I'm Barry Schwartz, a professor of psychology, author, and TED speaker. I specialize in decision-making and motivation. AMA!

I work as a waiter and when customers are torn between two items I always ask them one thing:

1) "If you had one of those items already in mind before you came here then you should go with that it"

how is this right? how is it wrong?

I think the critical additional thing for you to do is to bolster their confidence in the decision they came in with. When we feel good about a decision, we usually then interpret the resulting experience positively.

What makes people unmotivated?

Lots of things, but I'd focus on lack of respect from supervisors, lack of a sense that the work makes someone else's life better, lack of autonomy and discretion

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Thanks for writing. I'm sorry to hear about your struggles. My guess (only a guess) is that if you set extremely modest incremental goals (eg, 30 seconds more today than yesterday), you may be able to push yourself to do the work. That said, I have no idea whether for someone in your condition, more is always better than less, which your doctor seems to be suggesting

Another thought: there may well be trainers who specialize in this sort of thing who may be able to give you a more moderate exercise program. There may also be an online community of people in roughly your condition who can provide useful tips based on their own experience

any advice on how to overcome social anxiety?

Sorry, no. That's not my area of expertise.

What do you think about someone listening to music while working? Recently, my employer has been cracking down on workers listening to music while at work. I have always been engaged with my work, and felt the sound of music drowned out the multitude of other noisy machines.

My view is that this is foolish regimentation on the part of your employer. Some people are quite distracted by things like music. Others are helped to zone in. If employers assume that employyes are trying to do a good job, they'll give the employees discretion in how they do that job.

And here I am feeling the opposite, employer let's the crew blast loud music all day and I find it incredibly distracting with no escape.

This is what my gym is like, and it seems worse than pointless, since everyone who wants music brings their own

Professor: You and Sheena Iyengar really started the conversation around "less is more." But obviously ideas around decision theory have evolved to acknowledge that it's a little more complicated than that. At the same time, companies are becoming more and more obsessed with the idea of reducing decisions in everything from entertainment to e-commerce.

So, I have a multi-part question:

[1] Are there any currently-progressing studies in which you're particularly interested in the outcome? Any writers/thinkers you're paying attention to when it comes to decision theory?

[2] Any thoughts on what Big Data means for decision theory?

[3] What do you think we're all getting wrong about "reducing" decisions?

Good question. 'Less-is-more' IS complicated. There are certainly boundary conditions as well as individual differences. That said, I have little doubt that the phenomenon is real. I'm not such a big fan of 'big' data. You need to be asking the right questions of it. It won't just provide important information unaided by smart interrogators. And I think that given the culture's bias that more choice is always better than less, the push to reduce choice and simplify decisions is a good one, even if it is sometimes carried too far.

Do you have an example, based on where the research is today, of when less is more and when it's carried too far?

Actually I don't, ecept for a couple of lab studies that showed that when you reduce options too much (eg., 3 or 4 pens to choose from instead of 10 or more), choice is reduced. There seems to be a "sweet spot" that, in the studies that have been published, is between 8-10 options.

Also, do you have an example of big data being used inappropriately?

Not off the top of my head.

I have to go everyone. Thanks for your interest. Barry

How do motivations to work differ most between varying countries?

I don't know a lot about this interesting question except that there are differences between so-called "individualist" countries (the west) and "collectivist" countries 9eeg., east Asia). Collectivist countries have people who are mostly focused on the team.

What do you think of the annual employee review system that corporate America seems to love?

I think that reviews/feedback are a good thing but the point should be to help employees get better at what they do. When you tie reviews to compensation, you create an unhelpful "game the system" dynamic.

Are you familiar with James Carse's 'Finite and Infinite Games"?

Finite games are discrete activities like board games or races. Infinite games are open-ended, like conversations or evolution.

I find that it's a good complement to the principles of sufficiency and mastery.

People can approach board games with 'gimme the gist of it' or 'I will defeat you at any cost'. Just like conversations can be about the weather or the purpose of existence.

Understanding which approach people are taking to either 'game' hugely informs how to interact with them; their needs and desired outcome.

So my question: are you familiar with his work? Am I crazy to think that it complements your own?

I know the distinction you're making but I've never read on this topic. It is perhaps critical to point out that the open-endedness applies not just to the "moves" in the game, but to the goals.

What would be the best way to get rid of irrationality or randomness in decision-making that everyone suffers (I hope) in a varying degree?

One thing to do is to slow down and think through your process. Don't just go with your gut. A second is to involve other people, who may see things different;y than you do, in the decision