It hurts to think… New research links mental effort to negative emotions

New research published by the American Psychological Association said so Mental effort It is associated with unpleasant feelings, and these findings challenge the common assumption that people enjoy engaging in activities that require mental effort.

Principals and teachers often encourage staff and students to make mental effort, and in theory this is good, as these people often choose activities that represent a mental challenge, and scientists tend to conclude that these groups really like to think.

On the other hand, the results of the new research show that this conclusion could be wrong, because in general, people hate to make mental effort.

The research indicated that, despite the societal push towards mental toughness, an aversion to mental effort could hinder productivity and learning. The results prompted a re-evaluation of how to deal with tasks that require considerable mental effort, indicating the need for strategies that could make them more appropriate.

Cognitive sharing

The researchers said that understanding resistance to mental effort could lead to more effective ways to motivate and engage individuals in educational and workplace settings by recognizing the discomfort that related to cognitive effort, better support systems and environments can be developed that facilitate cognitive communication without the accompanying negative emotions.

The researchers said that the phrase “it hurts to think” is, in fact, more than just a statement, because it can represent the real discomfort that comes with mental effort, discomfort comfort that needs to be addressed to improve performance and well-being. – be in both academic and professional contexts.

The researchers meta-analysed 170 studies, published between 2019 and 2020 and involving 4,670 participants, to examine how people in general experience mental effort.

Meta-analysis is a statistical method based on the integration of qualitative and quantitative data with the aim of reaching correct statistical conclusions about studies with overlapping results.

The researchers tested whether mental effort was associated with unpleasant feelings, and whether this depended on the activity or the community in question.

The studies used a diverse group of participants from 29 countries, including health care workers, military personnel, nonprofessional athletes, and college students, and included 358 different cognitive tasks, such as: learning new technology, finding a way to overcome an unfamiliar environment. , playing the golf swing, and performing mind games in reality, and others.

Resistance and stress

In all the studies examined, participants reported the level of effort they exerted, as well as the extent to which they felt unpleasant emotions, such as frustration, stress or annoyance.

The greater the mental effort, between numbers and actions, the more unpleasant the participants feel.

The researchers’ findings also showed that mental effort appears unpleasant across a wide range of people and activities.

The researchers pointed out that this is particularly important for engineers and teachers who should take these results into account when designing activities, tools, interfaces, applications, educational materials, etc.

The researchers cautioned that when people are asked to make a significant mental effort, they should be supported or rewarded for their efforts.

Although the link between mental effort and negative emotions is still significant, it was less clear in studies conducted in Asian countries, compared to those conducted in Europe or North America.

History of human learning

This fits with the general idea that resistance to mental effort may depend on people’s learning history.

The researchers said that high school students in Asian countries tend to spend more time on schoolwork than their peers in Europe or North America, so they may learn to adapt to higher standards. of mental effort early in life.

People can learn that putting mental effort into a particular activity is likely to be rewarded If the benefits of playing chess, for example, outweigh the cognitive costs, people may choose to play , and even tell themselves that they like it. .

However, when people choose to pursue activities that require mental effort, this should not be taken as an indication that they enjoy mental effort per se.