Decision Fatigue on the GRE
A few months back, the New York Times published this fascinating article on the subject of decision fatigue. The article became a big topic of conversation here in the Manhattan GRE office. If you don’t have time to read the full article, I will give a quick summary: the more decisions a human makes in a row, the less will-power that person will have after each successive decision—this phenomenon is called decision fatigue (note: this is a vast oversimplification of the article, so you should give it a read if you have time). The test subjects weren’t asked to make big decisions—no marriage proposals, no career changes, no forced choice between Kirk and Picard—just simple everyday choices, such as what color of china they would prefer, or what specifications they would like in a new computer. The study found that making decisions, even small inconsequential ones, can significantly deplete a person’s willpower.
The findings discussed in the Times article got us thinking about how decision fatigue might affect GRE test takers. We always stress the importance of taking simulated practice exams before test day, not just for test familiarity, but to prepare them for the mental ordeal that a three hour test presents. Knowing the material isn’t enough to do well on the GRE, you still have to take the test and get the right answers. Perhaps decision fatigue plays a part in the mental exhaustion.
For a moment, let’s think about the GRE Quant and Verbal sections in terms of decisions made. Over the course of a single test you will tackle two 20-question Quant sections, two 20-question Verbal sections, and (usually) a 20-question unscored experimental section. Essentially, over the course of the GRE, you are forced to make around 100 decisions in a very short time span. Those decisions will take a serious toll on willpower, which can be detrimental to your execution on the later parts of the GRE. In fact, in one of the studies quoted by the New York Times, the test used to measure willpower was a record of the patience people had to perform simple math problems. It is easy to see how a degradation of that willpower would hurt you on exam day.
In order to perform well on the GRE, you will need to fend off decision fatigue. Luckily, there are a few ways to win the battle. First: Prevention. Your first step should be to avoid making superfluous decisions on test day. Plan your breakfast the night before. Map out and plan your driving route to the test center ahead of time. The night before your exam, you can even lay out the clothes you plan on wearing to the test center (it might seem trivial, but one of the studies mentioned in the New York Times article involved having a test subject choose what color of a free t-shirt they would like to receive).
Second: Replenishment. Decision fatigue isn’t a one-way street; you can build up willpower with a very simple substance. Sugar, glucose to be specific, is the miracle cure for decision fatigue. Researchers found that a boost of glucose (through food or lemonade) helps to counteract the effects of decision fatigue. So, in addition to eating a good breakfast, you should bring a little fuel to the test. Keep a chocolate bar in your locker to eat during the 10-minute break. The burst of glucose will offset the negative effects of all those decisions you made in the first half of the exam. There’s our GRE tip for today. If nothing else, we hope this article provides a good excuse to eat some chocolate! ?
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