What do you think of this?
http://www.ted.com/talks/sheena_iyengar_on_the_art_of_choosing.html
I'm interested in how (or whether) you think this attitude shapes or defines our understanding of the arts. I have my own ideas about it, but I'll wait until there are a few comments on the wall here before chipping in.
I found this video very interesting because I never thought the art of choosing varied between different cultures and areas of the world. For example, the soda question in Western Europe. I never would have thought that an individual in a previously communist country would have seen seven different types of sodas as only one option. But, in the United States anyone would have seen seven different options, not just soda. I think in the United States, an individual is just so accustom to a multitude of options that he or she does not even think twice to the art of choosing. I think this positively shapes our ideas of the arts because individuals are more open to new ideas and new choices.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the video. I believe the video did a excellent job of illustrating the idea that we as human's have a vast array of choices we make everyday, often times noncontinuous or without knowing we are making these choices. Also I thought it was very interested how she broke down different cultures and how individual cultures make decisions much differently. I could diffidently connect with her when she was speaking about having tons of choices. Often times one would think having more choices as more beneficial, however having multiple choices can actually confuse people more by making them weary or unsure because the overload of choices and an inability to differentiate the similarities and differences
ReplyDelete-brandon
The anagram experiment was really interesting. It showed how performance suffered when a task was chosen for an individual as opposed to a task that the individual chose to perform. This shows the importance of freedom of expression and how human beings have natural preference towards choice over force or obligation. This idea actually reminds me of many creative course I have taken because I have wondered whether it would be easier to write a story based on a given prompt versus any idea we choose. I wonder if the results would be the same had the experiment used writing prompts instead of anagrams.
ReplyDeleteAlyssa Mattero
Alyssa, that's a really interesting idea. In my experience, though, it's been the total opposite: the more structured or restrictive the prompt, the more creative and diverse the written responses tend to be. My guess is that's because there's a real difference between an anagram puzzle (which just has to be "solved" - ie, the answer already exists) and a creative assignment (where there is no pre-existing "answer"). But I agree that it would be cool to try the experiment using a different kind of puzzle and see what happens. What do the rest of you think?
ReplyDeleteSheena Iyengar said that with more choices, people tend to make poorer decisions. To me, it has usually been a little easier creating a story that had a prompt for it, than to come up with my own idea. I always found that when I had to come up with the idea I would draw a blank, my possibilities were endless and yet, I couldn't think of one thing. According to Iyengar, that would tend to be the case, for too much choice can have negative affects on our decisions. I agree with her on many things but one in particular is how our upbringing influences our choices and how we perceive choice. Like most Americans, I believe in choice adamantly and that we always have it no matter what the circumstance. For example, when Iyengar asked her participants about the beverages, the Europeans with communist backgrounds all saw the sodas as one, either soda or no soda, so to them there was really only one choice. To me I can see their point of view as only being one choice, soda or no soda, probably because I drink tea, but my American side, if that is the cause, also sees that there were definitely seven different types of soda, therefore, seven different choices that could be made. There is always choice, even if what we decide is influenced by outsiders, the choice still remains.
ReplyDeleteJared Lincoln
I found the "soda" question which was asked to Russian participants very interesting. They looked at choosing between seven different soda flavors as only one choice, soda or no soda. This really drove home the idea that choice is looked at very differently from culture to culture. Something I never even considered before veiwing this video. Iyengar made feel somewhat guilty by the way that I would have looked at the same soda question, me seeing it as seven different choices between seven different flavors. But seriously, who puts sugar in their green tea?
ReplyDeleteSheena Iyengar delved into the battlefield of my mind. As a highly indecisive person, each day I am plagued by the constant stress-inducing task of decision-making. Since childhood, my parents always allowed me all available options that they believed were never offered to them in their youth. The most obvious of these was my attempts at roughly a dozen youth sports camps, to no avail. The idea of choice is very interesting to me, since I have a difficult time making decisions that range to what career field I would like to pursue to what I would like to drink. However, whenever I am not afforded options, I am annoyed. It is a horrible mentality, but nevertheless, it has shown me the value of such a simple thing as the opportunity to "choose our own adventures," no matter how trivial. In my own experiences, the difficulty encountered when making choices is that I may choose the wrong option and fail, with only myself to blame. I believe this may be an American mentality considering the quick-decision making skills of many people of other nations. I was impressed at the studies that were conducted regarding choice. Overall, I am still on the fence over her stance on choice - do we really benefit from the vast amount of choices we are afforded, or merely spoiled and handicapped by them? I think the answer lies with each individual.
