Course

We take it for granted that the more options we have, the better off we are. Though there is no doubt that choice is good, this course will show that there can be too much of this good thing. And when there is, we feel paralyzed rather than liberated, and are dissatisfied with even good decisions. This is especially true if our aim in making decisions is to get the "best." This class will discuss the various psychological processes that make unlimited choice a very mixed blessing.

Faculty Bio

Barry Schwartz is the Dorwin Cartwright Emeritus Professor of Social Theory and Social Action at Swarthmore College where he taught for 40 years, and a visiting professor at Berkeley Haas. His work focuses on the intersection of psychology and economics. A popular lecturer, his TED Talks have been viewed by more than 25 million people.

This is an In-Person, Livestreamed + Recorded Course

• Classes will meet in person at the Golden Bear Center, Suite 365 (3rd floor), at 1995 University Ave., Berkeley
• Classes will stream live simultaneously, and be video recorded
• You must be a current OLLI @Berkeley member to register. Learn about membership, including our fee assistance program.

Schedule Highlights

• Course starts on Tuesday, Jan. 20, and ends on Tuesday, Feb. 24
• Classes meet for 6 weeks, 2 hours per session (10–noon)
• All course materials will remain in Member Dashboards through March 29

Member Praise for Barry Schwartz

I loved Prof. Schwarz’s enthusiastc, lively lectures and very much appreciated his real life examples of decisionmaking that made the topic so relevant to our lives. He brought what I anticipated as a dull topic to life and made it very engaging! Excellent lecturer!!!

All material covered was interesting, relevant and deeply thought-provoking. I was greatly impressed at how clear and simple such complicated topics could be explored and presented so successfully to an audience with a widely differing background in all topics covered.

Faculty Interview

• Read an interview with Barry Schwartz from our archive.