The illusion of choice, what does that even mean?
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The illusion of choice is about inducing a senses of control and a target person’s feeling of choice, even when it may not be real or substantial in relation to that feeling.
A simple example is that I might have a different experience as an employee if I think I have access to a lot of other jobs, whereas I might not enjoy _the exact same job_ if I think it’s the only one I can have. If it’s the availability of _choice_ that creates my difference in the experience of thing that is otherwise unchanged then that is “the illusion of choice”.
More subtle is putting people into what many call “a decision box”. Imagine you’re experiencing a sales conversation in a clothing store. The question on your mind is “do I need anything “. The sales person moves to push you into a decision box that is “are you looking for something for 2pm on Monday or something for 10pm on Friday?”. This reframes things to a more favorable “choice” for the seller, but if you still feel like you’re in charge here compared to the original choice you’re…..not…you’ve just experienced an illusion of choice which you still feel like you’re in control, but the sense of still having control over choice has actually removed a a whole layer of choice making.
You make something think that they can make meaningful choices, but then it turns out that nothing they actually choose matters and they get the same result no matter what.
If I tell someone that they can reach into box 1, box 2, box 3 or box 4 and grab a present, they’re going to think that each box will have something different inside. That the choice of which box to open matters. But if they open them all up and find that every box is full of apples, then the choice of which box to choose from didn’t really matter after all. You just created the illusion that their choice mattered.
That means you can make a choice, but there are no consequences to the choice you make. Either way, the outcome will be the same. Video games are normally a good example of this. In many RPGs your character is faced with a choice, but your choice doesn’t affect the end of the game.
A simple straightforward example is being given a choice of two doors however both doors lead to the same room.
For a video game example; sometimes you are given a choice of paths and, like the doors, both of those paths lead to the same conclusion. This is often used as a criticism of games with choices.
I think the easiest way to explain it is with dominos. You set up a row of dominos and push one and they all fall in the way they do. But if you were to do it over in the exact same way, the dominos would still fall and have the same end result. So on the scale of the universe and time, if the Big Bang were to happen again in the same way, wouldn’t you still do the exact same things you did?
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