Greensboro College Professor Says “Laziness” May Hide Creativity
GREENSBORO, N.C. – A Greensboro College psychology professor has told an Australian science website that apparently laziness in some people can mask productivity.
Todd McElroy, associate professor of psychology, told author Kate Raynes-Goldie that laziness frequently masks efficiency and creativity.
In 2016, McElroy led a study that found that people with a higher “need for cognition” – laziness – were more likely than other people to try to solve problems mentally rather than physically.
“Different people may have relatively similar energy levels, but they actually spend this energy in fundamentally different ways,” McElroy said.
“Some people may expend relatively more energy on physical activity, whereas other people may spend relatively more energy on intellectual energy.”
McElroy holds a B.A. from the University of North Carolina at Asheville and an M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. He joined the faculty in 2018.
Greensboro College provides a liberal arts education grounded in the traditions of the United Methodist Church and fosters the intellectual, social, and, spiritual development of all students while supporting their individual needs.
Founded in 1838 and located in downtown Greensboro, the college enrolls about 1,000 students from 29 states and territories, the District of Columbia, and seven foreign countries in its undergraduate liberal-arts program and six master’s degree programs. In addition to rigorous academics and a well-supported Honors program, the school features a 17-sport NCAA Division III athletic program and dozens of service and recreational opportunities. Learn more at www.greensboro.edu.
Think critically. Act justly. Live faithfully.
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