Barry Schwartz
2015-05-25
Free Will & Agency

Maximizing, Satisficing and the Paradox of Choice with Barry Schwartz

A legend in the field, economic psychologist Barry Schwartz talks about how having too many options can be paralytic and tiresome to the human psyche. Schwartz also discusses the destructive force of an “only the best will do” mentality. We contemplate the implications of these concepts across topics like parenting consumerism, creativity, the prevalence of dissatisfaction in the modern world and what we can do to help ourselves.

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“Barry Schwartz is the Dorwin Cartwright Professor of Social Theory and Social Action in the psychology department at Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, where he has taught for thirty years. He is the author of several leading textbooks on the psychology of learning and memory, as well as a penetrating look at contemporary life, The Battle for Human Nature: Science, Morality, and Modern Life. Dr. Schwartz is married and has two children.” -Blurb taken from Amazon.com

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About the guest

Barry Schwartz

Podcast Guest

Barry Schwartz is an American psychologist and professor emeritus of social theory and social action at Swarthmore College. He is the author of The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less, which argues that an abundance of options can increase anxiety and dissatisfaction.

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