Is judgment fatigable? Considering the case of employee selection panels

Decision fatigue theory asserts that judgment wanes with repeated decision-making because mental resources are depleted. Management consultants and journalists have taken up this concept with considerable vigour, based on limited empirical evidence. This paper challenges that theory. The authors' study sought to demonstrate decision fatigue in public sector employee selection panels composed of multiple decision makers who made multiple serial decisions. They found little evidence that the judgment of individual decision makers was swayed by fatigue.