Rational Ignorance and Textbook Reading

I have an upcoming exam in my Neural Basis of Behavior course. In trying to decide whether I should do the textbook readings, I engaged in a rational ignorance decision tactic.

I realized the day before the test I would have to read 4 lengthy chapters of material for the exam, and thought of how I could get the most bang for my buck when it comes to studying and spending time efficiently.

I came up with 5 choices: I could read just the definitions, I could read definitions and the headings, I could read the definitions and skim each paragraph, or I could read everything in the book.

As you can see, I asserted that simply reading the definitions was very easy (low cost) and gave me a great general understanding of the key terms (high benefit). In reading some of the headings, I incurred a slightly higher cost, but gained some worthwhile information to help me put the definitions in context. 

Reading everything would incur a very high cost because I would have to knit pick every last detail and read very carefully (high cost) and I would not be gaining information that is pertinent to an intro class (low benefit).

I concluded that reading the definitions and skimming the paragraphs would be my ideal situation. I would incur costs and benefits that equal each other and achieve the proper level of knowledge to succeed in the exam. Off to study.