Several months ago I wrote about the Cynefin Model and the benefits of keeping things simple to the decision-making process. And a large part of decision making has to do with choice, or more accurately, the number of choices we have. Enter the “psychology of choice.”
To understand this, we need to go back to 1943 and Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, which presents Maslow’s Pyramid, a representation of human need in which self-actualization (the desire for personal fulfillment) sits atop the pyramid, followed by esteem, social, safety, and psychological needs. Our psychological needs include food and water and sit at the foundation of the pyramid. Maslow’s theory is that as society progresses toward the top of the pyramid, as we no longer need to concern ourselves with the hunt for food and locating of water, we are free to turn our energies toward shelter, protection, social interaction and finally our well-being and happiness.