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The brain has a limited capacity for self-regulation, so exerting willpower in one area often leads to backsliding in others. .First thought -- anytime chocolate is involved, it's got to be a good thing. We need more research like this.. . The brain’s store of willpower is depleted when people control their thoughts, feelings or impulses, or when they modify their behavior in pursuit of goals. Psychologist Roy Baumeister and others have found that people who successfully accomplish one task requiring self-control are less persistent on a second, seemingly unrelated task.
In one pioneering study, some people were asked to eat radishes while others received freshly baked chocolate chip cookies before trying to solve an impossible puzzle. The radish-eaters abandoned the puzzle in eight minutes on average, working less than half as long as people who got cookies or those who were excused from eating radishes. Similarly, people who were asked to circle every “e” on a page of text then showed less persistence in watching a video of an unchanging table and wall.
But seriously, eating cookies improves your ability to stick to a difficult or boring task. Who else is thinking about automatic recall of math facts? Perhaps all we need to do to hit our national goals is give kids cookies instead of radishes.
Last month when the CMT tests were being administered to all those 3rd through 8th graders, parents were asked to donate boxes of healthy snacks for the classrooms -- granola bars, fresh fruit, carrot sticks, etc. Perhaps we are sealing our own fate with this behavior -- if we'd have sent chocolate chip cookies and tossed the carrot sticks, maybe our kids could all hit goal.
But things get even better as we read through the op-ed:
What limits willpower? Some have suggested that it is blood sugar, which brain cells use as their main energy source and cannot do without for even a few minutes. Most cognitive functions are unaffected by minor blood sugar fluctuations over the course of a day, but planning and self-control are sensitive to such small changes. Exerting self-control lowers blood sugar, which reduces the capacity for further self-control. People who drink a glass of lemonade between completing one task requiring self-control and beginning a second one perform equally well on both tasks, while people who drink sugarless diet lemonade make more errors on the second task than on the first. Foods that persistently elevate blood sugar, like those containing protein or complex carbohydrates, might enhance willpower for longer periods.
If you need to study for a big exam, it might be smart to let the housecleaning slide to conserve your willpower for the more important job. Similarly, it can be counterproductive to work toward multiple goals at the same time if your willpower cannot cover all the efforts that are required. Concentrating your effort on one or at most a few goals at a time increases the odds of success.Clearly, we all need to stop insisting our kids clean their rooms and clear their dishes if we expect them to sit down and do their homework or study for an exam.
But what does this say about our schools? Minutes off of recess is so common a punishment its not even worth noting. Carrot sticks and fruit for birthday snacks? No rough-housing during recess, when you get recess? Are we expecting our kids to have far more willpower to sit and do dull tasks than is reasonable given the human limitations of willpower? Perhaps schools should rethink the school day in terms of willpower depletion -- classroom tasks can be less engaging (and more productive) if kids are given a freer rein, or more sugar, at other times of the day.
I'm hoping Catherine will jump in here, because she has so much more cognitive studies at her fingertips than I ever will.
