Complexity: A Theoretical Analysis with Implications to Self Regulation and Goal Pursuit

Abstract

We consider computational tasks that arise from the management of multiple goals. Building upon the field of computational complexity theory, we argue that multiple goals give rise to many computational problems that are intractable (namely, NP-hard) and unlikely to be solvable in reasonable amount of time. Our main thesis is that a major reason for failures to achieve goals is computational in nature and cannot be attributed to lack of motivation, will-power or self-control. We discuss implications as well as future directions regarding the connection between self-regulation, goal pursuit and computational hardness.

Keywords: Algorithms, Bounded Rationality, Computational Complexity, Goal Systems