Ask Dr. Universe

Are we getting lazier? Asked by Aaryan, 9.

Dear Aaryan,

We cats have a reputation for being lazy. We sleep a lot. But the truth is when I got your question, I didn’t know much about laziness. So, I decided to talk about it with a couple of psychologists here at Washington State University.

My first stop was the Psychology of Physical Activity Lab. That’s where I met up with my friend, Professor Anne E. Cox.

Cox said that when she was playing college basketball, she started to struggle with feeling motivated to practice. It actually sparked a few questions, like: What makes people choose what t...