Book & podcast collection

What’s on Her Mind: The Mental Workload of Family Life

Allison Daminger investigates the mental workload of family life: the anticipating, monitoring, researching, and decision-making that keeps a household running. Based on in-depth research with couples, she shows how this largely invisible labor is divided, why women so often carry more of it, and how inequalities persist even in families committed to equal partnership. The book moves beyond chore charts to reveal the cognitive and emotional processes behind domestic work, offering a clearer language for recognizing them and practical insight into how couples, workplaces, and institutions can distribute responsibility more fairly.

Publisher: Princeton University Press
Publication date: 2025
Format: Print edition
Pages: 256
ISBN: 9780691245386

Subjects

Family Mental Load Gender Equality

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Interview with the Author

4 available interview links

1. Psychologists Off the Clock — 446. Cognitive Household Labor with Allison DamingerChecked

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2. The Third Shift: On the Mental Load — Who Does the Thinking? A Chief of Staff and an Executive Coach discuss Allison Daminger’s What’s On Her MindChecked

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3. AI-Empowered Mom — What's On Her Mind: Understanding the Mental Load with Professor Allison DamingerChecked

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4. Startup Dad — The Mental Workload of Family Life | Allison Daminger (Mom of 1, Author & Sociologist)Checked

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