Decision Fatigue

a biological price. This ‘decision fatigue’ is different from ordinary physical fatigue. People are not conscious of being tired, but nevertheless they are low on energy. The more choices one makes throughout the day, the harder it becomes for the brain, and eventually it looks for shortcuts: either to act impulsively instead of expending the energy to think through the possible results, or the ultimate energy-saver: do nothing. Avoiding a decision often creates bigger problems in the long run, but for the moment it eases the mental strain. B Decision fatigue involves a phenomenon called ego depletion, a term coined by social psychologist Roy F. Baumeister. His research demonstrated that there is a finite store of mental stamina for exerting self-control. For example, when people fended off the temptation to eat freshly baked biscuits, they were then less able to resist other temptations. When they tried to resist the urge to cry during a sad movie, afterwards they gave up more quickly on tasks requiring self-discipline, such as working on a geometry puzzle. The experiments confirmed the 19th-century notion of willpower being like a muscle that became tired with use; something which could be conserved by avoiding…