"several studies have shown that individuals demonstrate a preference for choice, or the availability of multiple options, over and above utilitarian value." -> yes, it is called the need for orientation/control and "utilitarian value" has nothing to do with it -> Index Funds vs. Actively-Managed Funds -> people prefer the latter even if the returns are consistently lower. [1]

"Yet we lack a decision-making framework that integrates preference for choice with traditional utility maximisation in free choice behaviour." -> utility maximisation "has charm for economists, but it rests on the shaky foundation of an implausible and untestable assumption" - Daniel Kahneman [2] -> TL;DR the author of "Thinking Fast and Slow" proves it false

"We found that participants were biased towards states that kept their options open, even when both states were balanced in the total number of goal locations. This bias was evident not only when both contexts were equally valuable but throughout all value conditions..." AND "Participants were not informed of the precise values ..." -> seeing the utilitarian variable being forced upon conclusions is disheartening

[1] https://www.thebalance.com/index-funds-vs-actively-managed-f... [2] https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=870494