ReplyDelete-Christine Mallari
I found this video to be very interesting. I never really thought about how many choices are available to us as Americans, and that other places around the world might not have to make as many choices as us. I am not sure where I lie with the subject--I like having choices but I do feel they can be dangerous at times. I think the more choices available to us, the more chances we have to make bad decisions. I wasn't sure if that was how the speaker felt also. I really liked her story about the baby that was put on life support. If I were a parent, I think it would be a lot easier to have someone else make that decision for you. However, I feel like if I was in the situation of the actual parents, I would probably want to be the one making the decision. However, then you would be left with the "what if" and guilt feelings. In the end I think it is a personal preference whether you like a lot of choices or one to pick from.
ReplyDelete-Sydney Gitelis
I really enjoyed watching this video. I agree with Sheena when she says that more options give us better choices. You may not be getting the best thing if you only have one option to choose from. You may not be choosing the best decision for youself or for other people. People see a difference in every option that they are given. For example, the soda. One person may see it as all being just soda, but another person may hate Coke and love Dr. Pepper, so they need options to see if their favorite soda is available for them to have. Also, when Sheena talked about the sugar in her tea in Japan I remembered how when my parents went to Japan two summers ago, they tried tipping the man who drove them to their destination and he got very upset. In Japan, tipping is seen as offensive and with my parents not knowing that, they made the choice to continue with American culture, thinking it was okay. Every culture may see a differences in the choices that are available.
ReplyDeleteIt's weird, because even though we are offered many choices, those different choices are being chosen for us. Like with all of those different sodas, there is a choice between those but your choices are limited to what someone has picked out. Someone else has already chosen the options to choose from.. If that makes any sense? The whole dilemma with too many choices and whether or not it is a positive thing makes me think of my major. With a communications major you have so many choices of what to do after graduation but in reality I would love to have a major that has a set outcome and career in the end. Too many choices can be stressful and overwhelming like she said in the video, but I would never want to live without that ability.
ReplyDeleteI found the examples Sheena Iyengar used in her speech to be pretty interesting. I especially enjoyed listening to her views on individual choices and how they affect (or are affected by) other people, especially whom you trust. The differences between persons of western and eastern descents are profound, but not surprising. I also enjoyed thinking about her argument that "the more choices you have, the more likely you are to make the right choice"... I agree and disagree. What makes me disagree is a psychological theory called the Paradox of Choice by Barry Schwartz. In its essence, the theory states that (especially in a capitalistic society) we have too many choices/decisions, which takes away time to focus on important things, like figuring out what we really "want". Interesting stuff!
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I have never thought about choices or how the United States has more choices than any other place in the world. What I found most interesting was how she said that the choices we have here are very overwhelming and at times there are just too many to choose from to make the right choice. It makes me think about all the times that I've gone to the gas station because I wanted something to snack on, like chocolate for example. It's pretty obvious thinking about it now that there is way too much to choose from. I find myself saying "I don't know" when trying to decide what I want because the choices are endless. It makes sense then that the U.S. would benefit greatly if we had less choices, that way I could always know what I want.
ReplyDeleteI thought that her experience with the different nail polishes was not only funny but interesting. I am glad that she was asked about how her blindness influences her studies. I think that we base a lot of our choices on aesthetic value instead of whether or not they are the right choice.
ReplyDeleteI also found it interesting about the anagram study. If I was told that my mother chose something for me, I would probably be less likely to want to participate for that fact alone.
I thought that this topic was really interesting and the Bonnie Tyler video was hilarious!
The first part part that i found very interesting was actually her first experiment when she compared the anglo-americans to the asian children. It was very shocking to see how different the results were because of the a cultural difference, or how the children were being raised. Where the anglo children were very individualistic, the asian children just did what they were told. The other interesting part was with the eastern European study. The part i liked was the idea of not liking choices. Everyone is like that in a way. Not just members of previous communist countries. I sometimes hate choices because if i make a choice, it might be the wrong one, especially when making big purchases like a car or something along those lines.
ReplyDeleteI've never given much thought to how I make choices, as I generally try to use logic in making decisions, putting as little emotion or personal preference into it as I can, though some still seeps in. As for the soda preference, I disagree with the participant who said all soda was the same, though I can see where he is coming from wanting also juice and water.
ReplyDeleteShe said Coke is better than Pepsi, which I disagree with. Though this is, I guess, some sort of personal preference, I find Coke to be far to acidic whereas Pepsi is more mild in its flavor. I've had many debates with my friends about this, and that has been the general consensus (though we find Cherry Coke to be better than Cherry Pepsi).
With bigger decisions, I choose by thinking logically about what would work best, such as when I chose my major as film. I've always been an actor and writer, and I chose film because I would learn how to direct and film, in case I ever had to do everything myself at some point. Logic according to my life.