Last Sunday’s NY Times Magazine has a great piece on “decision fatigue” and willpower, by my favorite Times columnist John Tierney. It’s adapted from his forthcoming book on the topic with FSU social psychologist Roy Baumeister — the leading proponent of the idea that willpower is a like a muscle that can be worn out over the course of a day, and built up through practice. He and his colleagues have conducted fascinating experiments in this area over the last decade, including some related to glucose levels that Tierney highlights here. I’m fired up for the book and will try to review it next month when it comes out; in the meantime be sure to check out the Times article.
UPDATE: I’ve posted a review of Willpower. (10/29/11)