Function (biology)

Control (management)

Cognitive psychology

Neuroscience

Biology

Social psychology

Balance (ability)

Cognition

Economics

Computer science

Evolutionary biology

Self-control

Psychology

Management

Artificial intelligence

Ego depletion

Journal of Experimental Psychology General

Daily life frequently offers a choice between activities that are profitable but mentally demanding (cognitive labor) and activities that are undemanding but also unproductive (cognitive leisure).Although such decisions are often implicit, they help determine academic performance, career trajectories, and even health outcomes.Previous research has shed light both on the executive control functions that ultimately define cognitive labor and a 'default mode' of brain function that accompanies cognitive leisure.However, little is known about how labor/leisure decisions are actually made.Here, we identify a central principle guiding such decisions.Results from three economic-choice experiments indicate that the motivation underlying cognitive labor/leisure decision-making is to strike an optimal balance between income and leisure, as given by a joint utility function.The results reported establish a new connection between microeconomics and research on executive function.They also suggest a new interpretation of so-called ego-depletion effects, and a potential new approach to such phenomena as mind-wandering and self-control failure.

A labor/leisure tradeoff in cognitive control.