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In marketing, there's something called 'the paradox of choice.' The theory goes (and there's some decent research to back this up) that if you give people too m
by hluska 14y ago
In marketing, there's something called 'the paradox of choice.' The theory goes (and there's some decent research to back this up) that if you give people too much choice, it decreases the probability that they will make any decision.
- yen223 14y agoThis explains the popularity of the iPhone and the iPad right?
- hobonumber1 14y agoNot necessarily. I don't know if it applies to products. I feel for products, since you get to hold them in your hands, its a much more subjective decision. With a website, you are only relying on your sense of sight to make decisions. With a product, you can use all 5 senses (maybe not taste, haha!). Does that make sense?
- wonderzombie 14y agoDidn't one of the original studies involve choices of jam at a supermarket? Seems like it applies equally well to products. Compare and contrast the number of iPhone or iPad models with the rest of their respective industries. They're delineated along good/better/best and the tradeoffs are obvious. It's a lot easier to shop for an iPad than it is an arbitrary laptop.
- daemin 14y agoIt would apply in the way that there is only one iPad or iPod branded device from one company, which has marketed it as the only thing in its category. While on the other hand there is a plethora of various Android based tablets with many differing features, hence leading to confusion and analysis paralysis.
- hobonumber1 14y agoActually, there's a theory very similar to that in UI/UX design. Menus that are too large often intimidate the user and cause them to bounce out of the site.
- hluska 14y agoAnd here I thought I was creative for applying it to UX...thanks for this! :)
- itomek 14y agoReading your comment, I immediately had two thoughts: 1. Apple 2. Communism
- omni 14y agoThis is general psychology and applies just as well to product design as it does to marketing. Too much choice can be a bad thing both because it clutters up the flow of your product and because humans just aren't very good at picking their optimal set of choices. You wouldn't release a Twitter clone to the public that required you to check 100 yes/no feature boxes just to set up an account.