The donkey paradox: The more options, the less you like your choice
The trap of always trying to choose the “best”
🏷️ Categories: Decision making and biases.
Once upon a time there was an ass who led a thoughtful life.
He always thought carefully about his actions to make sure he made the right decision. One day, while walking in the field, he found two piles of hay. They were identical in size, color, smell and taste. Standing in front of the two identical piles of hay, he asked himself:
“Which of the two piles should I eat first?”
“What reasons do I have for choosing this pile of hay and not the other?”
“Are these reasons true and sufficient?”
They were exactly identical and he didn't know which decision to make.
Hours and days went by.
In the end he ended up starving to death in front of the two heaps for not choosing.
Yes, it is an extreme image, but it is the one used by the philosophers of the Middle Ages to criticize the ideas of freedom of choice of a thinker of the time: Jean Buridan.
It reminds me of the designer who spends hours hesitating between two shades of blue for a client's logo. Both are good, but he doesn't know which one is “perfect”.
Or like the writer who is stuck between two phrases: “The echo of the wind” or “The whisper of the wind”? Both sound poetic, but you don't know which is “better.”
Or like when you go to the supermarket to buy some cookies, you stop in front of the shelf, looking at the 200 types, which one will be “better”?
There are too many times when we have felt like this poor donkey.
The donkey paradox
Often, the most difficult decisions are the ones that seemed to be the easiest.
When we decide, we try to detect the differences between various options, but the more similar the options are, the more difficult it is to evaluate which is the optimal choice. In the end you suffer paralysis by analysis, you are not able to make up your mind.
The paradox is that the more similar the options are, the less your decision matters.
The end result will be almost identical.
Every time you sit down in front of Netflix and spend more time browsing titles than watching a movie, you are in the donkey paradox.
Every time you go to buy toilet paper and stare at the 200 types of paper, you're in the paradox of the donkey. Perfumed, extra soft, saver format...?
One of the most impressive cases I have ever read happened in 2000. Psychologists Iyengar and Lepper conducted a very peculiar experiment. They set up two jam stands in a market. One offered 6 kinds of jam, the other 24.
Do you know what happened?
People bought more jam at the stall with fewer choices, because having so many options was exhausting and ended up ruining the choice experience.
Why we fall into the donkey paradox
1. Overinformation
Too much information exacerbates the problem. As in the case of jams, so many choices and details generate more regret, as it reminds us that we could have made a better choice. Information makes us feel even more insecure.
2. Searching for the “optimal” choice
To make the most of our decisions, we always try to look for the best option, but this behavior becomes exhausting when the differences are minimal.
The more options there are, the higher the expectations regarding the choice made. This makes it more likely that you will be disappointed if the choice does not meet expectations. In addition, hesitating so much prolongs the decision and ends up being counterproductive. Perfectionism and loss aversion make you feel that in the end, despite all the effort, you did not make the right choice.
What to do now?
Perhaps the solution is to let go of the idea that everything must be perfect.
The problem is not the choice itself, but the exhausting perfectionism. There is a space between choosing well and regretting choosing poorly, and that space is called “good enough.” Choices are a spectrum of possibilities and not a binary question: right/wrong.
It is the art of accepting imperfection and knowing when the good option is good enough.
Let the donkey eat hay, he is fed up with having to decide everything.
✍️ Your turn: Are you a perfectionist? Have you noticed how too much choice affects you?
💭 Quote of the Day: “If everything is the same, then there are no choices!” Lois Lowry, The Giver.
See you next time! 👋
An interesting contrast, with the day there were no news.
HA! Your cookie aisle example cracks me up. The array of choices in big box stores probably leads some to throw their hands up in despair. A TV program told the story of a soldier returning home from the war zone. He went shopping with his wife. When he saw the cereal aisle, he cracked psychologically and returned to the war zone where decisions were made for him. Maybe we housewives get used to this bounty of brands, narrowing our choices down to a few family favorites. Sometimes it gets monotonous, but it makes it easier to live. Then, there's a day when the choice is between two favorites. Which one? Oh hell! Buy both.