Being of Two Minds: Switching Mindsets Exhausts Self-Regulatory Resources

Abstract:     
The human psyche is equipped with the capacity to solve similar problems using different, complementary mental states, or mindsets. Different mindsets can lead to different judgment and decision making styles, each of which brings its own perspective and biases. To approach problems from multiple perspectives, people can and do switch between mindsets. However, as we argue in this paper, this switching is not without costs for subsequent decisions. We propose that mindset switching is an executive function that relies on the same psychological resource that governs other acts of executive functioning, such as self-regulation. This implies that there are psychic costs to switching mindsets that are borne out in depleted executive resources. One consequence of this model is that switching versus maintaining mindsets should make people more likely to fail at subsequent self-regulation. Four experiments testing mindset switching in four domains supported this model.

Keywords: self-control, self-regulation, mindsets, bilingualism

JEL Classifications: C92

Working Paper Series