The Motivated Brain

Self-Control

The Last Thing You Need to Know About Ego Depletion

Elliot T Berkman Ph.D. on December 28, 2020

Research on ego depletion shows that motivation is subjective. The rise and fall of ego depletion also illustrates a larger problem in modern psychology.

Research on ego depletion shows that motivation is subjective. The rise and fall of ego depletion also illustrates a larger problem in modern psychology.

Education

The Self-Defeat of Academia

Elliot T Berkman Ph.D. on September 7, 2018

Academia is on the decline. Here are a few things professors can do to try to bring it back.

Academia is on the decline. Here are a few things professors can do to try to bring it back.

Neuroscience

Why Is Behavior Change So Hard?

Elliot T Berkman Ph.D. on March 20, 2018

Behavior change will always be hard. No advice can change that. But neuroscience can provide insights about how, when, and why behavior change efforts succeed and fail.

Behavior change will always be hard. No advice can change that. But neuroscience can provide insights about how, when, and why behavior change efforts succeed and fail.

Sensation-Seeking

Teens Are Not Just Risk-Taking Machines

Elliot T Berkman Ph.D. on February 8, 2018

Adolescents have important developmental work to do. Despite what grownups think, taking needless risks isn't the goal for teens. Being risky is part of exploring the world.

Adolescents have important developmental work to do. Despite what grownups think, taking needless risks isn't the goal for teens. Being risky is part of exploring the world.

Depression

One Size Rarely Fits All

Elliot T Berkman Ph.D. on December 1, 2017

Treatments are designed for groups, not people. How can we make them more precise?

Treatments are designed for groups, not people. How can we make them more precise?

Health

Exorcise the Devil-vs.-Angel Analogy From Health Behaviors

Elliot T Berkman Ph.D. on October 2, 2017

Deciding what to eat for lunch isn't a battle between good and evil. It's just a choice. We can learn a lot by treating it as one.

Deciding what to eat for lunch isn't a battle between good and evil. It's just a choice. We can learn a lot by treating it as one.

Career

Advice for Grad Students (and Senior Faculty)

Elliot T Berkman Ph.D. on September 8, 2017

Starting a graduate program? Here is some advice about succeeding that you might not have heard.

Starting a graduate program? Here is some advice about succeeding that you might not have heard.

Self-Control

Psychological Tips for Resisting the Internet’s Grip

Elliot T Berkman Ph.D. on March 2, 2016

Given the Internet’s omnipresence and its various trappings, is it even possible to rein in our growing Internet consumption?

Given the Internet’s omnipresence and its various trappings, is it even possible to rein in our growing Internet consumption?

Procrastination

Why Wait? The Psychological Origins of Procrastination

Elliot T Berkman Ph.D. on October 8, 2015

We all procrastinate. New research in psychology provides clues as to why--and how to stop.

We all procrastinate. New research in psychology provides clues as to why--and how to stop.

Self-Control

5 Reasons Why Poverty Reduces Self-Control

Elliot T Berkman Ph.D. on September 22, 2015

Bad choices can certainly be a factor in poverty. But just because someone makes bad choices doesn’t mean they lack virtue or have no self-control.

Bad choices can certainly be a factor in poverty. But just because someone makes bad choices doesn’t mean they lack virtue or have no self-control.

Self-Control

Do We Overeat Because of Poor Self-Control?

Elliot T Berkman Ph.D. on April 7, 2015

We know how to stop eating in a literal sense. We just don’t know how to think about overeating in a way that motivates us to stop.

We know how to stop eating in a literal sense. We just don’t know how to think about overeating in a way that motivates us to stop.

Motivation

When Does Feedback Increase or Decrease Motivation?

Elliot T Berkman Ph.D. on August 7, 2014

We have an intuitive sense about how performance feedback influences our motivation—that learning we’re on track will be motivating and finding we’re not meeting expectations will be demotivating. But that’s not necessarily the case. It’s all in our interpretation of what the feedback means.

We have an intuitive sense about how performance feedback influences our motivation—that learning we’re on track will be motivating and finding we’re not meeting expectations will be demotivating. But that’s not necessarily the case. It’s all in our interpretation of what the feedback means.

Neuroscience

Me, My Brain, and I

Elliot T Berkman Ph.D. on June 18, 2014

Social psychologists have made recently breakthroughs in understanding the self and its functions using neuroimaging. I discuss some of these discoveries, including the positive bias in self-perception, an apparent purpose for consciousness, and one surprising source of self-regulation. It turns out our brains contain some interesting information about ourselves!

Social psychologists have made recently breakthroughs in understanding the self and its functions using neuroimaging. I discuss some of these discoveries, including the positive bias in self-perception, an apparent purpose for consciousness, and one surprising source of self-regulation. It turns out our brains contain some interesting information about ourselves!

Career

Does Brain-Training Work?

Elliot T Berkman Ph.D. on December 31, 2013

A growing and increasingly profitable online industry has emerged selling “brain-training” services that promise to increase intelligence and other cognitive abilities. However, research on these services provides (at best) equivocal support for their effectiveness. Why don’t they work?

A growing and increasingly profitable online industry has emerged selling “brain-training” services that promise to increase intelligence and other cognitive abilities. However, research on these services provides (at best) equivocal support for their effectiveness. Why don’t they work?

The lay belief about self-control is that somewhere in your mind, the dual forces of willpower and temptation fight it out in a winner-takes-all battle for control over your behavior. This account is compelling because it feels so real, but this “dual mind theory” is wrong. Instead, self-control is merely a question of value.

Neuroscience

NASCAR and Neuroimaging

Elliot T Berkman Ph.D. on July 6, 2013

The distinction between how a physicist and a mechanic thinks about the world contains some deep insights into one of the most important ongoing debates in neuroscience and psychology about how the mind and brain are related.

The distinction between how a physicist and a mechanic thinks about the world contains some deep insights into one of the most important ongoing debates in neuroscience and psychology about how the mind and brain are related.

Motivation

Frank Underwood, Motivation Maven?

Elliot T Berkman Ph.D. on March 25, 2013

Frank Underwood from House of Cards is highly effective at executing his nefarious plan. Why is he so good at it, and what could he do better? Recent neuroscience research has answers.

Frank Underwood from House of Cards is highly effective at executing his nefarious plan. Why is he so good at it, and what could he do better? Recent neuroscience research has answers.

Self-Control

Why Is It So Hard to Stick to New Year’s Resolutions?

Elliot T Berkman Ph.D. on December 31, 2012

We have a limited capacity to chase new goals before we revert back to old habits. Psychologists used to think the reason for this was a limited supply of blood glucose. But It seems that the finite resource underlying our ability to move against the path of least resistance is not physiological but rather psychological in nature.

We have a limited capacity to chase new goals before we revert back to old habits. Psychologists used to think the reason for this was a limited supply of blood glucose. But It seems that the finite resource underlying our ability to move against the path of least resistance is not physiological but rather psychological in nature.

The brain systems that represent why we are motivated to attain a goal are distinct from the ones that represent the how we pursue the goal, but effective goal pursuit requires both systems. This post explains the implications of this fact about how goals are reflected in our brains.

The mission of “The Motivated Brain” is to tell you about new and exciting results from neuroscience research that apply to motivation, and to explain how those findings can improve how you set and pursue goals in your daily life.