Showing papers on "Ego depletion published in 2015"
TL;DR: A series of focused, meta-analytic tests that address the limitations in prior appraisals of the evidence 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.
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.
404 citations
TL;DR: A resource-based model in which surface acting is negatively associated with daily OCBIs through the depletion of resources manifested in end-of-day exhaustion is developed, finding that surface acting was indirectly related to coworker ratings of OCBI through the experience of exhaustion.
Abstract: This article explores the role of within-person fluctuations in employees� daily surface acting and subsequent personal energy resources in the performance of organizational citizenship behaviors directed toward other individuals in the workplace (OCBI). Drawing on ego depletion theory (Muraven & Baumeister, 2000), we develop a resource-based model in which surface acting is negatively associated with daily OCBIs through the depletion of resources manifested in end-of-day exhaustion. Further integrating ego depletion theory, we consider the role of employees� baseline personal resource pool, as indicated by chronic exhaustion, as a critical between-person moderator of these within-person relationships. Using an experience-sampling methodology to test this model, we found that surface acting was indirectly related to coworker ratings of OCBI through the experience of exhaustion. We further found that chronic levels of exhaustion exacerbated the influence of surface acting on employees� end-of-day exhaustion. These findings demonstrate the importance of employees� regulatory resource pool for combating depletion and maintaining important work behaviors. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.
194 citations
TL;DR: Depletion was associated with reductions in employees' subsequent voice behavior, regardless of the type of voice (promotive or prohibitive), and remained even after controlling for other established antecedents of voice and alternative mediating mechanisms beside depletion.
Abstract: One way that employees contribute to organizational effectiveness is by expressing voice. They may offer suggestions for how to improve the organization (promotive voice behavior), or express concerns to prevent harmful events from occurring (prohibitive voice behavior). Although promotive and prohibitive voices are thought to be distinct types of behavior, very little is known about their unique antecedents and consequences. In this study we draw on regulatory focus and ego depletion theories to derive a theoretical model that outlines a dynamic process of the antecedents and consequences of voice behavior. Results from 2 multiwave field studies revealed that promotion and prevention foci have unique ties to promotive and prohibitive voice, respectively. Promotive and prohibitive voice, in turn, were associated with decreases and increases, respectively, in depletion. Consistent with the dynamic nature of self-control, depletion was associated with reductions in employees' subsequent voice behavior, regardless of the type of voice (promotive or prohibitive). Results were consistent across 2 studies and remained even after controlling for other established antecedents of voice and alternative mediating mechanisms beside depletion.
192 citations
TL;DR: Questions are asked about how the resource model of self-control needs to be revised if not supplanted altogether and how changes in motivation, perception, and expectations replenish an exhausted resource.
Abstract: The resource model of self-control casts self-control as a capacity that relies on some limited resource that exhausts with use. The model captured our imagination and brought much-needed attention on an important yet neglected psychological construct. Despite its success, basic issues with the model remain. Here, we ask six questions: (i) Does self-control really wane over time? (ii) Is ego depletion a form of mental fatigue? (iii) What is the resource that is depleted by ego depletion? (iv) How can changes in motivation, perception, and expectations replenish an exhausted resource? (v) Has the revised resource model unwittingly become a model about motivation? (vi) Do self-control exercises increase selfcontrol? By providing some answers to these questions – including conducting a meta-analysis of the self-control training literature – we highlight how the resource model needs to be revised if not supplanted altogether.
129 citations
TL;DR: This paper studied the effects of ego depletion on social preferences in a dictator game and found that depleted dictators neglect fairness motives from the very first decision on, while non-depleted dictators initially resist the tendency to act selfishly, but eventually become depleted or learn to behave selfishly.
Abstract: We study the effects of ego depletion, a manipulation which consumes self-control resources, on social preferences in a dictator game. Depleted dictators give considerably less than non-depleted dictators and hence exhibit strong preferences for selfish allocation. In contrast to earlier studies, participants were explicitly paid for completing the egodepletion task (with either a flat rate or strictly performance-based payment). We studied the dynamics of decisions by repeating the dictator game 12 times (anonymously). Depleted dictators start with much lower offers than non-depleted ones, but, strikingly, offers decrease in time for both groups, and more rapidly so for non-depleted dictators. We conclude that, while depleted dictators neglect fairness motives from the very first decision on, non-depleted dictators initially resist the tendency to act selfishly, but eventually become depleted or learn to act selfishly. Hence, prosocial behavior may be short-lived, and ego depletion uncovers the default tendencies for selfishness earlier.
114 citations
TL;DR: The results indicate that the negative relations of day-specific emotional dissonance to all day- Specific indicators of well-being are attenuated as a function of increasing day- specific sleep quality and that self-control capacity moderates this interaction.
