Posts

The idea that people drink alcohol in order to feel better has been around the psychological literature for at least 65 years. Between then and now, many theoretical models have incorporated this idea and many empirical studies have been conducted to test predictions associated with it.

Psychologists tend to think of behavior as governed, or driven, by two separate systems. In his bestselling book Thinking, fast and slow, Nobel laureate Daniel Kahneman labels these systems simply as “System 1” (a fast, habitual system) and “System 2” (a slow, goal-directed system).

Given that this time of the year is a festive season for many people all over the world, today’s post will be about the decision to help others. Prosocial acts—which social scientists define as those acts that are costly to ourselves, but benefit others—are fascinating for many reasons.

In a previous blog post, I covered what fatigue is, what happens when we feel fatigued, and why fatigue intuitively seems to contradict how we think of other subjective experiences. In this one, I will review how psychologists tended to think about fatigue for the past century and two interesting studies and concurrent theories of fatigue.

Most of us know what fatigue feels like. Whether we sit in the library studying for an upcoming exam, in our office trying to get an important task done, or at home with a bunch of chores we postponed for a couple of days already, we often feel tired and unable or unwilling to complete tasks we know have to be done.