Is There In Choice No Beauty? Motivation for Choosing Moderates Choice Overload

Some research suggests that increasing the number of options may be harmful for consumers by increasing their difficulty with choosing, which increases their likelihood of experiencing regret. However, other research suggests that increasing the number of options may also be beneficial by satisfying consumers' diverse tastes and variety-seeking needs. Thus, it isn't clear whether - or when - more choice would be harmful or beneficial for consumers. I propose that the motivation for choosing as either extrinsic or intrinsic impacts consumers' satisfaction with the chosen option differently. For extrinsic choices where consumers are choosing an option to achieve some separable consequence, more choice increases the difficulty with choosing, which decreases satisfaction. For intrinsic choices where consumers are choosing an option for its inherent rewards, more choice increases the autonomy from choosing, which increases satisfaction. Crucially, this difficulty or autonomy occurs because consumers perceive variety with more choice, even though more choice does not necessarily mean a greater objective amount of variety. I conclude by discussing how understanding the motivation for choosing has implications for researchers and marketers who study or provide choice to consumers.Ph.D