Abstract: Daily emotional labor can impair psychological well-being, especially when emotions have to be displayed that are not truly felt. To explain these deleterious effects of emotional labor, scholars have theorized that emotional labor can put high demands on self-control and diminishes limited regulatory resources. On the basis of this notion, we examined 2 moderators of the daily emotional labor process, namely day-specific sleep quality and individual self-control capacity. In particular, in 2 diary studies (NTOTAL = 171), we tested whether sleep quality moderates the influence of emotional dissonance (the perceived discrepancy between felt and required emotions) on daily psychological well-being (ego depletion, need for recovery, and work engagement). In addition, we examined 3-way interactions of self-control capacity, sleep quality, and emotional dissonance on indicators of day-specific psychological well-being (Study 2). Our results indicate that the negative relations of day-specific emotional dissonance to all day-specific indicators of well-being are attenuated as a function of increasing day-specific sleep quality and that self-control capacity moderates this interaction. Specifically, compared with low self-control capacity, the day-specific interaction of emotional dissonance and sleep quality was more pronounced when trait self-control was high. For those with low trait self-control, day-specific sleep quality did not attenuate the negative relations of emotional dissonance to day-specific well-being. Implications for research on emotional labor and for intervention programs are discussed.
104 citations
TL;DR: The results shed new light on self-control theories, confirm recent claims that previous estimates of the ego depletion effect size were inflated due to publication bias, and provide a blueprint for how to handle the power issues and associated file drawer problems commonly encountered in multistudy research projects.
Abstract: [Correction Notice: An Erratum for this article was reported in Vol 144(3) of Journal of Experimental Psychology: General (see record 2015-24174-008). The affiliations for co-authors Kuangjie Zhang and Steven Sweldens were incorrect. All versions of this article have been corrected.] A rich tradition in self-control research has documented the negative consequences of exerting self-control in 1 task for self-control performance in subsequent tasks. However, there is a dearth of research examining what happens when people exert self-control in multiple domains simultaneously. The current research aims to fill this gap. We integrate predictions from the most prominent models of self-control with recent neuropsychological insights in the human inhibition system to generate the novel hypothesis that exerting effortful self-control in 1 task can simultaneously improve self-control in completely unrelated domains. An internal meta-analysis on all 18 studies we conducted shows that exerting self-control in 1 domain (i.e., controlling attention, food consumption, emotions, or thoughts) simultaneously improves self-control in a range of other domains, as demonstrated by, for example, reduced unhealthy food consumption, better Stroop task performance, and less impulsive decision making. A subset of 9 studies demonstrates the crucial nature of task timing-when the same tasks are executed sequentially, our results suggest the emergence of an ego depletion effect. We provide conservative estimates of the self-control facilitation (d = |0.22|) as well as the ego depletion effect size (d = |0.17|) free of data selection and publication biases. These results (a) shed new light on self-control theories, (b) confirm recent claims that previous estimates of the ego depletion effect size were inflated due to publication bias, and (c) provide a blueprint for how to handle the power issues and associated file drawer problems commonly encountered in multistudy research projects.
79 citations
TL;DR: The authors showed that bias-corrected estimates for the overall ego depletion effect do not converge, with estimates ranging from g=0 to g = 0.24 to g= 0.26.
Abstract: Carter, Kofler, Forster, & McCullough (2015) conducted a bias-corrected meta-analysis of the so-called ego depletion effect to determine its real size and robustness. Their efforts have raised awareness of how badly meta-analyses can mislead when the articles that go into them are products of publication bias. Despite our genuine enthusiasm for their work, we worry that in their zeal to correct the record of publication bias, they have drawn too heavily on largely untested statistical techniques that can be insensitive and sometimes misleading. We tested a set of bias-correction techniques, including those favored by Carter and colleagues, by simulating 40,000 meta-analyses in a range of situations that approximate what is found in the ego depletion literature, most notably the presence of heterogeneous effects filtered by publication bias. Our simulations revealed that not one of the bias-correction techniques revealed itself superior in all conditions, with corrections performing adequately in some situations but inadequately in others. Such a result implies that meta-analysts ought to present a range of possible effect sizes and to consider them all as being possible. The problem with the ego depletion literature is that the bias-corrected estimates for the overall effect do not converge, with estimates ranging from g=0 to g=0.24 to g=0.26. Despite our admiration for this program of meta-research, we suggest that bias-corrected meta-analyses cannot yet resolve whether the overall ego depletion is different from zero or not.
74 citations
Journal Article•
TL;DR: The importance of self-control is highlighted in this article, where the authors argue that a failure of selfcontrol is at the core of many problems such as compulsive gambling, substance abuse, overspending, explosive anger, and weight management.
