Maximizers - as Irrational as We are Led to Believe?

"The majority of people want more control in their lives, but the majority of people want simpler lives" - Barry Schwartz in The Paradox of Choice

Welcome my friends to the consumer's paradox.  Let's just hope you're not a maximizer. 

Upon reading the first few pages of Barry Schwartz's the Paradox of Choice I started to become overwhelmed.  The entire first chapter is dedicated to all the decisions we have to make in our daily life.  I quickly became aware that I am a "maximizer".  

Let's back up.  What's the difference between a maximizer and a satisficer anyway?  

The maximizer are just that - they are only happy if they get the beset option out there.  They will spend hours researching all different options to make sure the one they end up choosing is the indeed best.  According to Schwartz (a satisficer) "The goal of a maximizer leads to a dissatisfied life."

Satisficers are the other way around.  They are okay with the first pair of jeans they try on, and see no value in spending all that time researching the options.  They can move on after making a decision, unlike a maximizer who would most likely lose their enjoyment in a decision once they find out there was a better one out there.  Generally (or so Schwartz preaches) satisficers lead a happier life.     

Should Schwartz have his way - the maximizers in the world would spend less time making decisions and more time making the important decisions.  Perhaps my view is skewed (because at my core I am a maximizer), but I think his view of maximizers is a bit naive and....well biased.

I have an acquaintance who lives in Pasadena, California.  He is a full time lawyer by day, and a jazz guitarist by night.  He has perhaps the most sophisticated taste I know in the things of music, food, and drinks.  Schwartz would argue that my friend wastes too much time every time he wants a cup of coffee.  He'll go out of his way to get a simple cup of coffee, through doing intense research before evening going out his door.  Schwartz preaches that my friend should just be fine enough with a simple drip coffee at Starbucks.  But I've seen first hand the amount of joy my friend gets when he tastes that cup of coffee.  Regardless is the coffee is indeed better (or just better because of his expectations), he LOVES that cup.  And he'll be the first to admit it - he can't be happy with a Starbucks drip coffee.  He just can't.  

Thinking economically, my friend is perfectly maximizing and behaving rationally.  It would be irrational of us who are fine with a Starbucks drip coffee to force our tastes on him, because our way is better.  Some people are fine with Starbucks.  Some are not.  And that's OK.