People choose with limited information and time rather than comparing indefinitely.
Practitioner frameworkA thinking tool for design. Direct tests of its effect are limited.
Example
Editorial example: narrow trips by budget and travel time instead of comparing every attribute.
Why it works
Simon revisits full optimization and models decisions under limits on search and computation, motivating satisfactory rather than exhaustive choice.
On the web
Ask for essential criteria, expose comparison dimensions and retain access to all options. Treat declining as a legitimate outcome.
When it backfires
This decision model does not justify hiding options to boost sales. Do not substitute business preferences for user criteria.
Sources
Models rational choice with constraints on information and computational capacity.
Simon, H. A. (1955). A Behavioral Model of Rational Choice. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 69, 99–118. Open source