ReviewTrends in cognitive sciences2018
The Effort Paradox: Effort Is Both Costly and Valued.
Review in Trends in cognitive sciences, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT06691490 (Functional MRI Protocols for Studying the Neural Correlates of Effort Perception and the Effects of Targeted rTMS Protocols on Perceived Effort and Effort-based Decision-making), which is not on this map. Cited by 210 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Functional MRI Protocols for Studying the Neural Correlates of Effort Perception and the Effects of Targeted rTMS Protocols on Perceived Effort and Effort-based Decision-making
Who cites it
210 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- The neural basis of cost-benefit trade-offs in effort investment: a quantitative activation likelihood estimation meta-analysis.Cognitive, affective & behavioral neuroscience · 2026Pooled it
- Revisiting the post-resolution positivity effect in conflict tasks: Meta-analytic and behavioral evidence for context-dependent affective valence of conflict resolution.Psychonomic bulletin & review · 2026Pooled it
- Restoration of Attention by Rest in a Multitasking World: Theory, Methodology, and Empirical Evidence.Frontiers in psychology · 2022Pooled it
- Moving towards specificity: A systematic review of cue features associated with reward and punishment in anorexia nervosa.Clinical psychology review · 2020Pooled it
- Trial
- Enhancing Agency in Individuals with Depressive Symptoms: The Roles of Effort, Outcome Valence, and Its Underlying Cognitive Mechanisms and Neural Basis.Depression and anxiety · 2024Trial
- Attention and vigilance advantages related to formal musical training across childhood, adolescence and young adulthood.British journal of psychology (London, England : 1953) · 2026Article
- Intrinsic rewards guide visual resource allocation via reinforcement learning.Nature human behaviour · 2026Article
- Effort, timing and choice: a refined rodent effort choice task with excellent sensitivity to dopamine modulators.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2026Article
- Time-of-day variation in motivation for everyday behaviors: A cluster-based approach to understanding individual differences.iScience · 2026Article
- Put Your Oxygen Mask on First: When Regulators Feel Worse, They are Less Effective at Interpersonal Emotion Regulation.Affective science · 2026Article
- Effort and substance use: differentiating tobacco use through reinforcement learning of effort based decision making.Journal of computational neuroscience · 2026Article
- An effort recalibration framework for digital media use and cognition.Nature human behaviour · 2026Review
- Neural and computational mechanisms of effort under the pressure of a deadline.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Contralateral Thermal Pain and Naturally Occurring Muscle Pain Have Different Effects on Force Production During a Fixed Perceived Effort Handgrip Task.European journal of pain (London, England) · 2026Article
- Oral health-related quality of life, experience and satisfaction in adolescents treated for dental crowding with self-ligating or conventional fixed appliances: a multicentre randomized controlled trial.European journal of orthodontics · 2026Article
- Interest and effort in learning and performance.The British journal of educational psychology · 2026Article
- Exploration vs. Exploitation in a Novel Complex Card Matching Task: Evidence from Pupillometry.Cognitive, affective & behavioral neuroscience · 2026Article
- Mental cost of simple(st) physical exertion.Cognition · 2026Article
- Why Do Humans Exercise? A Neuro-Evolutionary Framework for Discretionary Physical Effort.Evolutionary anthropology · 2026Review
150 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
Abstract
According to prominent models in cognitive psychology, neuroscience, and economics, effort (be it physical or mental) is costly: when given a choice, humans and non-human animals alike tend to avoid effort. Here, we suggest that the opposite is also true and review extensive evidence that effort can also add value. Not only can the same outcomes be more rewarding if we apply more (not less) effort, sometimes we select options precisely because they require effort. Given the increasing recognition of effort's role in motivation, cognitive control, and value-based decision-making, considering this neglected side of effort will not only improve formal computational models, but also provide clues about how to promote sustained mental effort across time.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.