To no surprise, recent research published in Psychological Bulletin suggests that mental exertion often brings about unpleasant feelings.
While culturally we are encouraged to engage in mentally demanding tasks, in as much that we naturally seek out challenging activities, the study suggest that this doesn’t mean the process itself is pleasant.
The researchers conducted a meta-analysis of 170 studies from 2019 to 2020, involving 4,670 participants. They aimed to determine how mental effort correlates with unpleasant feelings, considering various tasks and populations.
Participants included healthcare workers, military personnel, amateur athletes, and college students from 29 countries. They engaged in 358 different cognitive tasks, including learning new technology, navigating unfamiliar environments, practicing golf swings, and playing virtual reality games.
In each study, participants reported their level of effort and the extent of unpleasant feelings like frustration, irritation, stress, or annoyance. The results were clear: the more mental effort exerted, the more unpleasant the experience.
“Our research shows that mental effort feels unpleasant across diverse populations and tasks,” said Bijleveld. “This is crucial for professionals designing tasks, tools, and educational materials. When substantial mental effort is required, it’s important to provide support or rewards.”
The study also found that cultures that fostered more time spent on challenging activities eventually build up a higher tolerance for mental exertion.
Author, Erik Biljleveld, emphasized what’s more important is the real-world observation that, despite the aversive nature of mentally challenging tasks, people still voluntarily engage in them.
“For example, why do millions of people play chess? People may learn that exerting mental effort in some specific activities is likely to lead to reward. If the benefits of chess outweigh the costs, people may choose to play chess, and even self-report that they enjoy chess,” he said.
“Yet, when people choose to pursue mentally effortful activities, this should not be taken as an indication that they enjoy mental effort per se. Perhaps people choose mentally effortful activities despite the effort, not because of it.”
Unfortunately, we also live in a society that is increasingly avoidant and aversive to unpleasant feelings. The point is, one has weather through unpleasant thoughts and feelings as part of the challenge, and perhaps learn to enjoy it. Sorry, life doesn’t have google maps that just gives you directions to your destination. Just like lifting weights or trying to solve a mathematical problem, the unpleasantness of challenge is where the opportunity of growth lies.
Feelings like anxiety, disappointment, frustration, self doubt, etc are not diseases, they’re just milestones on the journey.
The only route to being a better than you were today in any aspect of your life is through unpleasant challenges.
L David et al. The unpleasantness of thinking: A meta-analytic review of the association between mental effort and negative affect. Psychological Bulletin (2024). https://doi.org/10.1037/bul0000443
