Decision Fatigue: The More Decisions You Make, the Worse They Get

Research on Israeli judges found that prisoners were granted parole 65% of the time in the morning — but nearly 0% right before lunch. After a break, approval rates jumped back to 65%. This 'decision fatigue' effect shows that the quality of decisions deteriorates after a long session of decision-making. The brain defaults to the status quo (denial, in the case of judges) when mentally depleted. This affects judges, doctors, shoppers, and anyone who makes many choices in sequence.

Source

https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1018033108

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Published: April 8, 2026
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Psychology Science & Health Finance & Economy

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