Salon.com features an interview with Columbia University business professor Sheena Iyengar, whose new book, “The Art of Choosing”, examines the way our personal expectations influence American thinking about personal choice.

She explains that Americans are asked to think about choices, from topics such as what we want to eat to what we want to be when we grow up, from a very early age, because we value self-expression and “in this country, self expression is primarily exercised through personal choice”. Other countries she discusses stress following directions in early childhood, not the independence and personal choice of America.

So, why is this important? Well, she also notes that having too many choices can lead to issues, whether it is ‘bad choices’ or outcomes that were not intended. While she only deals with the possible political and social implications on Salon (not surprising), the Editorial Review on amazon.com (Publishers Weekly) cites a case from her own research where shoppers shown 24 jams were only 1/10 as likely to purchase as those who were shown only six. In this case, the size of the consideration set did matter and certainly, the size or set-up of a shelf set is not something that should be causing consumers to turn away.

It’s not clear from the article or the review why certain choices, at least in the consumer arena, cause people to not buy or buy “incorrectly”. Whether it is lack of information, lack of brand or flavor preference or price differential, there’s not the information here to make that determination. But, it’s something that brands who are looking to expand their consumer consideration set should, well, consider.