Too much of a good thing?

Our natural inclinations tell us that the more information we have, the better decisions we can make, according to the author. However, thanks to one grocery store study, the opposite might be true. Read how a jam taste test proves that information overload can actually stymie a fraud examination.

In 2005, Sheena Iyengar, a professor of business at Columbia University, set up a taste-testing table at a gourmet supermarket in California. Customers were met with either a selection of 24 different jams to taste or a selection of six jams to taste depending on when they walked through the store.

When 24 samples were made available, 60 percent of patrons stopped at the table to sample the jam and to receive a $1 coupon. Alternatively, 40 percent of patrons stopped when six samples were presented. Considering more customers stopped when there were more samples, it'd seem likely that having a greater number of jams to taste would lead to a higher sales percentage.

In fact, the opposite was true. Thirty percent of customers purchased a jar from the table with six jams while only 3 percent of customers purchased a jar from the table with 24 samples. (See Too Many Choices: A Problem That Can Paralyze, by Alina Tugend, The New York Times, Feb. 26, 2010.)