For Immediate ReleaseSeptember 20, 2000
Contact: Alisa Giardinelli610.690.5717 [email protected]http://www.swarthmore.edu/Home/News
Presidential Candidate Bush Says More Choice in People's Lives Is Good, But Research Suggests Exact Opposite
In his presidential campaign, George W. Bush says Americans will benefit from more choice in their lives, specifically with regard to social security, prescription drugs, and school vouchers. Research by a Swarthmore College psychology professor shows the opposite might be true -- though people want lots of choice, it doesn't make them better off.
"When self-determination is carried to extremes, it leads not to freedom of choice but to tyranny of choice," says psychology professor Barry Schwartz, who has recently published research on this subject. "Unconstrained freedom can lead to paralysis and put people's welfare at risk by making them reluctant to choose and inducing them to choose unwisely. The campaign issues involving choice are of great importance, and the candidates differ on them in significant, consistent ways."
In a time when many Americans have a seemingly endless array of material, economic, and cultural choices, Schwartz says there is an explosive growth in the number of people experiencing clinical depression. He attributes this decrease in psychological well-being to three trends: increased expectations that suggest having more choices will lead to the perfect life; an American culture that is more individualistic than ever; and an emphasis on individual autonomy that undermines commitment to families and other social groups.
Schwartz's work explores the social and psychological effects of free-market economic institutions on moral, social, and civic concerns. In his 1994 book, The Costs of Living: How Market Freedom Erodes the Best Things in Life, Schwartz finds that market values undermine morals and community-building. More generally, Schwartz believes the much-cited hostility in public life in America is related to the erosion of community-oriented values in the market-obsessed society. His work has most recently appeared in the January, 2000, issue of American Psychologist, the journal of the American Psychological Association.
Located near Philadelphia, Swarthmore is a highly selective liberal arts college with an enrollment of 1,450. Swarthmore is ranked among the top liberal arts colleges in the country by U.S. News & World Report.
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