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The Woman Behind the Science of Too Many Choices

Too Many Choices, Sheena Iyengar
Illustration of Sheena Iyengar by Kirby Salvador

Sheena Iyengar (1969–)

Sheena Iyengar is known as one of the leading experts on the psychology of choice. Her now famous “jam study” found that when we are faced with too many choices, we become paralyzed and are unable to make a decision at all, challenging the social construct that more options are better for the consumer. A professor of business at Columbia Business School, her 2010 book “The Art of Choosing” takes a more in-depth look at the decisions we make, why we make them and the profound consequences they have on every aspect of our lives. The book was shortlisted for the 2010 Financial Times and Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year Award.

“The expansion of choice has become an explosion of choice.” —Sheena Iyengar

Born and raised in Chicago, Kirby Salvador is a New York-based illustrator specializing in fictional cities and the human figure. kirbysalvador.com

This feature originally appeared in the Minimalism issue.