The political consequences of the mental load

Abstract How do levels of cognitive household labour—the ‘mental load’ involved in anticipating, fulfilling, and monitoring household needs—affect political interest? The mental load is distinct from the physical tasks of e.g. cooking and cleaning, and thought to be disproportionately undertaken by women. I argue that while low levels of mental load can foster political interest, at high levels the mental (over)load crowds out cognitive space for political issues, especially issues distant from family life. To test this argument, I field a novel survey on politics and household work to a sample of parents in the United States. I find a large gender gap, with mothers reporting primary responsibility for 71 percent of cognitive household labour, compared to fathers’ 45 percent. Low levels of mental load are positively linked to political interest, while high levels of mental load decrease interest in certain issues, including national politics and inflation. I report similar effects for fathers and mothers, but due to the gendered distribution of mental load (mothers carrying more load, on average), negative consequences are much more common among mothers. The findings offer new evidence about a gender gap too often hidden, and its consequences for political life.