Learned Industriousness as a Translational Mechanism of Excess Goal Pursuit: An Example in Eating Disorders

Researchers have long grappled to understand the persistence of behaviors that are non-hedonic and, ostensibly, aversive. At times, such behaviors can be taken to excess in the form of psychopathology. Eating disorders characterize a prototype of psychiatric disorders in which behaviors that most people find unpleasant (e.g., restrictive eating, excessive exercise) are rigidly and repeatedly performed. The learned industriousness theory, which has roots in behavioral neuroscience, provides a theoretical account for such phenomena. Informed by humans and animal data, this theory posits that effort (intense physical or mental activity) can be conditioned to acquire secondary rewarding properties through repeatedly pairing high-effort behavior with reward. Over time, effort sensations would become less aversive and more appetitive because they signal impending reward, increasing eagerness to engage in effortful behavior. In this manuscript we: 1) review biobehavioral data supporting learned industriousness; 2) highlight evidence that this theory may account for persistence of certain eating disorder behaviors; and 3) consider clinical and research implications of this model, including the translation to other psychiatric presentations.

Relation of Task Difficulty to Persistence

The present study was a replication and expansion of Eisenberger's 1992 model of learned industriousness which states that task persistence is determined by one's prior history with effort and reinforcement on previous tasks. He predicted a linear relationship between these factors. College students (32 women and 22 men) participated in this study which examined the relationship among seven levels of difficulty on a digit-array task and persistence on an unsolvable anagram task. Analysis indicated a quadratic relationship; at intermediate levels of difficulty and reinforcement, persistence was highest, and at low and high levels of difficulty and reinforcement, persistence declined. We attribute these findings to the effects of both learned industriousness and learned helplessness.

Achievement: The importance of industriousness

The emphasis on innate talent as the basis for outstanding achievement underestimates the importance of hard work. Learned industriousness helps supply the sustained effort required for superior achievement. The goal of having a productive, well-educated citizenry can be furthered by rewarding students for high effort and attending carefully to their individual educational needs.