n.
Terminology | Expectation-disconfirmation

A skewed perception that causes us to believe that More options means a better chance of finding the perfect choice

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The expectations from our choices become increasingly higher the more options we have available to us. We thus become more confident in the variety of choices in our disposal, feeling and believing that, somewhere in the bunch, we will be able to find the best option (or one which will fit all of our needs). This is one of the biggest influences on the issue of choice overload. It raises our expectations up much higher than they would be if given less variety, and simply sets us up for bigger disappointment.

Expectation-Disconfirmation

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Designed & built by: Zohar Pomerantz |  Special thanks to: Assaf Dov Cohen and Polar Team

The belief that more choice, and so more freedom, is a good thing is actually incorrect —

Choice is a real struggle when there's so much of it. The more options to choose from simply leaves us feeling overwhelmed, while having direct consequences on our mental wellbeing. This can lead to an increase in anxiety and depression, in decreased satisfaction, and regret over the choices we have already made. This issue is most commonly known as choice overload or “The Burden of Choice.”

The Project:

This project was born from personal experience, of wanting to learn more about my own decision anxiety and the reasons for why I suffer from it. Off the start, while researching the subject, I began to realize just how many other people are influenced by this same anxiety, yet feel alone in it, unaware of the existence of 'choice overload.' More so than that, while educating myself on the subject I began to feel disorientated - all the information available was scattered among different platforms, hidden in tiresome textual formats that would cause the average person to abandon the effort of learning altogether. “The Burden of Choice” was designed as a solution to these problems, creating a visual platform to expose users to the issue— providing a place to experience and learn more about it, while giving the issue the proper acknowledgment and recognition that it deserves.