The mental load: building a deeper theoretical understanding of how cognitive and emotional labor over
            <i>load</i>
            women and mothers

Dean, Liz; Churchill, Brendan; Ruppanner, Leah

doi:10.1080/13668803.2021.2002813

Cited by 123 publications

(94 citation statements)

References 65 publications

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“…Unlike other forms of household tasks, existing findings suggest that couples rarely negotiate or outsourced the division of cognitive tasks, partly because they lack a suitable vocabulary to discuss these tasks (Robertson et al 2019). It follows that cognitive labor is not only a multidimensional, very facetted part of total household labor but also that the division of cognitive tasks is governed by taken-for-granted gender norms and expectations that most likely lead to specialization (Luthra and Haux 2022;Dean, Churchill, and Ruppanner 2021;Ridgeway and Correll 2004).…”

Section: Cognitive Labor and Its Gendered Divisionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The potential implications of the gendered division of cognitive labor stem largely from the association between cognitive labor and stress and possible family-work conflicts as depicted in figure 1 (Dean, Churchill, and Ruppanner 2021). An increasing amount of cognitive tasks within a given time span needs larger amounts of cognitive capacity, often referred to as mental load or in other fields, like ergonomics, as mental workload (Hancock et al 2021).…”

Section: Cognitive Labor Stress and Exhaustionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Women carry more of the frequent daily tasks, such as those associated with anticipating the need for clean clothes, groceries, and scheduling, which cumulatively, requires substantial efforts (Daminger 2019). Furthermore, women with children face additional care-responsibilities, which can imply high-frequent and complex cognitive labor (Dean, Churchill, and Ruppanner 2021).…”

Section: Figure 1: How the Gendered Division Of Cognitive Labor Induc...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Our aim is to study the relation between the division of cognitive household labor and exhaustion, which seems to be the core concept of the mental load (Daminger 2019;Dean, Churchill, and Ruppanner 2021). The GGS does not contain specific items for stress or exhaustion, but it does contain items for work-family and family-work conflict.…”

Section: Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Second, discussions about cognitive labor suggest that it induces stress and exhaustion due to the mental load associated with its performance (Dean, Churchill, and Ruppanner 2021;Offer 2014;Treas and Tai 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Gendered Division of Cognitive Household Labor, Mental Load, and Family-Work Conflict in European Countries

Haupt¹,

Gelbgiser²

2022

Preprint

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The unequal division of cognitive labor within the household and its potential association with mental load gained substantial interest in recent academic and popular discussions. Here, we aim to deepen this debate theoretically and empirically. First, we connect the debate about cognitive household labor with existing stress theories, which enables us to reflect, which types of cognitive labor are especially stressful. We then discuss, whether women perform these types more often, making them more prone to experience higher levels of exhaustion because of household labor. Thus, we go beyond the question, whether the division cognitive labor is gendered and ask in addition whether men and women typically perform cognitive labor that are differently stressful. Second, we offer a quantitative measure of cognitive labor and analyze the gendered association between the division of cognitive labor in the household and exhaustion using large-scale survey data from seven European countries within the Generations & Gender Program (GGP). Our results confirm that a high share of cognitive labor with households is especially detrimental for women but not for men. Unequal division of physical labor, by contrast, does not have similar negative effects on women’s exhaustion. We use these analyses to discuss future directions in the conceptualization and measurement of cognitive labor in the household and its implications for mental load. In doing so, this paper lays the foundations for a comprehensive data-driven understanding of the implications of unequal division of cognitive labor in the household for gender inequality.

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Section: Cognitive Labor and Its Gendered Divisionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Cognitive Labor Stress and Exhaustionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Figure 1: How the Gendered Division Of Cognitive Labor Induc...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Gendered Division of Cognitive Household Labor, Mental Load, and Family-Work Conflict in European Countries

Haupt¹,

Gelbgiser²

2022

Preprint

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Unburdening care: Exploring modes of care through post‐productivist thought and Australian parliamentary inquiry representations

Khan

2024

Aust J Social Issues

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Research on care increasingly emphasises the “care‐less” or “uncaring” nature of state‐coordinated interventions imposed on marginalised communities. However, these perspectives tend to eliminate discussions about modes of care (Fox, Critical Social Policy, 15, 1995, 107) or the ways in which care is differentially experienced and performed. This paper argues for scholars to think multimodally about care, proposing a typology of four different modes of care: care‐as‐gift, ‐burden, ‐control and ‐cure. The paper makes a case for locating these modes of care within a post‐capitalist political horizon to respond to the demand to “unburden care.” That is, the political demand to provide the economic and social conditions that best enable caregiving and reduce gendered pressures on caregivers. The paper develops these arguments through the post‐productivist thought of Kathi Weeks (2011, The problem with work: feminism, marxism, antiwork politics, and postwork imaginaries. Durham, NC and London: Duke University Press) and a critical discursive examination of care representations made by submitters to two parliamentary inquiries into the Australian “pre‐employment” programme ParentsNext—a labour market activation programme that targets single‐parent caregivers “at risk of welfare dependency.” The paper contributes a critical and multimodal approach to better conceptualise competing framings of care's value and the ways in which the state can (un)burden caregiving.

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Parenting Pain Away: Development and usability testing of an educational website about infant procedural pain management

Richardson

Martin-Misener

Latimer

et al. 2023

Paediatric and Neonatal Pain

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All newborns undergo minor painful procedures (e.g., injections). Despite strong evidence supporting parents' efficacy to reduce procedural pain (e.g., breastfeeding), parents remain an underutilized resource. Limited evidence‐based resources about infant procedural pain management targeting parents in the perinatal period exist. We co‐created Parenting Pain Away, a website to enhance parents' access to information and participation in procedural pain management following birth. This study aimed to conduct iterative usability testing with the perinatal population to refine Parenting Pain Away based on target users' identified needs and satisfaction. In 2020, parents of healthy newborns or expectant parents from an Atlantic Canadian province, participated in two iterative cycles of usability testing of Parenting Pain Away. Through recorded interviews, participants were directed to use the “Think Aloud” approach (e.g., verbalize what they see, think, feel) as they navigated through the website. Participants completed online questionnaires related to demographics and user satisfaction, measured by the Post Study System Usability Questionnaire (PSSUQ). Descriptive statistics and content analysis were conducted to analyze the data. In total, there were 10 participants with an average age of 29.9 years (SD = 3.9). Participants identified as mothers (n = 7) or fathers (n = 3) and were expecting (n = 6) or had a newborn (n = 4). The PSSUQ overall scores were 1.84 (SD = 0.55) and 1.34 (SD = 0.49) in Cycles 1 and 2, respectively, indicating high user satisfaction on the 7‐point scale. When comparing between the two cycles, the average overall score was lower in Cycle 2, suggesting improved satisfaction. Participants provided positive feedback about the website and suggested major refinements to simplify content and site navigation. Findings from usability testing cycles were used to inform refinements of the Parenting Pain Away in response to participant satisfaction and feedback. Engaging target users in the development process enhanced this website in preparation for further effectiveness testing.

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The mental load: building a deeper theoretical understanding of how cognitive and emotional labor over load women and mothers

Cited by 123 publications

References 65 publications

The Gendered Division of Cognitive Household Labor, Mental Load, and Family-Work Conflict in European Countries

The Gendered Division of Cognitive Household Labor, Mental Load, and Family-Work Conflict in European Countries

Unburdening care: Exploring modes of care through post‐productivist thought and Australian parliamentary inquiry representations

Parenting Pain Away: Development and usability testing of an educational website about infant procedural pain management

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