Aidan Campbell
@AidanVCampbell
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Psychology PhD Student @UTSC Studying the subjective experience of effort and what makes life meaningful
Joined May 2021
Big shoutout to my co-authors:.@GDepow @minzlicht and Srishti Agarwal from @AmuseLabs for all of the amazing work on this project!.
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In our final preregistered study, we tested how people experience effort in real life using experience sampling over a week. – More effort corresponded with more meaning, both in leisure and non-leisure .– But only non-leisure effort predicted less enjoyment
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In a third preregistered study, we compared: .🧩Effortful puzzling vs. a less effortful 🎮"Click-to-reveal the image" game . Again, Sudoku was seen as more meaningful. Surprisingly: participants often enjoyed it just as much (or more).
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In an initial exploratory experiment, we partnered with AmuseLabs to compare: .🧩 Effortful puzzling (Sudoku) vs. 📺 Passive leisure (YouTube videos) .✅ Sudoku felt more meaningful .❌ It wasn’t rated as less enjoyable . We then replicated this in a preregistered study.
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In one study, people predicted a tradeoff🤔.Effortful leisure = more meaningful, but less fun. Were they right? .Not exactly….
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If work, a major source of meaning, is declining due to the "Automation Bomb," people may need new sources of meaning. Our findings suggest that effortful play (not just passive rest) could help fill that gap in our leisure time!.
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🎉 Our paper is now out in Communications Psychology! We explore how effortful leisure can be a source of meaning in daily life. Across 5 studies (N = 2,569), we find: .- Effort makes leisure feel more meaningful .- But not necessarily less enjoyable.🧵
nature.com
Communications Psychology - Five studies, including experiments and experience-sampling, show effortful leisure feels more meaningful than less effortful leisure while maintaining enjoyment....
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RT @timothycbates: New work confirming the frustration-decoupling theory of Conscientiousness and extending it to physical work as well as….
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RT @KatyYYTam: ✨ Excited to share that I’m joining the Department of Psychology at the University of Toronto (@UofT) as a tenure-track Assi….
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RT @minzlicht: 🚨New paper alert! 🚨. I've been fascinated by this contradiction for years: we hate exerting effort, yet we value things more….
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RT @minzlicht: The Paradox of Hard Work.Why do people enjoy doing difficult things?.
theatlantic.com
Why do people enjoy doing difficult things?
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RT @GDepow: Is #empathy really the fundamental weakness of western civilization as Elon Musk claims? I argue that this claim rests on unfou….
broadview.org
He calls it a “weakness,” but his argument rests on false assumptions
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Effort isn't just a cost-it's a source of meaning. For all the details, check out our paper here: Big thanks to my co-authors: @yiyi_wang75 and @minzlicht !.
osf.io
Efficiency demands that we work smarter and not harder, but is this better for our wellbeing? Here, we ask if exerting effort on a task can increase feelings of meaning and purpose. In six studies (N...
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So, why does effort feel meaningful? Part of if might be feeling competent and mastering challenges-but the story isn't so simple. And yes, there's a limit: too much effort can backfire and feel overwhelming (sorry Sisyphus). Balance might be the key.
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We even tested this with AI🤖! Writing with ChatGPT made things easier, but those who wrote manually felt more meaning in their work. Automation might save us time, but it comes at a cost to how much we value what we do.
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But this wasn't just in their heads! When participants had to invest mental effort into real tasks, from math problems to writing assignments, harder tasks felt more meaningful-even when they weren't more enjoyable. Effort ≠ fun, but it still feels worthwhile.
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In two studies, we had people imagine they and others were exerting more (or less) effort on a task for the same rewards. The more effort they imagined, the less fun but more meaningful the task felt.
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Does effort make life more meaningful? Was Sisyphus living the dream? In our new paper (now accepted in Cognition!), across 6 studies with nearly 3,000 participants, we found that more effortful tasks feel more meaningful 🧵
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RT @minzlicht: New preprint!. We love effort when it brings meaning and mastery, yet we loathe it for its costs and aversiveness. Why does….
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Big thanks to co-authors @GDepow @minzlicht and Srishti Agarwal .Also to @hangal for taking interest in the project and collaborating with us! .More information in our preprint:
osf.io
People derive much purpose from their work, yet time spent on work is decreasing. Here, we ask if effortful leisure is a powerful source of meaning and purpose which could supplement the reduction in...
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