Showing papers on "Ego depletion published in 2013"
15 Jul 2013
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors identify the difference between fatigue and ego depletion and access the contributions of motivation and beliefs in self control in the future research, finding a reliable way to improve self-control in real world settings would be another helpful direction for further work.
Abstract: Self-control is defined as the capacity to override natural and automatic tendencies; and to conscious control one’s behavior. The strength model of self-control suggests that the exertion of self-control depends on a limited resource. Research has supported the strength model in the domains of impulsive behaviors, interpersonal processes, decision making and judgments. Factors that appear to have impact on the self control strength include personality, emotion, motivation and self-control programs. It is necessary to identify the difference between fatigue and ego depletion and to access the contributions of motivation and beliefs in self control in the future research. Finding a reliable way to improve self-control in real world settings would be another helpful direction for further work.
394 citations
TL;DR: The literature on mindfulness has been dominated by the two leading schools of thought: one advanced by Langer and her colleagues; the other developed by Kabat-Zinn and his associates as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: The literature on mindfulness has been dominated by the two leading schools of thought: one advanced by Langer and her colleagues; the other developed by Kabat-Zinn and his associates. Curiously, t...
131 citations
TL;DR: It is suggested that the belief that willpower is limited sensitizes people to cues about their available resources including physiological cues, making them dependent on glucose boosts for high self-control performance.
Abstract: Past research found that the ingestion of glucose can enhance self-control. It has been widely assumed that basic physiological processes underlie this effect. We hypothesized that the effect of glucose also depends on people’s theories about willpower. Three experiments, both measuring (experiment 1) and manipulating (experiments 2 and 3) theories about willpower, showed that, following a demanding task, only people who view willpower as limited and easily depleted (a limited resource theory) exhibited improved self-control after sugar consumption. In contrast, people who view willpower as plentiful (a nonlimited resource theory) showed no benefits from glucose—they exhibited high levels of self-control performance with or without sugar boosts. Additionally, creating beliefs about glucose ingestion (experiment 3) did not have the same effect as ingesting glucose for those with a limited resource theory. We suggest that the belief that willpower is limited sensitizes people to cues about their available resources including physiological cues, making them dependent on glucose boosts for high self-control performance.
125 citations
TL;DR: An alternative explanation for depletion is presented; but based on statistical techniques that evaluate and adjust for publication bias, it is questioned whether depletion is a real phenomenon in need of explanation.
Abstract: The depletion effect, a decreased capacity for self-control following previous acts of self-control, is thought to result from a lack of necessary psychological/physical resources (i.e., “ego depletion”). Kurzban et al. present an alternative explanation for depletion; but based on statistical techniques that evaluate and adjust for publication bias, we question whether depletion is a real phenomenon in need of explanation.
110 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue that the constant pressure that leaders face may limit the willpower required to behave according to ethical norms and standards and may therefore lead to unethical behavior, and highlight the necessity to carefully schedule tasks that may have ethical implications.
Abstract: In the present article, we argue that the constant pressure that leaders face may limit the willpower required to behave according to ethical norms and standards and may therefore lead to unethical behavior. Drawing upon the ego depletion and moral self-regulation literatures, we examined whether self-regulatory depletion that is contingent upon the moral identity of leaders may promote unethical leadership behavior. A laboratory experiment and a multisource field study revealed that regulatory resource depletion promotes unethical leader behaviors among leaders who are low in moral identity. No such effect was found among leaders with a high moral identity. This study extends our knowledge on why organizational leaders do not always conform to organizational goals. Specifically, we argue that the hectic and fragmented workdays of leaders may increase the likelihood that they violate ethical norms. This highlights the necessity to carefully schedule tasks that may have ethical implications. Similarly, organizations should be aware that overloading their managers with work may increase the likelihood of their leaders transgressing ethical norms.
93 citations
TL;DR: This paper investigated whether athletes differ in their disposition of staying focused and avoiding distraction and intra-individually in their situational availability of focused attention, and found that athletes differ at staying focused on performance and avoiding distractions.
44 citations
TL;DR: Claims that self-control failure is caused by the depletion of a resource (or that it functions as if it relies on a limited resource) merit greater circumspection, as well as contrary to predictions from the limited strength model.
