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Are we really programmed to be lazy?

The Conversation · · 728 words · By Nathalie André

The author discusses a research paper proposing that humans avoid 'wasted effort' rather than effort itself. The text argues that effort is a neutral cost and that motivation is driven by the perceived value of the outcome, citing child development and neurobiological mechanisms like dopamine.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://theconversation.com/are-we-really-programmed-to-be-lazy-279776

analyticsAnalysis

10%
Propaganda Score
confidence: 95%
Low risk. This article shows minimal use of propaganda techniques.

fact_checkFact-Check Results

8 claims extracted and verified against multiple sources including cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia.

info Single Source 3
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verified Verified 2
verified Verified By Reference 1
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“This vision is explored in a recent article I co-wrote with Roy Baumeister at Harvard University, Guido Gendolla at the University of Geneva, and Michel Audiffren from the University of Poitiers and published in 2026 in Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews.”
DISPUTED
There is a conflict in the evidence regarding the publication. One source lists the article 'Do people really avoid effort?' as published in 'Frontiers in Neuroscience' (2026) by Andre, Baumeister, Gendolla, and Audiffren. However, the claim states it was published in 'Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews'. While the authors and year align, the journal name differs between the evidence sources.
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web search NEUTRAL — Michel Audiffren. Roy Baumeister. This article presents an integrative model of effortful control, a resource-limited top-down control mechanism involved in mental tasks and physical exercises.
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Roy-Baumeister
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web search NEUTRAL — Journal Articles. Andre, Nathalie, Baumeister, Roy F., Gendolla, Guido H. E. and Audiffren, Michel (2026). Do people really avoid effort? A cost - benefit perspective on the principle of least effort.…
https://psychology.uq.edu.au/profile/3505/roy-baumeister
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web search NEUTRAL — A 2016 study in Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/neuroscience-and-biobe…
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“Infants and young children do not show any spontaneous aversion to effort: they engage in it freely, associate pleasure with satisfaction, and only learn how to spare their efforts gradually.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The provided web results discuss general cognitive demands, memory encoding in infants, and general knowledge platforms, but none provide evidence regarding whether infants have a spontaneous aversion to effort.
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web search NEUTRAL — Quora is a place to gain and share knowledge. It's a platform to ask questions and connect with people who contribute unique insights and quality answers. This empowers people to learn from each other…
https://www.quora.com/
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web search NEUTRAL — While such activities undoubtedly require effort, the type of cognitive demands they impose appear markedly different from the tasks typically used in psychological research on mental effort (e.g., N-…
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36931050/
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web search NEUTRAL — Because they lack language, infants and young children encode memories visually or imaginally, but not symbolically. With the advent of language skills, exclusively nonverbal encoding gives way to pri…
https://archive.org/stream/LanguageMemoryAndCognitionInInfan…
verified
“The example of 10-month-olds is particularly striking: after watching an adult persevere in a difficult task, they themselves redouble their efforts to solve a problem.”
VERIFIED
A web search result explicitly states that when infants observe adults persevere longer to achieve goals, they subsequently work harder on a novel task, directly supporting the claim about infants increasing effort after observing adult perseverance.
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web search NEUTRAL — For example, when infants observe adults persevere longer to achieve their goals, they subsequently work harder on a novel task 47 , suggesting that conducive environments can help individuals value e…
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/319976998_Infants_m…
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web search NEUTRAL — AI Math Solver & Calculator helps you Solve all level math problems, Get instant step-by-step solutions for algebra, calculus, geometry, and more. Trust by millions of students, teachers, and math ent…
https://notegpt.io/ai-math-solver
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info
“Later on, at around 6 years old, children smile more after achieving something difficult than when something is easy”
SINGLE SOURCE
The evidence provided includes a general Wikipedia entry on happiness and a child observation report, but neither specifically confirms that 6-year-olds smile more after achieving a difficult task than an easy one.
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web search NEUTRAL — More positive effects that happiness seems to evoke are creative problem solving,[116] persisting through challenges,[117] more intrinsic motivation for work related or responsible tasks,[118] and bei…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Happiness
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web search NEUTRAL — Physical and cognitive development of a 3-year-old male named Christian has been evaluated by the completion of several exercises, which were video recorded. A therapist directed these activities, whi…
https://gradesfixer.com/free-essay-examples/a-3-year-old-mal…
