New Frontiers in Behavioural Science: When is Choice a Paradox? The evolution of choice theory

Looks at how our understanding of choice has, and is, continuing to develop so that the amount of choice on offer can be tailored in the optimum ways, depending on the context, and even the person.

Introduction

Choice is a hot topic in behavioural science. In fact, whether people prefer more or less choice has been debated for many years, though the debate originally began by considering the choices of a donkey. In the 14th century, the French philosopher, Jean Burridan suggested that a donkey facing a choice between two piles of hay – two equally tempting options – would delay the choice, a conundrum sometimes known as “Buridan’s ass”.1

In this article, the fifth in our series on the new frontiers of behavioural science, we look at how our understanding of choice has, and...

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