Abstract: The limited strength model of self-control predicts that acts of self-control impair subsequent performance on tasks that require self-control (i.e., “ego depletion”), and the majority of the published research on this topic is supportive of this prediction. Additional research suggests that this effect can be alleviated by manipulating participants’ motivation to perform—for instance, by having participants swish a drink containing carbohydrates, which is thought to function as a reward—or by requiring participants to complete two initial acts of self-control rather than only one. Here, we explore both the effect of having participants perform two initial tasks thought to require self-control (versus two less self-control-intensive tasks) and the effect of swishing a drink containing sucrose (compared to control drinks) on subsequent self-control. Outcomes were analyzed using standard null hypothesis significance testing techniques (e.g., analysis of variance, t-tests). In some cases, test statistics were transformed into Bayes factors to aid in interpretation (i.e., to allow for acceptance of the null hypothesis). We found that performing two self-control-intensive tasks actually improved subsequent self-control when participants swished a drink containing sucrose between tasks. For participants who swished control drinks, we found no evidence of ego depletion. We conclude that claims that self-control failure is caused by the depletion of a resource (or that it functions as if it relies on a limited resource) merit greater circumspection. Our results—all of which were either null or contrary to predictions from the limited strength model—are important for researchers interested in patterns of self-control failure.
38 citations
TL;DR: The authors found that sleep is a diminishable resource that fuels self-control and is therefore necessary for inhibiting prejudice, and that the relationship between sleep and prejudice was marginally moderated by negative implicit associations.
Abstract: Does sleepiness make one more likely to engage in stereotyping? Are people more likely to be prejudiced because of a poor night of sleep? Borrowing from ego depletion theory and research on self-control and prejudice, the present work investigates these questions. We suggest that sleep is a diminishable resource that fuels self-control and is, therefore, necessary for inhibiting prejudice. A series of 3 studies show that sleep did influence prejudice. Furthermore, we found that the relationship between sleep and prejudice was marginally moderated by negative implicit associations, such that this relationship primarily held true for individuals who have high negative implicit associations. These results highlight the critical role that sleep plays in suppressing prejudice.
38 citations
18 Jun 2013
TL;DR: This article found very little evidence that the depletion effect is a real phenomenon, at least when assessed with the methods most frequently used in the laboratory, and strongly challenge the idea that self-control functions as if it relies on a limited psychological or physical resource.
Abstract: Failures of self-control are thought to underlie various important behaviors (e.g., addiction, violence, obesity, poor academic achievement). The modern conceptualization of self-control failure has been heavily influenced by the idea that self-control functions as if it relied upon a limited physiological or cognitive resource. This view of self-control has inspired hundreds of experiments designed to test the prediction that acts of self-control are more likely to fail when they follow previous acts of self-control (the depletion effect). Here, we evaluated the empirical evidence for this effect with a series of focused, meta-analytic tests that address the limitations in prior appraisals of the evidence. We find very little evidence that the depletion effect is a real phenomenon, at least when assessed with the methods most frequently used in the laboratory. Our results strongly challenge the idea that self-control functions as if it relies on a limited psychological or physical resource.
37 citations
TL;DR: Engaging in a demanding task led to performance deficits on a subsequent self-regulatory task (i.e. the depletion effect) only when the initial demanding task was relatively short but not when it was long enough for participants to adapt.
37 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the effects of motivation and beliefs on self-control were found to be limited to cases of mild depletion, while when depletion is extensive, motivation and subjective belief vanished and in one case reversed.
TL;DR: The findings indicate that IAR does have implications for resource depletion, but that social reactions play a role in the outcome.
Abstract: Background This investigation focuses on what occurs to individuals' self-regulatory resource during controlled Interpersonal Affect Regulation (IAR) which is the process of deliberately influencing the internal feeling states of others. Combining the strength model of self-regulation and the resources conservation model, the investigation tested whether: (1) IAR behaviors are positively related to ego-depletion because goal-directed behaviors demand self-regulatory processes, and (2) the use of affect-improving strategies benefits from a source of resource-recovery because it initiates positive feedback from targets, as proposed from a resource-conservation perspective. Method To test this, a lab study based on an experimental dual-task paradigm using a sample of pairs of friends in the UK and a longitudinal field study of a sample of healthcare workers in Spain were conducted. Results The experimental study showed a depleting effect of interpersonal affect-improving IAR on a subsequent self-regulation task. The field study showed that while interpersonal affect-worsening was positively associated with depletion, as indicated by the level of emotional exhaustion, interpersonal affect-improving was only associated with depletion after controlling for the effect of positive feedback from clients. Conclusion The findings indicate that IAR does have implications for resource depletion, but that social reactions play a role in the outcome.
