You make me tired: An experimental test of the role of interpersonal operant conditioning in fatigue

In the control condition, only neutral feedback was given. Although all participants became more fatigued during cognitive effort, interpersonal operant conditioning led to increased fatigue reporting relative to neutral feedback. This effect occurred independently of conscious awareness.

Interestingly, the experimental condition also performed worse on the working memory task. Results suggest that fatigue complaints (and cognitive performance) may become controlled by their consequences such as social reward, and not exclusively by their antecedents such as effort. Results have implications for treatment development and suggest that interpersonal operant conditioning may contribute to fatigue becoming a chronic symptom.