How We Choose Varies by Culture

New book examines 'The Art of Choosing,' from marriage partners to candy bars

29 March 2010

Every human being makes thousands, perhaps millions, of choices over the course of a lifetime, and each one has some kind of personal and social impact.

"Choice is essentially the only tool we have that enables us to go from who we are today to who we want to be tomorrow," says Sheena Iyengar, whose book, "The Art of Choosing," sums up over 15 years of her research on the subject.

Iyengar examines how we make important life decisions, like who to marry, as well as seemingly trivial choices such as which kind of candy bar or soft drink to buy.

Greg MartinSheena Iyengar, author of 'The Art of Choosing'

"Choice is what enables us to do things," says Iyengar. She believes the universal values of love of freedom and control over one's life and surroundings, inform all of our choice-making decisions.

"No human being says, 'enslave me.' No country says, 'conquer me.' We all look to choice to give us control." Iyengar believes how that control gets practiced and exercised in our lives is culturally determined. "We are taught from the moment we're born how to think about choice and how to practice it."

Desire to choose is universal, how we choose varies by culture

A 1995 psychology experiment Iyengar conducted with American and Japanese university students bears out her point.