Aidan Campbell
@AidanVCampbell
Psychology PhD Student @UTSC Studying the subjective experience of effort and what makes life meaningful
New work confirming the frustration-decoupling theory of Conscientiousness and extending it to physical work as well as intellectual effort. 1. Work is frustrating. 2. Frustration makes us stop working. 3. Conscientiousness decouples the link of effort to frustration, allowing…
✨ Excited to share that I’m joining the Department of Psychology at the University of Toronto (@UofT) as a tenure-track Assistant Professor! 🇨🇦📍 My research focuses on how we can better navigate life in a distraction-filled world.🌿
🚨New paper alert! 🚨 I've been fascinated by this contradiction for years: we hate exerting effort, yet we value things more when they're difficult to achieve. Is the effort paradox real, illusory, or adaptive? Have a read! sciencedirect.com/science/articl…
The Paradox of Hard Work Why do people enjoy doing difficult things? theatlantic.com/science/archiv…
Is #empathy really the fundamental weakness of western civilization as Elon Musk claims? I argue that this claim rests on unfounded assumptions in a recent piece for Broadview. broadview.org/elon-musk-empa…
New preprint! We love effort when it brings meaning and mastery, yet we loathe it for its costs and aversiveness. Why does effort play this dual role in our lives? The Effort Paradox Redux, unpacks this tension, exploring how effort shapes motivation, well-being, and growth.