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Stories of choice in India and the USCultural differences will ensure that consumer choices in India will never become identical to

ones that prevail in western markets

Krishna Savani, Nicole M. Stephens & Hazel Rose Markus

Choice has become a central aspect of middle-and upper-class life in many societies in the

modern world. Even in India, due to rapid economic development in the past decade, the

practice and discourse of choice has become increasingly prominent. But what are the

consequences of the proliferation of choice in modern society? Is the act of choosing a

universal good, the route to individual freedomor are there limits to the benefits that choice

has to offer? Might choice have some negative consequences for society that have until now

not been recognized?

Extensive research in experimental psychology has found that choice has positive outcomes

for individuals: Americans with more opportunities to choose are more motivated, happier,healthier, and better able to cope with life challenges than those with fewer choices. For

example, in one study, American children who were given a choice among activitiesin this

case, a choice among puzzles to work onwere more engaged and spent more time solving

the puzzles than children who were asked to do the same puzzle without being offered a

choice.

Choice clearly has benefits for individuals, but what about its effects on society, or onpeoples relationships and perceptions of others? Our research reveals that choice has a

number of previously unrecognized negative consequences for society.

In a series of experiments, we found that when Americans are exposed to the idea of choice,they are more likely to oppose public policies that promote societal benefits, such as reducing

environmental pollution and obesity. Choice also makes Americans more likely to blame

people for uncontrollable negative life events (such as people who get into an accident or

who have a heart attack), and even reduces their empathy for disadvantaged others.

Research in India, however, reveals that choice has neither the same positive consequences

for individuals, nor the same negative consequences for society. For example, research by

Ritu Tripathi at the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore, and Daniel Cervone at the

University of Illinois at Chicago examined whether choice motivates Indians to work on a

task. They found that Indian corporate professionals were willing to volunteer as much as 25

minutes for an unpaid online task when they were directed to volunteer as much time as

possible, but only 5 minutes when they were asked to choose how much time they wanted to

volunteer. The researchers argue that performing ones duties and meeting obligations is

more energizing for Indians than focusing on personal choice.

While Tripathi and Cervone showed that the positive consequences of choice do not occur in

India, we tested whether or not the negative consequences of choice applied to Indian

settings. While our research found that thinking in terms of choice makes Americans less

sympathetic toward a poor child, upon conducting the same experiment in India, we found

that choice did not reduce Indian students empathy.

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Why does choice have such different consequences, both positive and negative, in the West

and in India? We suspect that differing cultural ideas about what it means to be a good person

is at the root. In the US, choice, self-expression, personal control and independence are

defining features of what it means to be a good, normal, or ideal person. Given that choice in

the US is tied to ideas of individual freedom and personal responsibility, choice may lead

Americans to focus on individuals or their own personal actions and to pay less attention tothe larger society.

In India, in contrast to the US, individuality, independence, and personal self-expression have

not been historically significant concerns. Instead, Joan Miller, a psychologist at the New

School of Social Research, has shown that many Indians are more concerned about meeting

their responsibilities and obligations to other people than in expressing themselves through

unique choices.

With Indias rapid economic development in the past decade, however, the proliferation of

choice is expanding significantly. Indians with disposable income have more and more

choices available to them every year.

For example, while Mumbai had only one modern mall in the year 2000 (the Crossroads Mall

in Haji Ali), more than 125 malls were either already constructed or being constructed in

Mumbai in 2010. Not only are Indians making more and more consumer choices, choice is

becoming increasingly prominent in the nations public discourse. Kingfisher | Airlines

slogan says, The choice is simple, while Rajnigandha advertises flavoured tobacco by

claiming that it is The choice of young India. The telephone giant Airtel goes a step

further by urging customers to Express themselves through their choices.

The expanding practice and discourse of choice in India raises an important question: What

changes might the proliferation of choice produce in India, both for individuals and for

society as a whole?

Despite there being more choices for Indians, our research indicates that choice still means

something quite different for Indians than it does for Americans. As it is now, choice in India

does not have the same associations with independence, personal responsibility, and control.

As a consequence, choice in India has neither the positive consequences for individuals, nor

the negative consequences for society.

We believe this could be because choice is a relatively new focus for Indians. The concept of

choice is probably not very salient to individual and collective consciousness in Indiansociety right now, but may acquire significance over time. It is up to Indians to discern what

meaning they give to choicewhether they use choice to further their individual goals

without concern for society or whether they use choice to motivate their decisions for long-

term societal welfare.

Krishna Savani, Nicole M. Stephens & Hazel Rose Markus are, respectively, adjunct

assistant professor at Graduate School of Business, Columbia University, assistant professor

at Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, and professor in behavioural

sciences at Stanford University.

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