Barry Schwartz

Dorwin P. Cartwright Professor of Social Theory and Social Action

Schwartz's work explores the social and psychological effects of free-market economic institutions on moral, social, and civic concerns. In his book The Costs of Living: How Market Freedom Erodes the Best Things in Life, Schwartz finds that market values undermine morals and community-building. More generally, Schwartz is able to discuss the much-cited hostility in public life in America, which he believes is related to the erosion of community-oriented values in the market-obsessed society. In his oft-cited The Paradox of Choice: Why More is Less, he examines the often-paralyzing effects on consumers of a marketplace offering a bewildering array of choices.  

Schwartz, who received his Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania in 1971, has been awarded several grants by the National Science Foundation over the last three decades. In addition, he is a member of Phi Beta Kappa, and the American Psychological Society, and a Fellow of the American Psychological Association.