In an Interview with Forbes India, Sheena Iyengar, Network member and S.T. Lee Professor of Business at Columbia Business School, discussed “how we choose, why choice has its limitations, how different cultures see choice and the implications of her research.”
In response to a question on people’s lack of understanding regarding how choice really works, Iyengar argues:
“I think that one of the biggest [issues] no matter where you go is that people donʼt know how to choose. We would all be better off if we spend more time teaching our children how to choose. No matter where you go in the world, parents focus a lot of energy on telling children what to choose. We all know that 20 years from now, the world is going to look very different. There is actually no point in teaching your children what to choose because those choices are probably not going to be relevant. Let us just teach them how to choose. How to choose means of thinking through consequences and trade-offs. People have a very hard time with that. They are not wired to think that way.”
