Interesting article, and your formula definitely caught my problem, unfortunately, there isn’t a lot I can do about it. My “expectancy” is as close to zero as it can be. I am seriously Aspergian, and know from long experience that I am not going to be able to put much of what I do to use. So I actually only do three categories of actions: 1) things I need to do now, 2) things other people are paying me to do, that I know will be rewarded, and 3) things that satisfy my personal curiosity. Interestingly, in any of these three situations I can work hard and persistently, so much so that I have sometimes been accused of “showing off” for actions I just considered normal. But I simply cannot maintain any activity that doesn’t satisfy one of these conditions. I think that is likely to be pretty normal for Aspergians, it would definitely explain their executive functioning issues.
ADDED: Note that with this interpretation, executive functioning problems are not independent issues but dependent on social problems that undercut motivation to do them.
Unfortunately, almost everything is interesting. Which makes it really hard to maintain focus on any one thing for an extended period without an outside prod.
Interesting article, and your formula definitely caught my problem, unfortunately, there isn’t a lot I can do about it. My “expectancy” is as close to zero as it can be. I am seriously Aspergian, and know from long experience that I am not going to be able to put much of what I do to use. So I actually only do three categories of actions: 1) things I need to do now, 2) things other people are paying me to do, that I know will be rewarded, and 3) things that satisfy my personal curiosity. Interestingly, in any of these three situations I can work hard and persistently, so much so that I have sometimes been accused of “showing off” for actions I just considered normal. But I simply cannot maintain any activity that doesn’t satisfy one of these conditions. I think that is likely to be pretty normal for Aspergians, it would definitely explain their executive functioning issues.
ADDED: Note that with this interpretation, executive functioning problems are not independent issues but dependent on social problems that undercut motivation to do them.
Sounds to me like the first tactic to investigate would be finding a way to deliberately pique your curiosity. What makes a topic interesting for you?
Unfortunately, almost everything is interesting. Which makes it really hard to maintain focus on any one thing for an extended period without an outside prod.