TL;DR: In two experiments, recent findings showing the detrimental role of regulatory depletion in decision making are extended to the field of deception detection and it was shown that the lower detection accuracy in the state of ego depletion was due to a feeling of difficulty of relying on verbal content information.
Abstract: In two experiments, recent findings showing the detrimental role of regulatory depletion in decision making are extended to the field of deception detection. In both experiments, the state of ego depletion was induced by having judges inhibit versus non-inhibit a dominant response while transcribing a text. Subsequently they judged true or deceptive messages of different stimulus persons with regard to their truthfulness. In both experiments, ego-depleted judges scored significantly lower on detection accuracy than control judges. Signal detection measures showed that this effect was not due to differences in judgmental bias between the two conditions. In Experiment 2, it was shown that the lower detection accuracy in the state of ego depletion was due to a feeling of difficulty of relying on verbal content information. Practical implications of the current findings are discussed.
TL;DR: The results indicate that self-affirmation may compensate for ego depletion, with theoretical implications for the psychology of customization technology and practical implications for design of customization options in media interfaces.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigate whether an initial act of self-control influences participants' ability to employ counteractive control strategies that help to resist temptation and stick to a focal physical activity (PA) goal.
Abstract: Understanding the psychological processes that underpin the limited self-control resource could have important consequences for health behavior change interventions. The present study employs a 2 × 2 (autonomous/controlling × depleted/not depleted) experimental design to investigate whether an initial act of self-control influences participants' ability to employ counteractive control strategies that help to resist temptation and stick to a focal physical activity (PA) goal. Experimental instructions manipulated the environments to generate autonomy-supportive and controlling conditions. After completing either a depleting or a not-depleting Stroop task, undergraduate students' (N = 77) counteractive evaluations toward a temptation (to complete a sedentary trial with no information) and a focal goal (to complete a physically active trial that provided valuable information) were measured. Despite the successful manipulation of the experimental conditions, results indicated no significant effect of the moti...
TL;DR: The results suggest that the Stroop-color group needed less effort for cognitive control during conflict processing, as reinforcement learning make task-defined response habitual.
Abstract: We examined whether reinforcement learning of habitual actions diminishes ego depletion after a cognitive control task. Participants performed the Stroop task after a card selection task, in which one group was reinforced to respond to colors in the Stroop task (Stroop-color group) while another group was reinforced to respond to colors not in the Stroop task (non-Stroop-color group). We measured ego depletion in terms of decrement in endurance on an isometric handgrip task after the Stroop task. The Stroop-color group exhibited less decrease in their isometric handgrip endurance compared to the non-Stroop-color group. These results suggest that the former needed less effort for cognitive control during conflict processing, as reinforcement learning make task-defined response habitual. This finding provides a new perspective on the role of reward in cognitive control.
TL;DR: It is proposed that the initial actions of self-control may undermine subsequent event-based prospective memory (EBPM), and the effect of ego depletion on EBPM was mainly due to an impaired prospective component rather than to a retrospective component.
Abstract: Past research has consistently found that people are likely to do worse on high-level cognitive tasks after exerting self-control on previous actions. However, little has been unraveled about to what extent ego depletion affects subsequent prospective memory. Drawing upon the self-control strength model and the relationship between self-control resources and executive control, this study proposes that the initial actions of self-control may undermine subsequent event-based prospective memory (EBPM). Ego depletion was manipulated through watching a video requiring visual attention (Experiment 1) or completing an incongruent Stroop task (Experiment 2). Participants were then tested on EBPM embedded in an ongoing task. As predicted, the results showed that after ruling out possible intervening variables (e.g. mood, focal and nonfocal cues, and characteristics of ongoing task and ego depletion task), participants in the high-depletion condition performed significantly worse on EBPM than those in the low-deple...
TL;DR: The results substantiate one possible mechanism of ego depletion and illustrate how neuroscience data can further social psychological theory.
Abstract: ‘Ego depletion’ refers to the phenomenon of diminished ability to enact self-regulation with repeated efforts. Several models offer process accounts of how ego depletion works, but few studies directly investigate these processes. A study in this issue of Social, Cognitive, & Affective Neuroscience by Wagner and Heatherton is among the first to do so. Their results substantiate one possible mechanism of ego depletion and, more broadly, illustrate how neuroscience data can further social psychological theory.
25 May 2013
TL;DR: The theory of ego depletion has developed in terms of many aspects, e.g. ego depletion causes many inadaptation problems as mentioned in this paper, i.e., due to the self-activities, the mental energy is consumed and this mental energy consumption process is called ego depletion.
