Decision time is not linear with the number of options. It is logarithmic. Hick's Law, derived from research by W.E. Hick (1952) and later formalised with R. Hyman, states that the time to make a decision grows as T = b × log2(n + 1), where n is the number of choices. What this means practically is that adding the first few options to a set increases decision time substantially, while adding the twentieth option to an already large set barely changes it. The law is most powerful at small choice counts: the difference between two and three options is more significant than the difference between twenty and twenty-one.
Hick's Law
Why reducing options speeds up decisions without sacrificing capability
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Designers Academy
21 May 2025 · 5 min read
UXPrinciples
In brief
Hick's Law states that the time it takes to make a decision increases logarithmically with the number of choices presented, meaning fewer well-differentiated options lead to faster decisions.
