Not simply lazy: Geneva researchers explore what makes effort worthwhile

People who put off a task are often quickly labelled lazy. But that judgement can miss what is really happening. At the University of Geneva’s Geneva Motivation Lab, psychologists are investigating how people decide where to invest their energy, measuring heart activity during mental effort. Their long-term aim is to help people who struggle with motivation, particularly those experiencing depression.

At the heart of the research is an everyday calculation: how much effort will an activity require, and what will it offer in return? For Guido Gendolla, professor of psychology at the University of Geneva, people are not inherently lazy. Rather, they adjust their effort to what they hope to gain. If the expected benefit is small, the effort seems less worthwhile.

Spending energy without paying too much

Gendolla compares effort with money: both are resources people are willing to spend, but not at any price. “We don’t dislike spending money, but we don’t want to pay too much for something,” he explains. In this view, holding back does not necessarily mean someone wants to avoid all exertion. It may instead reflect a mismatch between the work required and the anticipated return.

People are quite willing to expend considerable energy when they believe doing so is justified. Various studies also show that effort itself can generate positive feelings. What matters is that the effort feels warranted. Exertion and enjoyment are therefore not opposites: a demanding activity can be satisfying even though it takes energy.

Before and during a task, people consequently make a kind of cost-benefit assessment. They may decide to carry on, stop or never begin. Someone who is absolutely convinced that success is impossible may see no reason to invest any energy. Understanding that assessment can explain more than the blanket label “lazy”.

Why tidying feels harder than dancing

Gendolla does not observe a general tendency to avoid effort in young children. They spontaneously engage in many activities, behaviour that could support their development. As people grow older, however, they learn to ration their energy. For the psychologist, this is not necessarily a loss of drive; it can also represent sensible management of limited resources.

Teenagers’ behaviour can be understood in much the same way. A young person who refuses to tidy their bedroom is not necessarily lacking in energy or enthusiasm across the board. That particular task may simply seem uninteresting. The same teenager might happily spend an entire night dancing and enjoying themselves, despite the physical effort involved.

For families in Switzerland, the distinction offers a different perspective on familiar disputes. The question becomes not just why someone is doing nothing, but what purpose or benefit they see in a particular activity. The example nevertheless explains only one possible difference in motivation. It does not automatically turn unwelcome chores into appealing tasks.

What the heart reveals about mental effort

To measure mental effort, the Geneva team does not rely solely on participants describing their own experience. Participants wear sensors on their neck and chest, allowing researchers to monitor the heart’s response and examine physical processes associated with mobilising energy.

One important measurement is the “pre-ejection period”. Nicolas Silvestrini, a researcher at the laboratory, describes this as the interval between activation of the heart’s left ventricle and the actual ejection of blood into the aorta. A shorter interval is interpreted as a sign that the body is mobilising more resources and that effort is increasing.

The measurement is intended to help clarify the psychological foundations of motivation. It provides a physical indication of the effort someone is investing in a task. The focus is therefore not a moral judgement about diligence or laziness, but the conditions under which people draw more or less heavily on their available energy.

When even seeking treatment feels difficult

These questions become particularly important in depression. Silvestrini points to the marked difficulties with motivation observed in people affected by the condition. Even an apparently simple action can become very hard: leaving home to see a psychologist or psychiatrist, for example. A lack of motivation can therefore obstruct the very step that would lead to professional help.

Gendolla also notes that people with depression tend to be less sensitive to rewards. This makes it especially difficult to find a justification for the effort required. The Geneva research’s long-term goal is to identify ways of strengthening motivation. First, the factors influencing it need to be established more precisely. Targeted studies involving patients with depression are intended to follow.

Ludovic Maggioni, director of Neuchâtel’s Natural History Museum, offers a complementary, everyday perspective. Drawing on the research of Boris Cheval, he compares motivation to a muscle that can be trained: the first efforts are the hardest. He recommends ending activities with a positive experience. If the final few minutes leave a pleasant memory, that could increase someone’s willingness to repeat the activity. This is an approach for everyday life; finding targeted help for motivation difficulties associated with depression remains a research task.