Abstract: Due to the self-activities, the mental energy is consumed and this mental energy consumption process is called ego depletion. Ego depletion causes many inadaptation problems. In recent years, the theory of ego depletion has developed in terms of many aspects, e.g. the fields of ego depletion, the duration and internal mechanism. The current investigation of factors affecting ego depletion focuses on cognition, emotion and personality traits. The applied research on results of ego depletion has become a new trend. The mechanism of ego depletion should be further investigated in the future, and some existing debates about the influencing factors and results of ego depletion need to be clarified. Moreover, measurement tools need further study in order to improve the ego depletion theory.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors explain the relevance of self-control and willpower for antisocial behaviour and forensic practice, and propose a methodology for applying a correct understanding of how selfcontrol functions.
Abstract: Purpose – This article aims to explain the relevance of new findings about self‐control and willpower for antisocial behaviour and forensic practice.Design/methodology/approach – The relevance of the phenomena is covered first, followed by an exposition of how self‐control works.Findings – The basic ingredients for effective self‐control are standards, monitoring, and willpower. Willpower fluctuates as a function of demands on it (including decision making) and bodily states (including food and rest). Self‐control and willpower can be increased, even in adults.Practical implications – Antisocial and criminal behaviour is often mediated by failures of self‐control. Remediation and prevention can benefit by applying a correct understanding of how self‐control functions.Originality/value – Understanding of self‐control has advanced greatly in recent years and is highly relevant to forensic practice. Clients can learn to gain control over their actions.
Dissertation•
29 May 2013
TL;DR: Andorfer et al. as discussed by the authors explored the reasons why consumers purchase ethically, focusing on consumers' attitudes, values and intentions focusing upon consumers' attitude, values, and intentions.
Abstract: Within western societies the act of consumption is not merely concerned with satisfying basic human needs. Rather, consumption has become a source of leisure and self expression for the masses (Belk, 1988). This has meant that humankind’s wants have tended to outstrip the world’s finite resources available, leading to environmental damage, questionable farming practice and the widespread abuse of human labour. In response to these issues the phenomena of ethical consumption was born. Ethical consumption attempts to limit the environmental, human and animal costs of our spending via the favouring of products that are deemed to be for the betterment of wider society. At face value ethical consumption has been hugely successful in terms of market share, with sales of products stressing their ethical credentials having grown rapidly in recent years (Cooperative Bank 2011). However, despite this success, ethically branded products still represent a minority of purchases (Thøgersen, 2006). Psychological research exploring the reasons why consumers purchase ethically is dominated by papers focusing upon consumers’ attitudes, values and intentions (Andorfer & Liebe, 2012, Milfont & Duckitt, 2004). However, consumers’ attitudes do not always mirror actual spending (Auger, Burke, Devinney & Louviere., 2003; Auger & Devinney, 2007). Whilst one third of consumers describe themselves as being ethical spenders, only 1-3% of products purchased are Fair Trade certified (Cowe & Williams, 2000). The divergence between attitude and behaviour has been referred to as the ‘ethical purchasing gap’ (Andorfer & Liebe, 2012, Clayton & Brook, 2005). One factor that may be partially responsible for the divergence between purchase intention and actual behaviours is self-regulatory fatigue (ego depletion).
TL;DR: The invisible bridge is an induction technique that uses the somatic experience of the vaded state to provide a focus for hypnotic induction and a bridge to the original sensitizing event that vaded the previously normal state.
Abstract: Ego state therapy is based on the assumption that personality is composed of parts. When people switch from 1 state to another, they take their ego identification with them, while their levels of affect, intellect, confidence, and skill change. A vaded ego state has become overwhelmed by fear or rejection such that when it becomes executive, it interferes with normal function and emotional stability. The angst these states carry are the root cause of psychological addictions, OCD, panic disorder, PTSD, a sense of unworthiness of love, extreme competitiveness, and much more. The invisible bridge is an induction technique that uses the somatic experience of the vaded state to provide a focus for hypnotic induction and a bridge to the original sensitizing event that vaded the previously normal state. This article contextualizes the vaded state within abnormal psychology and describes the invisible bridge induction.
11 Jun 2013
TL;DR: Zhang et al. as mentioned in this paper explored the inherent relationship between ego-depletion and other factors that might also affect individual's self-control behavior, such as sleep, relaxation, positive mood induction or other ways.
