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Decision Fatigue
Decision fatigue’ helps explain why ordinarily sensible people avoid making
decisions or are easily persuaded to make the wrong decisions when they are
tired. Yet few people are conscious of it, and researchers are only beginning
to understand why it happens.
A. No matter how rational people try to be, they cannot make
decision after decision without paying 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 temptation. ‘Decision fatigue’
helps explain why ordinarily sensible people avoid making decisions or are
easily persuaded to make the wrong decisions when they are tired. Yet few
people are conscious of it, and researchers are only beginning to understand
why it happens.
C. Decision fatigue leaves people vulnerable to marketers
who know how to time their sales, as Jonathan Levav demonstrated. He visited a tailor
to have a suit made for his wedding and began going through the choices of
fabric, buttons, aria and so forth, and when he got through the third pile of
fabric samples, Levav recalls, “I could not tell the choices apart anymore.
After a while my only response to the tailor became, ‘What do you recommend?’”
Levav put the experience to use in an experiment conducted at German car
dealerships, where real customers had to choose among four styles of gearshift
knobs, 25 configurations of the engine and gearbox, and a palette of 56 colours
for the interior. As they started picking features, customers would carefully
weigh the choices, but as decision fatigue set in they would start settling for
the default option. By manipulating the order of the car buyers’ choices, the researchers
found that customers would end up paying more.
D. Similarly, sweet snacks are featured prominently at cash
registers at most supermarkets. With their willpower reduced after shopping,
people are especially vulnerable to sweet drinks and snacks. While supermarkets
figured this out a long time ago, only recently did researchers discover why.
Baumeister’s research team tested the notion that people could build up willpower
by first indulging in pleasure. They found that a delicious, thick milkshake
strengthened willpower by helping people perform better than expected on their
next task. However, the experiment also included a control group who drank a tasteless
low-fat dairy beverage. It provided them with no pleasure, yet it produced
similar improvements in self-control. Baumeister concluded that even the
tasteless drink had worked because the brain, like the rest of the body,
derived energy from glucose, the simple sugar manufactured from all kinds of
foods, including milk.
E. To establish cause and effect, researchers at
Baumeister’s lab tried refuelling the brain in experiments involving lemonade
mixed either with sugar or with a diet sweetener. The sugary lemonade provided
a burst of glucose, the effects of which could be observed immediately in the
lab; the sugarless sweeteners tasted similar but did not contain the glucose.
Again and again, the sugar restored willpower, but the artificial sweetener had
no effect. The glucose would mitigate the ego depletion and sometimes
completely reverse it, improving self-control and the quality of decisions.
F. However, some brain researchers had reservations about
the glucose connection. “Todd Heatherton, a pioneer of social neuroscience,
believed in ego depletion but didn’t see how this process could be caused
simply by variations in glucose levels.” To observe the process, and to see if
it could be reversed by glucose, Heatherton’s team recorded images of the
brains of 45 people who were on a
low-calorie diet as they reacted to pictures of food. Next, these dieters
watched a comedy video while forcing themselves to suppress their
laughter—thereby draining mental energy and inducing ego depletion. When they
were again shown pictures of food, further brain scans revealed more activity
in the brain’s reward centre and a decrease in the amygdala, which helps
control impulses. The food’s appeal, in other words, registered more strongly
while impulse control weakened. What surprised Heatherton was that administering
glucose completely reversed the brain changes brought about by ego depletion.
G. “Good decision-making is not a trait of the person,”
Baumeister says. “It’s a state that fluctuates.” His studies show that people
with the best self-control are the ones who avoid temptations, and who establish
habits that eliminate the mental effort of making choices. Instead of counting
on willpower all day, they conserve it so that it’s available for important
decisions. “Even the wisest people won’t make good choices when they’re not
rested and their glucose is low,” Baumeister notes. If a decision must be made
late in the afternoon or in the evening, they know not to do it on an empty stomach.
The best decision-makers, according to Baumeister, “are the ones who know when
not to trust themselves.”
Questions 14–19
Reading Passage 2 has seven sections, A–G.
Which section contains the following information?
Write the correct letter, A–G, in boxes 14–19 on your answer
sheet.
14. research in which two substances that tasted alike had
different effects on the subjects.
15. an instance where controlling emotions while viewing
something upsetting led to a lack of perseverance in other activities.
16. an explanation of why it is important to eat something
before making a decision at the end of the day.
17. a reference to a researcher who was not initially
convinced of the effect of glucose.
18. an account of research that mirrored an experience the
researcher had in his personal life.
19. an example of how the location of products in a shop can
be used to take advantage of ‘decision fatigue’.
Questions 20–22
Complete the summary below.
Choose ONE WORD ONLY from the passage for each answer.
The biological price of decision-making
Even when people attempt to be 20…… they experience ‘decision
fatigue’ if they make several decisions in a row. They are not aware of how
21…… they are, but it is increasingly more difficult for their brainsto make
decisions as the day progresses.
After making many decisions in one day, the brain seeks 22……
in order to conserve energy. The person may fail to consider the consequences
of their decision or not make a decision at all. Avoiding decisions reduces the
immediate strain but can cause difficulties later.
Questions 23–26
Look at the following statements (Questions 23–26) and the
list of
researchers below.
NB: You may use any letter more than once.
List of Researchers
A. Roy F. Baumeister
B. Jonathan Levav
C. Todd Heatherton
23. The energy people have for exercising willpower is
limited.
24. Even an unpleasant substance had a positive effect on
willpower.
25. People’s responses to images changed after having to
exercise self-control.
26. The sequence of options presented to consumers could be
used to the consumers’ disadvantage.
ANSWER
14. E
15. B
16. G
17. C
18. F
19. D
20. rational
21. tired
22. shortcut
23. A
24. A
25. C
26. B
PASSWORD: 4APRIL
