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essays to independent evaluators to rate. Their findings: the essays of the group with the limited choice

were better both in terms of content and language! (ibid)

Applications in the field of ELT: So here is the key idea: On the one hand, choice is a motivational

element. Having choice means we exercise control over at least some aspects of our lives and we like that

(Nettle 2005). What is counter-intuitive however, is that having too much choice is actually bad (Schwartz

2005). Too much choice leads to decision fatigue, which is one form of ego depletion (Baumeister &

Tierney 2012) The process of choosing (e.g. an essay topic) wears us out, so we have less will-power to

devote to other things (e.g. the quality of our work). So what does all this mean for us? Simply put, when

it comes to choice, very often less is more! But what does that mean in practice?

Topics / Readers / Strategies etc:As the study clearly demonstrated, too many choices can backfire.

Indeed, even two may be one too many! In another study, researchers gave students two articles to read;

one was interesting but long while the other was short but dull. The difficulty in choosing between the

two led to essays which were of poorer quality compared to others by students who were simply told towrite about one of the two (Thomson et al 2009). So as teachers it might make sense to limit the options

we give students. Readers are a good case in point: too great a range and students may exhaust themselves

before they even get to the first page!

Web sites: In the past, site-designers were so keen to

display the wealth of their material that the result was

often off-putting for first-time visitors. Now things have

changed for the better. Compare for instance the interface

of English Central 1 with the video-zone of Learn

English Teens 2. In the former you are faced with 20

choices, while in the latter with 4. My hunch is that

ceteris paribus, people will find it easier to click on one of

the four choices...

Deadlines: Intending to prove that a democratic

approach to setting deadlines was the best, Ariely split his

students into three groups; the first set deadlines for

themselves, the second had no deadlines except for the

final one and for the last group Ariely set the deadlines

himself. Alas, he was disappointed; it was the last group

that got the best results (Ariely & Werthenbroch 1999) Now that would seem to argue in favour ofauthoritarianism in education, but this is not the case; what it does seem to show is that there are trade-

offs. Forcing people to make decisions about every little thing can be counter-productive.

Make up your mind fast!: Ariely (2008 Ch. 8) has also conducted some fascinating experiments

proving that because of loss aversion we tend to want to keep all our options open for as long as possible

(we want to keep our husband but we also string our lover along! ) The more we think about our

options, the more this drains us. So, if we give our students some choice, it might make sense to force

them to make up their minds as quickly as possible! Once they have committed themselves, this

depletion disappears. What is more, research shows that once we have decided, we tend to like our

choice more! (Gilbert 2007)

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NBA word of warning:Little things make a big difference. Once people are used to a certain range of

choice, it is generally inadvisable to change the terms of the contract by offering them less. Cialdini

(2001) warns us that this might trigger a mechanism called psychological reactance. We like exercising

control and we hate it when someone takes it away. The moral: if there are going to be some restrictions,

it is vital that they be made clear from the start!

Pick a guy any guy!:There have been numerous

studies on the incapacitating side-benefits of choice.

We want people to have a choice of investment

options when thinking about retirement, yet

researchers have found that for every additional 10

programmes offered, participation goes down by 2%

(Iyengar et al in Mitchell & Utkus 2004) More

worryingly, when doctors were faced with the choice

of giving a patient a particular type of medication

(instead of opting for surgery) 47% went for it. When

they were offered two types of medication however, the rate fell to 28%!! (Schwartz 2000) So here is a

final tip: if you are going to attend a speed-dating event, keep the following fact in mind: you are more

likely to end up with a match if you are meeting 8 would-be dates that if you are going to meet 20!

(Fisman et al 2006)

1 http://www.englishcentral.com/videos#!/index/all/all/popular/0

2

http://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org/freetime

References

1. Ariely, D. & Werthenbroch, K. Doing it Now or Later (1999) American Economic Review2. Ariely, D. Predictably Irrational HarperCollins 20083. Baumeister, R. & Tierney, J. Willpower Allen Lane 2012 4. Cialdini, R. Influence Science and Practice, Allyn & Bacon 20015. Fisman, R, Iyengar, S. S., Kamenica, E. & Simonson, I. (2006) "Gender Differences in Mate Selection:

Evidence from a Speed Dating Experiment" Quarterly Journal of Economics, 121(2), 673-697

6. Gilbert, D. Stumbling on Happiness Harper Perennial 20077. Iyengar, S. S., & Lepper, M. R. (2000) "When Choice is Demotivating: Can One Desire Too Much of a

Good Thing?" Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 79, 995-1006

8. Mitchell O. S. & Utkus, S. [eds] "Pension Design and Structure: New Lessons from Behavioural Finance(pp. 83-97) Oxford University Press

9. Nettle, D. Happiness Oxford 200510. Schwartz, B. "Self-Determination: The Tyranny of Freedom" (2000) American Psychologist 55: 79-8811. Schwartz, B. The Paradox of Choice HarperCollins 2005 12.

Thompson, D. V., Hamilton, R. & Petrova, P. K. (2009) "When mental simulation hinders behaviour: Theeffects of outcome- versus process-oriented thinking on decision difficulty and subsequent

performance" Journal of Consumer Research, 36, 562-574

http://www.englishcentral.com/videos#!/index/all/all/popular/0http://www.englishcentral.com/videos#!/index/all/all/popular/0http://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org/freetimehttp://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org/freetimehttp://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org/freetimehttp://www.englishcentral.com/videos#!/index/all/all/popular/0