Deriving Mental Energy From Task Completion.

Many tasks in everyday life (e.g., making an accurate decision, completing job tasks, and searching for product information) are extrinsically motivated (i.e., the task is performed to gain a benefit) and require mental effort. Prior research shows that the cognitive resources needed to perform an extrinsically motivated task are allocated pre-task. The pre-task allocation of mental resources tends to be conservative, because mental effort is costly. Consequently, there are mental energy deficits when the use of mental resources exceeds the allocated amount. This research provides evidence for post-task mental energy replenishment. The amount of resource replenishment is a function of the size of the mental energy deficit and the favorability of the cost-benefit trade-off experienced at the completion of the task (i.e., the value of the reward given the energy investment). The findings have implications for how cognitive resources management influences the availability of mental energy on a moment-to-moment basis.

How being busy can increase motivation and reduce task completion time.

This research tests the hypothesis that being busy increases motivation and reduces the time it takes to complete tasks for which people miss a deadline. This effect occurs because busy people tend to perceive that they are using their time effectively, which mitigates the sense of failure people have when they miss a task deadline. Studies 1 and 2 show that when people are busy, they are more motivated to complete a task after missing a deadline than those who are not busy, and that the perception that one is using time effectively mediates this effect. Studies 3 and 4 show that this process makes busy people more likely to complete real tasks than people who are not busy. Study 5 uses data from over half a million tasks submitted by thousands of users of a task management software application to show that busy people take less time to complete a task after they miss a deadline for completing it. The findings delineate the conditions under which being busy can mitigate the negative effects of missing a deadline and reduce the time it takes to complete tasks. (PsycINFO Database Record

Life-history strategy, food choice, and caloric consumption.

Do people's perceptions that they live in a harsh environment influence their food choices? Drawing on life-history theory, we propose that cues indicating that the current environment is harsh (e.g., news about an economic crisis, the sight of people facing adversity in life) lead people to perceive that resources in the world are scarce. As a consequence, people seek and consume more filling and high-calorie foods, which they believe will sustain them for longer periods of time. Although perceptions of harshness can promote unhealthy eating, we show how this effect can be attenuated and redirected to promote healthier food choices.

The influence of information processing goal pursuit on postdecision affect and behavioral intentions.

Two important forces in human behavior are action and inaction. Although action and inaction are commonly associated with the presence and the absence of behavioral activity, they can also be represented as information processing goals. Action (inaction) goals influence decision effort and increase satisfaction with environments that are structured to allow for more (less) processing (Studies 1 and 2). This increased satisfaction can transfer to the decision (Study 3) and can increase the intent to perform a decision-congruent behavior (Studies 4 and 6). Finally, the author shows escalation of action and inaction goals when they are not achieved (Study 5) and rebound of the alternative goal when the focal goal is achieved (Study 6).