Psychology · Level 3 · 114 words
The Tired Chooser
Original passage © Team AM, written for Hone Literacy.
Making decisions feels weightless, but it draws on a limited supply of mental energy. After a long string of choices, that supply runs low, and the quality of our judgment quietly slips. Researchers call this decision fatigue.
When worn down, the mind looks for shortcuts. It may grab the first acceptable option, or avoid deciding at all and simply keep things as they are. Both are the mind conserving what little fuel remains. This explains why some people deliberately shrink the number of small decisions they face, by eating the same breakfast or laying out clothes the night before. Each trivial choice removed leaves a little more energy for the choices that truly matter.
Comprehension questions
1. The passage mainly argues that
- A decisions are effortless
- B making many choices drains mental energy and lowers later judgment
- C people should never make plans
- D breakfast is the most important meal
Show answer
B. making many choices drains mental energy and lowers later judgment
The passage is about decision fatigue: choices draw on limited energy, weakening later judgment.
2. Why might someone wear the same outfit every day, according to the passage?
- A To save money on clothes
- B To remove small decisions and save energy for important ones
- C Because they dislike variety
- D To follow a fashion trend
Show answer
B. To remove small decisions and save energy for important ones
The text says removing trivial choices leaves more energy for choices that truly matter.
3. In the passage, 'conserving' most nearly means
- A wasting freely
- B saving or preserving
- C sharing widely
- D ignoring completely
Show answer
B. saving or preserving
The mind takes shortcuts to conserve fuel, meaning to save what energy remains.
Source: Written for Hone Literacy. Original passage © Team AM, written for Hone Literacy.