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web search NEUTRAL — Understanding positive thinking and self-talk. Positive thinking doesn't mean that you ignore life's less pleasant situations.Researchers continue to explore the effects of positive thinking and optim…
https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-manageme…
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“The preference for the least costly path in terms of effort emerges only when the rewards are strictly equivalent – and disappears as soon as the benefits justify the investment.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The search results only provide dictionary definitions for the word 'least' and do not provide scientific evidence or theories regarding the 'least effort principle' in animals or adults.
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web search NEUTRAL — The meaning of LEAST is lowest in importance or position. How to use least in a sentence.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/least
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web search NEUTRAL — Apr 13, 2026 · least (plural leasts) Preceded by the: superlative form of little: most little; the lowest - ranking or most insignificant person or (sometimes) group of people.
https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/least
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web search NEUTRAL — We use the quantifier least to talk about quantities, amounts and degree. (The) least is the superlative form of little. …
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/least
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“several studies show that people prefer to actively engage in a task rather than remain passive, and that busy people are happier than idle people, even when they are forced to be active.”
DISPUTED
The evidence is contradictory. One source suggests that passive sport participation may have a closer relationship with happiness than active participation, while another mentions that highly active individuals are more likely to take social initiative. There is no consensus in the provided evidence that active people are universally happier than idle people.
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web search NEUTRAL — Conclusions: The results indicate that passive sport participation generally appears to have a closer relationship with individual happiness than active sport participation and emphasise the role play…
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33022139/
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web search NEUTRAL — Within active passivity a person makes no set strides to resolve the conflicts they find themselves within, as they feel they have no control over them anyway. Instead of taking action, they wait for …
https://eymtherapy.com/blog/understanding-active-passivity/
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web search NEUTRAL — Highly active individuals are significantly more likely to take the social initiative, leading to a higher rate of relationship formation and influence within their social networks. They are often the…
https://encyclopedia.arabpsychology.com/activity-passivity/
verified
“In the second case, such resistance to effort is based on well-identified neurobiological mechanisms, notably a reduced activity of the dopaminergic system.”
VERIFIED
Evidence from Frontiers and other sources indicates that reduced dopamine activity or changes in the dopamine/serotonin ratio are associated with reduced motivation and loss aversion, supporting the link between the dopaminergic system and resistance to effort.
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web search NEUTRAL — Dopaminergic pathways are involved in a wide range of neurological and behavioral processes beyond reward, including motor control, cognition, and pain modulation.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dopaminergic_pathways
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web search NEUTRAL — In sum, tonic dopamine activity appears to reduce loss prediction signaling, and may therefore reduce loss aversion.(2010). Reduced dopamine transporter density in the ventral striatum of patients wit…
https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/behavioral-neuroscience…
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web search NEUTRAL — Furthermore, increases in the ratio of serotonin (5HT) to dopamine (DA) activity across reward, motor, and emotion structures are associated with reduced exercise motivation and output (Meeusen et al.…
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/327294912_The_Role_…
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“Dopamine plays a central role in motivation in this respect: it strengthens the sense of reward and stimulates the pursuit of goals.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
Wikipedia and the Cleveland Clinic both confirm that dopamine is a neurotransmitter that plays a major role in the brain's reward center and is central to motivation and goal pursuit.
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web search NEUTRAL — Jul 9, 2024 · What Is Dopamine? Dopamine is a hormone and a type of neurotransmitter, or chemical messenger, made in your brain. Your nervous system uses it to send messages between nerve cells.
https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/what-is-dopamine
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web search NEUTRAL — Dopamine is a neurotransmitter made in your brain. It plays a role as a “reward center” and in many body functions, including memory, movement, motivation, mood, attention and more.
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/22581-dopamin…
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web search NEUTRAL — In the brain, dopamine functions as a neurotransmitter —a chemical released by neurons (nerve cells) to send signals to other nerve cells. The brain includes several distinct dopamine pathways, one of…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dopamine
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.