Willpower depletion leads to poor decisionmaking from "summary" of The Willpower Instinct by Kelly McGonigal
When your willpower is depleted, your decision-making abilities are compromised. Imagine willpower as a muscle that can become tired and overworked. Just as a fatigued muscle struggles to perform at its best, a depleted willpower reserve can lead to poor decisions. Research shows that when people are under stress or have expended a significant amount of willpower on one task, they are more likely to make impulsive or irrational choices in other areas of their lives. This is because the brain's executive functions, responsible for self-control and rational decision-making, require energy and resources that are drained when willpower is depleted. One study found that participants who were asked to resist eating freshly baked cookies were more likely to give in to temptation and perform poorly on subsequent cognitive tasks. This is because their willpower had been exhausted by the effort of resisting the cookies, leaving them with ...
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