Abstract: Self-control is an important function for individual survival and adaptation. Over the past 10 years,theoretical and empirical researches of self-control have been focused on the theory of limited self-control resource. In fact,the resource for self-control is limited. When self-control resource is over consumed,ego-depletion will be initiated,which can adversely affect the individual's performance in the aspects of emotion,cognition,and behavior. Individual's emotion regulation,thought inhibition and distraction control might lead to ego-depletion,but the recovery of self-control resources could be effectively promoted through sleep,relaxation,positive mood induction or other ways. Future studies should further define the psychological and physiological mechanism of ego-depletion,and explore the inherent relationship between ego-depletion and other factors that might also affect individual's self-control behaviour.
Dissertation•
01 Aug 2013
TL;DR: In this article, the effects of ego depletion on restrained eaters were examined and it was found that those who were depleted by a task of self-control would exhibit more disinhibition on a taste-test task than would restrain eaters who were not depleted, and if the participants were given glucose following the depletion task, then their self control would be completed and they would exhibit similar control to that of the nondepleted participants.
Abstract: Research evidence is suggestive of a strength model of self-control, also known as ego depletion, in social psychological literature. Engaging in an initial task of self-control depletes a limited resource, resulting in less self-control on a subsequent, unrelated task. The strength model of self-control has been applied to many practical, everyday situations, such as eating behaviors among dieters. Newer studies suggest that blood glucose is the resource consumed during acts of self-control. Consuming glucose seems to "replete" individuals who have been depleted, improving performance and self-control. The current study aimed to examine the effects of ego-depletion on restrained eaters. The hypothesis was that restrained eaters who were depleted by a task of self-control would exhibit more disinhibition on a taste-test task than would restrained eaters who were not depleted. However, if the participants were given glucose following the depletion task, then their self-control would be "repleted" and they would exhibit similar control to that of the non-depleted participants. Contrary to expectations there were no differences between the groups in terms of total amount of cookies consumed. These results are inconsistent with a glucose model of self-control. Suggestions for future research and implications of the findings are discussed.
Journal Article•
01 Jan 2013
TL;DR: This paper argued that ego-depletion provides evidence against the Humean approach to motivation, according to which people always act according to their strongest desires, and people suffering from egodepletion are not fully responsible for failures of self-control.
Abstract: Experimental studies on willpower confirm the Strength Model of Self-Control, which claims that willpower depends on limited physiological resources. Exercising willpower depletes these resources, which impairs further exercises of willpower. This phenomenon is called “egodepletion.” As a result, depleting these resources impairs further exercises of executive control. My thesis argues that this phenomenon has two important philosophical consequences: First, ego-depletion provides evidence against the Humean approach to motivation, according to which people always act according to their strongest desires. Second, people suffering from egodepletion are not fully responsible for failures of self-control.
01 Jan 2013
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors analyze the ego-depletion effect at work and introduce the sources, effects and countermeasures of ego depletion at work, and make an outlook for directions in future researches in order to promote the emphasis of human resource management researchers and practitioners on the ego depletion effect.
Abstract: Limited self-control theory holds that the performance of self-control consumes limited self-control resources and results in a lack of follow-up self-control,which is called "ego-depletion effect"Based on the review of relevant literature,this paper analyzes the conception of ego-depletion effect,and introduces the sources,effects and countermeasures of ego-depletion at workIt also makes an outlook for directions in future researches in order to promote the emphasis of human resource management researchers and practitioners on the ego-depletion effect at work
Dissertation•
31 May 2013
TL;DR: The authors examined the automaticity of hierarchy values across four studies and found that low-effort thought processing may encourage support for hierarchical values at the expense of egalitarian values, and ego depletion was used to manipulate cognitive effort while assessing values.
Abstract: Values are associated with political attitudes and political conservatism is promoted with loweffort thought. Does low-effort thought similarly promote the conservative value of hierarchy while reducing the value of equality? Values are conceptualized as stable, yet research suggests that values may be processed with automatic and controlled processes. I examined the automaticity of hierarchy values across four studies. In Study 1, bar patrons with higher blood alcohol levels rated hierarchy values as more important and egalitarian values as less important. In Study 2, participants asked to evaluate values superficially rated hierarchy values as more important and egalitarian values as less important than those asked to deliberate carefully. Study 3 sought to replicate Study 2 adjusting for the influence of affect. Participants asked to evaluate values superficially rated hierarchy values as more important but did not shift in equality values. Study 4 used ego depletion to manipulate cognitive effort while assessing values. Participants’ value ratings under ego depletion did not significantly differ from those in the control group. Results of three studies suggest that low-effort thought processing may encourage support for hierarchical values at the expense of egalitarian values.