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This November, psychology journal Metacognition and Learning published its 15th volume, containing an article co-written by professor of psychology Lisa Son. The paper, titled "Prior Failures, Laboring in Vain, and Knowing When to Give Up: Incremental Versus Entity Theories," investigates the role failure plays in the learning process. Questioning the prevailing belief that challenging learning experiences and "laboring in vain" is helpful, Son and her co-researchers studied the benefits of knowing when to take the easy road. From the subjects tested, they learned that people were less likely to challenge themselves with difficult problems after experiencing prior failure.