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BY MENGHAN JIN

In print | Published February 18, 2010

Professor of Psychology Barry Schwartz will banter with Emmy and Peabody Award-winning political satirist Stephen Colbert on March 4.

Schwartz, who is the Dorwin P. Cartwright Professor of Social Theory and Social Action, is set to discuss his book “The Paradox of Choice: Why More is Less” on Comedy Central’s late night talk show “The Colbert Report.”

“The subject of my book is that although being able to make choices is essential to human life, when people have too many choices to make, three bad things happen,” Schwartz said. “First, we get paralyzed, we can’t choose; second, if we overcome paralysis, we often choose badly, because it’s too complicated; third, if we overcome paralysis and manage to choose well, we are less satisfied with the choice than we would have been if the set of options was smaller.”

Having already made appearances on “NewsHour” with Jim Lehrer on PBS, CBS Sunday Morning and various radio shows, Schwartz said that he feels comfortable discussing the issues presented in his book on television.

What will be an obstacle for Schwartz, however, will be handling the personality of Stephen Colbert for approximately five minutes in front of a live audience — a novel experience for the psychologist.

“What everyone tells me is the worst mistake you can make is to try to be funny. Let the professional do that and just answer the questions as straight as you can, if he lets you,” Schwartz said.

The fake persona that Colbert adopts on the show is one of an energized right-wing analyst who fuses worldly issues with humor.

“The strategy I’ve heard recommended is you shouldn’t try. Just present your material and Stephen Colbert will do his thing, but in the end, the knowledge will get out there,” said Professor Andrew Ward, chair of the psychology department.

Guests on the show never know what questions to expect from the host, though some form of a “gotcha” question is usually thrown out, said Associate Professor of Linguistics K. David Harrison, who appeared on “The Colbert Report” in 2007.

There to discuss endangered languages, Harrison was caught off-guard when Colbert asked him whether he was planning on translating his book, “Why Languages Die,” into any dying languages.

“I couldn’t really answer that question,” Harrison said, remembering the experience. “No, the answer is no, but it sounds silly: If you’re advocating for endangered languages, why wouldn’t you translate your book into those languages?”

Schwartz saw no way that he could prepare for the show in the next couple of weeks, except occasionally thinking about possible scenarios. So far, he has only been briefed about the day and time of his appearance, not about particular issues that Colbert wishes to discuss.

“Given [Colbert’s] persona, I assume he’s going to come at me as being un-American and anti-capitalist, because choice is the best thing in the world. That’s what I’m anticipating, but he could surprise me,” Schwartz said.

With academic interests ranging from issues such as decision-making to the role of ideology in assessing psychological theories, Schwartz has already published several books, including “The Costs of Living: How Market Freedom Erodes the Best Things in Life” (2004), “Learning and Memory” (1991) and “The Battle for Human Nature: Science, Morality and Modern Life” (1987).

But the main focus of Schwartz’s appearance on “The Colbert Report” will be on his most recent book published in 2004, “The Paradox of Choice,” which intertwines areas of psychology and economics.

Schwartz argues that Americans are offered too many choices on a daily basis and that the decision-making process that ensues expends too much of our energy and time.

He doubts that this five-minute interview will further his career in any significant way, but he does anticipate that his appearance will sell a couple more copies of “The Paradox of Choice.”

“Any time that you have an opportunity to get psychological wisdom out into the public sphere, assuming it’s done in a legitimate fashion, that’s generally a worthwhile endeavor,” Ward said.

But the prospect of facing Stephen Colbert is still a bit daunting for the psychology professor of 29 years. “His main aim is to make you look like an idiot, so yes, I’m a little bit nervous,” Schwartz said.

Past and present students of Schwartz are optimistic about his upcoming interview.

“If anything, Colbert should be on his toes,” said Melissa Cruz ’10, a psychology major.

Schwartz’s future plans to appear on television after The Colbert Report are uncertain. “I’m just waiting for Oprah to call, before she goes off the air,” he said.

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