What It Means
Cognitive labor is the mental side of household work. Sociologist Allison Daminger breaks it into four parts: anticipating what the household will need, identifying the options for meeting that need, deciding among them, and monitoring whether it worked out. Because this work happens in someone's head, both the person doing it and the people they live with can miss how much of it there is.
Try It: Who Does the Thinking for One Job?
Pick one household job, then say who handles each of the four stages. Everything starts as shared.
Three or four stages sit with you, so most of the thinking for this job is yours, even if someone else does the running around.
Most of the thinking for this job sits with the other adult.
The thinking for this job is spread between you. Try the same check on another job.
How It Sounds at Home
- "I don't mind driving. It's the figuring out I'm tired of."
- "Just tell me what to buy and I'll get it."
- "Who's keeping track of the dentist this year?"
The Breakdown
The four stages, with one example
| Stage | What it looks like for a child's birthday partyKids birthday partyA birthday celebration planned for a child and their friends, usually with food, cake, an activity and small favors for the guests. See more |
|---|---|
| Anticipate | Noticing the birthday is six weeks away |
| Identify | Looking up places, dates and prices |
| Decide | Choosing the place and the guest list |
| Monitor | CheckingChecking accountA bank or credit union account for everyday money going in and out, used by debit card, checks, transfers and direct deposit. See more the invites went out and replies came back |
Signs one person carries most of it
- They notice a need before anyone else mentions it.
- Other people bring them questions instead of answers, like "Which camp should we pick?"
- They check back on jobs someone else agreed to do.
- Plans stall when they're away for a few days.
Quick self-check. Pick one job your household repeats, such as school forms or holiday travel. Write down who handles each of the four stages. If one name shows up at three or four of them, that person carries most of the thinking for that job.
A way to start the conversation. "I've noticed I'm the one who spots and plans most of the kids' stuff. Could you take over two jobs completely, from noticing they're coming up to checking they're done?"
Where It Comes From
Sociologist Allison Daminger set out this four-part definition in "The Cognitive Dimension of Household Labor," published in the American Sociological Review in 2019 (volume 84, issue 4). She drew on 70 in-depth interviews with members of 35 couples and argued that thinking tasks at home are a distinct dimension of housework in their own right. Daminger is now at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Good to Know
Cognitive labor overlaps with mental loadMental loadThe unseen work of noticing, planning and remembering everything a household needs, even when someone else carries out the task. See more and invisible laborInvisible laborWork that keeps a home or workplace running but isn't recognized as work, often because it's unpaid or unseen, like planning, scheduling and remembering. See more. Mental load is the everyday phrase for the whole weight of keeping track of a home, while Daminger's term splits the thinking into four stages, which makes it easier to see which stage is lopsided. Her study also found the work is draining and easy to overlook, and that couples often clash over it.
FAQ
What's the difference between cognitive labor and mental load?
They overlap. Mental load is the everyday phrase for the weight of keeping track of a home, and cognitive labor is the research term that splits that thinking into four stages: anticipating, identifying options, deciding and monitoring.
Who came up with the term cognitive labor?
The four-stage household definition comes from sociologist Allison Daminger's 2019 article, "The Cognitive Dimension of Household Labor," in the American Sociological Review. She based it on interviews with 35 couples.
What are examples of cognitive labor?
Noticing the kids have outgrown their shoes, comparing summer camps, deciding which one to book, and checking that the forms went in. Each is thinking that happens around the visible task.
Do It in Buhata
Household Space and Tasks
Put a recurring job in Tasks inside your Household Space and give it one owner for all four stages, from noticing to checking.
Open BuhataRelated Terms and Categories
- Mental load
The unseen work of noticing, planning and remembering everything a household needs, even when someone else carries out the task.
- Invisible labor
Work that keeps a home or workplace running but isn't recognized as work, often because it's unpaid or unseen, like planning, scheduling and remembering.
- Emotional labor
Managing your feelings and expressions as part of a paid job, a term from sociologist Arlie Hochschild; now also used for unpaid emotional work at home.
- Fair Play method
Eve Rodsky's system, from her book Fair Play, for splitting household work: partners deal out task cards, and each owns a card fully, from planning to doing.
Sources
Allison Daminger, "The Cognitive Dimension of Household Labor," American Sociological Review 84(4), 2019 (SAGE Journals); Harvard Kennedy School, Stone Program in Wealth Distribution, Inequality, and Social Policy, publication listing; University of Wisconsin-Madison, Center for Demography and Ecology, "Daminger, Allison"
- journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0003122419859007
- inequality.hks.harvard.edu/publications/cognitive-dimension-household-labor
- cde.wisc.edu/staff/daminger-allison
Last updated .