The article discusses the psychological concept of "decision fatigue", where excessive decision making can lead to mental depletion. It describes studies showing that making many decisions reduces self-control and impacts subsequent decisions. Resisting desires and cravings also contributes to decision fatigue. The article suggests managing decision fatigue by structuring life to conserve willpower and decision-making energy.

2. Robert Frost

3. • I reviewed the article Do you suffer form decision fatigue?
• This article looked at a relatively new psychological idea of “Decision
Fatigue.”
• This article looks at the fatigue or mental strain that can come from
decision making.

4. • The article first explains the history of decision fatigue which was first
explored by the well know psychologist, Roy F. Baumeister. When he
first looked into this condition Baumeister called it ego depletion.
• The name was made in homage to Freud who believed that the “self”
was made up of the “ego” which could be depleted by mental activities.
• Baumeister conducted tests to see the extent of a persons mental energy.
These test confirms that humans do have breaking point for mental
energy after which decisions are being made quickly and without any
forethought.

5. • The article also looked into resisting desires and the strain that can
cause on the body.
• Baumeister also conducted a separate study to test how desire can fuel
decision fatigue.
• In this study they gave two hundred people Blackberys that would give
a reminder every hour for the participant to text the tester about any
craving they were having at the moment, and also to text them when
they “gave into” that craving.

6. • This new study found that an average person spends about four to give
hours everyday resisting desirers.
• Resisting these desires can also reduced the amount of decision making
energy you have in a day.
• The article open with an example that showed the negative side of
decision fatigue. The author sat in on a sentencing session at a court
house. He found that through out the day the judge steadily started
giving harsher sentences for lesser crimes as the day progressed.

7. • Lastly the article tackled the reclusive question “How do you become a
good decision maker.”
• This article argues that good decision making isn’t a personal trait like
so many of us think, but instead an ever fluctuating state of mind.
• The studies found that the best decision makers are those that figure
out how to manage their decision fatigue which they do by structuring
their lives to conserve will power.

9. • Groupthink is an aspect of small group decision making.
• Groupthink is often the negative effect of dysfunctional decision making.
• book describes Groupthink as “a model of thinking that people engage
in when they are deeply involved in a cohesive in-group, when the
members striving for unanimity override their motivating to
realistically appraise alternative courses of action.

11. • A good example of groupthink would be a riot (picture on the left) but I
also think an institution that is facilitating groupthink is our prisons.
• Groupthink is often explained as rash decisions made under the
pressure of a unstoppable mob. A key example of this would be a riot. At
first your parting or peacefully protesting and then the next minuet
your fending off teargas from the riot brigade.
• Although I admit that we may be most susceptible to groupthink under
quick moving and stressful situations I think there are slower more
lasting situations that facilitate groupthink.

12. • Gangs are often found in low income areas where young men and
women feel, and are taught to think, there is no way out.
• These young kids often turn to gangs not only for what they perceive to
be their only form of monetary gain but also for a stable family
substitute.
• “The gang is forever. They are my brothers.” such statements are
communally found amongst gang members.

13. • No only do members often feel the gang was their only optioin they start
to feel like the gang is their family.
• There associations will lead to as strong belief in the gang even though
often it’s very existence is founded on crime.
• Crime and deviance is easily explained within gangs. The people you
look up to are often criminals and this will lead to the neutralization of
crimes (rationalizing a deviant action because everyone else is doing it.)

14. • When gang members are taken off the street and put into prisons they
aren’t being removed from groupthink but instead put into an
instituting that facilitates it.
• Prisons aren’t really a place to be inspiring individual thinking.
• Prisoners are taught to conform and do as told. The only free time they
get is often spent with their fellow gang members in the yard. This
loyalty to the gang is usually the only protection people can get in prison
and will lead to even more deeply ingrained groupthink.

15. • Decision making is hard and as the article has proven it can deteriorate
over time. When you take decision fatigue and then tie it in with
groupthink you could get a very dangerous mix.
• Prisons activity work to take a persons individuality away from them in
hopes this will discourage them form acting out.
• I don’t believe this is the case, quite the opposite actually. By taking
away these peoples decision making rights they are making them more
susceptible to deeply ingrained groupthink.

17.  If prisoners are created to take away a persons individuality how do we prevent
groupthink?
 I would want to look more into decision fatigue and see if there is any way to build
up more mental energy to combat it.
 I also would want to know how much self control contributes to your ability to
manage decision making. The article briefly touches on how people with better self
control better manage decision fatigue but what determines self control?

18.  I’m really interested in how prisoners make decisions once they are released from
prison. I have done a little research that shows that a persons decision making
ability is greatly compromised after prisons and I would like to know how that
ability can be built up.
 Would prisoners released from prison be feeling much more decision fatigue after
they are released because of the sudden bombardment of choices?

19.  What sort of things could be done to help prisoners combated groupthink? Should
prisoners be separated from gang affiliations or would that just worsen the
situation.
 Is there a way to teach people to combat decision fatigue, and if there is can it be
taught in prisons.
 Would teaching this help prisoners make better decisions once released and
maybe reduce their likelihood of recidivism.

20. Tierney, J. (n.d.). Do You Suffer From Decision Fatigue? New York Times. Retrieved August 17, 2011.