Provided are an electronic device wherein operability is improved by changing display contents as needed corresponding to a touch state with a display area, and a display method employed in the electronic deviceThe electronic device is provided with: a display section (21) which indicates selection items; a detecting section (31) which detects a touch with a display area of the display section (21); and a control section (32) which controls to switch the display state of the display section (21) corresponding to the touch state with the display area to a first display state wherein a first display item group having a plurality of first hierarchical items relating to the selected item or to a second display state wherein a second display item group which has a plurality of second hierarchical items relating to the selected item and the number of items larger than that of the first display item group, at the time when a touch with the display area that corresponds to the selected item is detected by the detecting section (31) in the state where the selection items are displayed on the display section (21).