Does your child shut down the moment a HAST or Selective Test question gets difficult? In ‘Dopamine Nation’, Stanford Professor Dr Anna Lembke reveals why modern brains fear hard work. By learning how to ’embrace difficulty’ through structured practice tests, you can help your child build the mental resilience and focus required for ultimate exam success.
When preparing for competitive Australian exams like the Higher Ability Selection Test (HAST), the Opportunity Class (OC) test, or NAPLAN, many parents notice a concerning trend. Their child might happily breeze through easy worksheets or re-read familiar notes, but the moment they encounter a complex, multi-step problem, they shut down. They might complain that it’s “too hard,” become frustrated, or simply refuse to try.
This aversion to difficult cognitive tasks is a common hurdle in exam preparation. However, it is not a sign that your child lacks intelligence or capability. Instead, it is a symptom of a brain that has been trained by the modern world to seek easy, instant gratification and avoid discomfort at all costs.
To understand why children shy away from hard work, we can look to the neuroscience of pleasure and pain. In her New York Times bestselling book Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence, Dr Anna Lembke, a Professor of Psychiatry at Stanford University School of Medicine, explains how our brains manage reward and effort.
Dr Lembke details how the brain’s pleasure-pain balance functions like a seesaw. When a child engages in high-dopamine activities—like playing video games or scrolling through social media—the brain is flooded with pleasure, and the seesaw tips heavily to one side. To restore balance, the brain pushes down on the pain side, building a tolerance to dopamine.
In this state, anything that requires sustained effort without an immediate reward feels genuinely painful. The cognitive strain of solving a difficult HAST abstract reasoning problem or a Selective Test reading comprehension passage is simply too uncomfortable for a brain accustomed to effortless stimulation.
The antidote to this problem is a concept Dr Lembke calls “embracing difficulty.” By intentionally engaging in challenging, effortful activities, we can actually reset the brain’s pleasure-pain balance and build mental resilience.
When a child tackles a difficult problem, they experience a degree of cognitive “pain.” However, if they persist and eventually solve the problem (or even just make progress), their brain releases a natural, sustained dose of dopamine as a reward. Over time, this process trains the brain to associate effort with reward, making hard work feel less painful and more satisfying.
This concept is closely related to what cognitive scientists call “desirable difficulty.” Learning that feels easy—like re-reading a textbook—is often superficial and quickly forgotten. Learning that feels hard—like struggling to recall information or solving a complex problem from scratch—creates stronger, longer-lasting neural connections.
For students preparing for the HAST, Selective Test, or NAPLAN, the most effective way to embrace desirable difficulty is through regular, structured practice tests.
Practice tests force the brain to work hard. They require the student to retrieve information from memory, apply logic to novel situations, and sustain their focus over an extended period. This process is inherently uncomfortable, but it is exactly the type of cognitive “pain” that builds a stronger, more resilient brain.
When a child takes a practice test, they are not just familiarising themselves with the exam format; they are actively training their brain to tolerate and eventually enjoy the challenge of complex problem-solving.
To help your child embrace the difficulty of practice tests:
By using practice tests to intentionally introduce desirable difficulty into your child’s study routine, you can help them build the mental resilience required for success in Australian competitive exams. TestMagic provides a comprehensive range of realistic online practice tests for the HAST, Selective Test, and NAPLAN. For more advice on supporting your child’s emotional well-being during exam preparation, read our article on Boys and Exam Anxiety.
