14 DAY TRIAL // Over the years, the idea that willpower is a resource that constantly needs replenishing has made its way into popular perception, but a new investigation suggests that it may be a false assumption.
Investigators from the Stanford University have shown that the tendency people have of leaving their work in order to “tune down” for a bit, or simply procrastinate, is only in their head.
Instances such as these happened to all of us, when we had something important to do that required a lot of time and concentration. We all felt the urge to get up, have a snack, or watch TV.
The mental justification for this is that we would return to the task at hand when we are feeling better, because right now we are terribly exhausted physically.
But this feeling only exists in people's heads, the Stanford team believes. Details of the work appear in this week's issue of the esteemed medical journal Psychological Science.
For the purpose of this research, the concept of willpower was defined as the ability to resist temptation and stay focused on a demanding task
Experts have said in previous studies that this is a finite resource, that constantly needs replenishing. This was the leading theory in the field for many years.
The idea holds that, as willpower is drained, people need time to restore it. The way this is done is by resting, eating, or engaging in distracting activities that have little to do with the energy-intensive task.
But the Stanford team believes that personal mindset and beliefs are the main factors that determine an individual's willpower resources.
“If you think of willpower as something that's biologically limited, you're more likely to be tired when you perform a difficult task,” says the lead author of the study paper, Veronika Job.
“But if you think of willpower as something that is not easily depleted, you can go on and on,” she goes on to say. The expert is now a postdoctoral scholar at the University of Zürich, in Switzerland.
Stanford psychology professor Carol Dweck and assistant professor Greg Walton were the coauthors of the research paper.
“The theory that willpower is a limited resource is interesting, but it has had unintended consequences,” Dweck explains.
“Students who may already have trouble studying are being told that their powers of concentration are limited and they need to take frequent breaks,” she adds.
“But a belief in willpower as a non-limited resource makes people stronger in their ability to work through challenges,” she concludes.