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Tough Choices: How Making Decisions Tires Your Brain

sciam.com — A growing body of research has focused on a particular mental limitation, which has to do with our ability to use a mental trait known as executive function. The decision-making ability in the brain appears to be like a muscle that gets tired when used.

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  • jpwonderful, on 07/22/2008, -0/+12Emailing this to my girlfriend so I can point to it later and say: "You SEE! This is why I can't decide anything!"
    • mstrebe, on 07/23/2008, -1/+1You can't decide anything because your mother overrode all the decisions you made as a small child, convincing you that you were unable to make decisions. Time to grow up!
  • thehyperborean, on 07/22/2008, -0/+6This ties in, I think, with Barry Schwartz's work on choice paralysis. Here is his TED talk about it http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/barry_schwartz_ ... -- he also gave a similar talk at Google.
  • Riggs, on 07/22/2008, -1/+1Interesting how our choices can be manipulated so easily
  • hugolp, on 07/23/2008, -7/+2Did they need to make a test to be sure that thinking tires? They havent think a lot in their live this people.
  • atact88, on 07/23/2008, -1/+5I blame George Bush, global warming, marijuana prohibition, and big pharma.
  • BDOUG, on 07/23/2008, -0/+8I love the photo of the die. At one place I worked we had 3 managers that we called "Yes, No, and Maybe" because that's how they answered almost any question, respectively. It was like Good Cop, Bad Cop, and Fear-of-Commitment Cop.
    • OrlyonokEaglet, on 07/23/2008, -1/+1And the other one always answered the same way the last one did, that was RoboCop.
  • OrlyonokEaglet, on 07/23/2008, -1/+1People make small choices all the time: when you drive a car you constantly have to pay attention and decide how to drive, when you browse web pages you choose to click on a link or not all the time. Does that mean that after some time spent surfing the Internet your driving skills are not as good?
  • BDOUG, on 07/23/2008, -0/+2This article ties in nicely with some of the other ones we've seen posted that discuss studies demonstrating that the sub-conscious mind is better at solving complex problems than the conscious one. I'm glad to see some scientific reasons to put more value on rest and leisure activities.
    • OrlyonokEaglet, on 07/23/2008, -0/+2I don't think so, the article talks about taking exams, choosing jobs and choosing what to eat.
      For example choosing subconsciously what to eat may result in obesity more than anything else.
      • BDOUG, on 07/23/2008, -0/+1Not sure I follow your point. Choosing what to eat is generally not a complex problem. In fact, that's one reason the conscious mind is not good at solving complex problems is because it is so preoccupied with daily "survival routine" problems it doesn't have enough "leftover cycles" to handle the thornier issues. When we sleep and dream, they speculate that perhaps the brain is not so preoccupied with these immediate needs and it can do some "batch processing" on the more complicated stuff (like whether or not to move to a new city, etc). My point was that I can see how these studies are related from a "brain fatigue" standpoint (if we can move beyond the constant obsession over obesity for five minutes and talk about something else). To me the useful information from the article was to make sure your brain is rested before tackling a tough life decision. The choosing food task was simply used as an example out of many possible tasks, and was not the focus of the study. I don't think choosing a salad instead of a cheeseburger means you're brain is "done" for the day, it was simply cited as one choice out of myriad daily choices that takes its toll.
      • BDOUG, on 07/23/2008, -0/+1Note for the grammar nazis: I meant to type "your brain" but the stupid Digg edit feature wouldn't let me correct my typo in time. It did the "it's too late to delete this comment" when I tried to edit it. Nice.
  • agreenall, on 07/23/2008, -0/+7its not that tough... look I just made the decision not to read this article.
    • forcedfx, on 07/23/2008, -0/+3Trying to decide whether to digg your comment up or down is making my brain hurt.
  • grneye53, on 07/23/2008, -2/+1You know I thought the "FOX NEWS" & the "BUSH ADMINISTRATION" getting pudgier & looking more tired everyday !
  • kb5nju, on 07/23/2008, -0/+4This makes me think about medical students who work very long shifts and have to make decisions throughout that time. They're tired from not sleeping and they're making decisions which might seriously and adversely affect their patients. I wonder if it's not time to rethink how that system works.
  • Antibland, on 07/23/2008, -0/+1If this were more true, Halo would have killed me 5 years ago.
  • S4MF1SHER, on 07/23/2008, -0/+1That's why I say, ***** it.
  • tresvold, on 07/23/2008, -0/+0i can tell that when i have worked a lot and I have to make decisions i have a hard time concentrating to make that decision.

    maybe this is why brides always have a mental break down right before their wedding? Their decision maker is tired
  • stephensonle, on 07/23/2008, -0/+0I've always wondered why some people are able to make choices quickly during chaotic situations and why some just shut down altogether and panic. Do some people just have a limp decision muscle? Or are they so overwhelmed with possibilities that they "procrastinate"?

    Great comment about med school... those folks are overworked zombies.
  • darny, on 07/23/2008, -0/+2Anyone that's been to the optometrist has experienced this first hand.

    "Like this or like this? Number one....or number two...?"

    SHIN KICK!
  • insonh, on 07/23/2008, -1/+2i guess that explains why Obamas minions have so much energy
  • mxmj, on 07/23/2008, -0/+1Was the second page really necessary?
  • gmeluski, on 07/23/2008, -0/+1"Subjects with overtaxed brains made worse decisions."

    Pretty much covers it. My inferior brain and decision making ability parsed that concept out of that entire article of scientific meandering.
  • chamberlanderic, on 07/23/2008, -0/+1that explain why I'm so tired and everybody else in my office always partying...
  • bdbr, on 07/23/2008, -0/+2Once again, Digg picks a totally irrelevant picture. Hmm, car flooded...must be someone made a bad decision! Or maybe its an example of what happens if you let a computer make your decisions for you.
  • dawtcalm, on 07/23/2008, -0/+1So if you're tired and can't get to sleep, don't read a book, read a "choose your own adventure" book, and you'll tire much quicker!
  • wh3873, on 07/23/2008, -0/+0I did some research on this my senior year. Our research was examining personality types and their effects on Ego depletion (your brain getting tired). It's actually a really interesting subject because like the article states two totally unrelated tasks can draw from the same pool of mental energy. The research I helped conduct was that of Dr. Toru Sato at Shippensburg University. I'd give more references but I'm away from home and too lazy to look them up. I'm sure though if you just do a Google search on Ego Depletion you can find anything you're looking for.
  • lalet, on 07/23/2008, -0/+0Seems like it's just a matter of self control. :p
  • m3beemer, on 07/23/2008, -0/+0In other words.., When you have to make a hard decision, sleep on it :)
  • Eldrick, on 07/23/2008, -0/+1I say this with all sincerity. When I was in high school and a little bit now, I played in well over 20 golf tournaments a year, sometimes in the realm of 40+. Each tournament takes such a toll on your body it is unbelievable. The MOMENT that last putt drops, you feel a huge weight lifted off your shoulders and you can relax.

    This is one aspect not many people think about when watching the pros. 4 days straight of intense thought and decision making is unbelievably excrutiating. I find it amazing that the pros are able to do it week after week. I guess you have a little more motivation to keep doing it when there are millions at stake.

    I would 100% agree with this article seeing as I have experienced it first hand.

    Trust me, when you desperately need to win a tournament, your body gets worn. You mind wears you out.
  • m0n0kr0m3, on 08/04/2008, -0/+1Corporate America hello: All this multitasking is killing your productivity.
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