that tells us that there is no excuse for falling short of perfection when your options are limitless, too much choice can lead to clinical depression."
Schwartz is the Dorwin Cartwright Professor of Social Theory and Social Action in the psychology department at Swarthmore College, where he has taught since 1971. He is the author of 10 books, among them "The Battle for Human Nature," "The Costs of Living," and in 2004, "The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less." He is a fellow of both the American Psychological Association and the American Psychological Society. His research and teaching focus on the intersection of psychology and economics, and more specifically on how the abundance of choice in modern life both liberates and bedevils those who face it.
Both events are free and open to the public.