Det brukar numera hävdas att människor blir förvirrade och olyckliga av mycket valfrihet, vilket av vissa t.o.m. används som grund för att förespråka regleringar och förbud. Tim Harford sammanfattar ny forskning som ger oss anledning att betvivla denna slutsats allmänna giltighet:

The average of all these studies suggests that offering lots of extra choices seems to make no important difference either way. There seem to be circumstances where choice is counterproductive but, despite looking hard for them, we don’t yet know much about what they are. Overall, says Scheibehenne: “If you did one of these studies tomorrow, the most probable result would be no effect.” Perhaps choice is not as paradoxical as some psychologists have come to believe. One way or another, we seem to be able to cope with it.

Tips: Marginal Revolution.