Decision Making Fatigue?

We've all felt it: the moment when our brain just can't make choices anymore. The green or the blue? Pencil or pen? To go out or not to go out? You wouldn't think that these small moments where you are indecisive would be a big deal. Apparently all types of moments where you feel indecisive can add up to a biological toll! What's this biological toll you ask?

In summary, a person is always resisting desire. This type of control over your desire is part of your brain, where a section regulates such things. These desires are really anything such as snacking or slacking off at work. Well, both small and big moments of indecisiveness means your willpower [as the article calls it] or your brain's "ego" trying to control your "id" [oh Sigmund Freud] weakening. You're tiring out your brain's ego from trying to figure out which is the more realistic step. For instance, you're trying to figure out whether or not you should call or text so and so. Your ego is trying to figure out which would be better, faster, less likely to get you in trouble at work, etc. This makes your ego tired, trying to figure out which works for these criteria. This means since your ego is tired, your id desire to...shop gets unleashed unchecked! This concept means, as the researchers call it, you're feeling "decision fatigue".

At the end of the article, the researcher comment on why this is important to society. They say, if a judge spent all day making decisions on people's lives or money, they're brains must get tired too! Imagine all kind of mistakes they might make! You can read the article to find where it talks about how the judge gives prisoners parole more often after he had lunch [he gave into his id desire to eat!!!!!].

That's so interesting right?!  More  information can be found in the article. It's pretty long because it's done in standard psychology article format, which details how the experiment got started and how this theory came about.  Check the NY TIMES article here!