SEtalk: Why Too Many Choices Make Us Unhappy

How long did it take you to choose your last phone?

大家上一次挑手機花了多久？

For me, buying a pair of headphones once took three weeks.

我的話，有一次買一副耳機就花了整整3個禮拜。

I'm not joking — I actually made a spreadsheet!

我沒在開玩笑——我真的做了一份試算表！

Today, I want to explain why that happens to so many of us.

今天我想跟大家解釋，為什麼我們很多人都會這樣。

It was two in the morning, and I was still reading reviews.

那時已經半夜2點了，我還在看評價。

There were over two hundred models, so I was spoilt for choice.

有超過200款型號，我真的挑到眼花撩亂。

Whenever I found a good pair, I'd spot a better one,

每次我找到一副不錯的，就又看到一副更好的，

so I'd keep on looking.

所以就一直繼續找。

By the time I finally ordered some, I'd lost all interest.

等我終於下單的時候，早就完全沒興趣了。

I'd spent three weeks choosing, and I wasn't even happy.

我花了3個禮拜挑，結果一點都不開心。

It turns out I'm not alone.

原來，不是只有我這樣。

In 2000, a jam-tasting table was set up in a California supermarket.

2000年，California一家超市裡擺了一張果醬試吃桌。

Sometimes the table had twenty-four flavours, and sometimes just six.

有時候桌上擺了24種口味，有時候只有6種。

The big table attracted more shoppers, which isn't surprising.

大的試吃桌吸引了比較多客人，這一點也不意外。

But only three percent of them actually bought a jar!

但其中只有3%的人真的買了一罐！

At the small table, ten times as many people bought jam!

在小試吃桌，買果醬的人多了整整10倍！

The study suggested that too much choice can stop us from choosing.

這項研究顯示，選擇太多反而會讓我們做不了選擇。

Later studies pointed out that it isn't always this strong,

後來的研究指出，這種效應不一定都這麼明顯，

but it keeps showing up when the choice is complicated.

但只要選擇一複雜，它就一再出現。

And what happens when we do manage to choose?

那麼，當我們真的選好了，又會怎樣呢？

Psychologist Barry Schwartz describes two kinds of people.

心理學家Barry Schwartz把人分成兩種。

Maximizers are people who have to find the very best option.

最大化者就是一定要找到最好選項的人。

Satisficers stop searching as soon as something is good enough.

滿足者只要找到夠好的，就會馬上停止尋找。

A 2006 study followed students who were looking for their first job.

2006年有一項研究，追蹤了正在找第一份工作的學生。

The maximizers ended up with salaries about twenty percent higher.

最大化者最後拿到的薪水高了大約20%。

Yet they felt worse about the jobs they'd accepted!

但他們對自己接下的工作，反而感覺更糟！

They were more anxious, and they kept doubting their decision.

他們比較焦慮，也一直懷疑自己的決定。

Options seem endless, so we assume the perfect one exists.

選項好像無窮無盡，所以我們就以為一定有完美的那一個。

We can't stop thinking that another choice might have been better.

我們總是忍不住會想，換個選擇說不定會更好。

These days, I've become a proud satisficer.

現在的我，是個很自豪的滿足者。

I choose three options, and I give myself one evening.

我只挑3個選項，然後給自己一個晚上。

Last month, I bought a new laptop in under an hour!

上個月，我不到1小時就買了一台新筆電！

It probably isn't the best one, but I love it.

它可能不是最好的，但我超喜歡。

If you had only three options, you'd decide in minutes,

如果你們只有3個選項，幾分鐘就能決定，

and you'd probably feel happier, too.

而且大概也會更快樂。

So next time you're stuck, make your list shorter.

所以下次你們卡住的時候，就把清單縮短一點吧。

Good enough is often exactly what we need.

「夠好就好」，常常正是我們需要的。

Thank you, and good luck with your next choice!

謝謝大家，祝你們下次做選擇都順利！