Abstract: WILLPOWER: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength. Roy F. Baumeister and John Tierney, NY, Penguin Press, 2011. Pp 291, Hardback, $27.95. ISBN 9781594203077. Reviewed by Geoffrey W. Sutton (Evangel University/Springfield, MO).Like a city whose walls are broken down is a man who lacks self-control (Proverbs 25:28, New International Version).Psychologist Roy Baumeister and New York Times science writer, John Tierney, reveal the ancient virtue of self-control, a buried treasure of theology and philosophy, in this lively and intriguing review of research by Baumeister and his colleagues. Employing a fitness metaphor apropos to an Olympic year, the authors liken willpower to a muscle that can be strengthened through exercise but can be fatigued with vigorous short-term use. The importance of willpower is nothing less than one of two key ingredients in the recipe for success. The other consistent ingredient is intelligence. Adding to the importance for clinicians is their observation that a failure of self-control is at the core of many problems such as compulsive gambling, substance abuse, overspending, explosive anger, and weight management.The authors review classic and lesser known studies demonstrating the value of self-control. Walter Mischel's creative study of four-year olds who demonstrated delayed gratification by resisting eating one marshmallow in favor of a bonus, offers a starting point for evidence that early self-control identifies a lifelong difference. The children who showed the most willpower were more successful as measured by such markers as school grades, salaries, and health. Decades later, scientists have documented the positive effects of self-control on college grades, employment, marriages, and health in many samples.Early clinicians like Freud developed strategies to promote psychological insight on the assumption that a deepened awareness would resolve presenting problems. Since those early years, many psychotherapists developed and implemented a variety of creative strategies to help clients learn ways to mange thoughts and behavior to achieve their goals. In a throwback to Freud's language, but not his theories, Baumeister uses the term ego depletion to illustrate the failure of self-regulation following recent exertion of effort to achieve some shortterm objective.The findings supporting biological factor are impressive. Willpower depends on glucose. Problems of impulsivity, distractibility, and temper outbursts are more likely when glucose is insufficient due to diet or illness. Sleep also plays an important role in processing glucose.Helpful advice comes from a potpourri of studies stuffed in the middle of this helpful volume. Unfinished tasks can be distracting. …
70 citations
TL;DR: Mental fatigue following performance of cognitive tasks impairs emotion regulation without affecting emotional reactivity, suggesting that mental fatigue needs to be incorporated into models of emotion regulation.
Abstract: Because healthy physical and mental functioning depends on the ability to regulate emotions, it is important to identify moderators of such regulations. Whether mental fatigue, subsequent to the depletion of cognitive resources, impairs explicit emotion regulation to negative stimuli is currently unknown. This study explored this possibility. In a within-subject design over 2 separate sessions, healthy individuals performed easy (control session) or difficult (depletion session) cognitive tasks. Subsequently, they were presented with neutral and negative pictures, with instructions to either maintain or regulate (i.e., reduce) the emotions evoked by the pictures. Emotional reactivity was probed with the startle reflex. The negative pictures evoked a similar aversive state in the control and depletion sessions as measured by startle potentiation. However, subjects were able to down-regulate their aversive state only in the control session, not in the depletion session. These results indicate that mental fatigue following performance of cognitive tasks impairs emotion regulation without affecting emotional reactivity. These findings suggest that mental fatigue needs to be incorporated into models of emotion regulation.
62 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors assume that momentarily available self-control strength determines whether individuals in high pressure situations can resist distracting stimuli, and the results supported their assumption as depleted participants paid more attention to the distracting stimuli.
TL;DR: The authors found that ego-depletion might demotivate self-control by making people believe that they are inefficacious in exerting self control in subsequent tasks and found that these effects are only observed among participants who endorse a limited (versus nonlimited) theory of willpower and are more motivated to conserve mental resources.
Abstract: Recent research has found that ego-depletion undermines self-control by motivating cognition that justifies conservation of mental resource. One potential cognitive mechanism is reduction of self-efficacy. Specifically, we propose that ego-depletion might demotivate self-control by making people believe that they are inefficacious in exerting self-control in subsequent tasks. Three experiments support the proposal. First, we demonstrated that (a) ego-depletion can reduce self-efficacy to exert further control (Experiments 1 to 3) and (b) the temporary reduction of self-efficacy mediates the effect of depletion on self-control performance (Experiment 2). Finally, we found that (c) these effects are only observed among participants who endorse a limited (versus non-limited) theory of willpower and are, hence, more motivated to conserve mental resources (Experiment 3). Taken together, the present findings show that decrease in self-efficacy to exert further self-control is an important cognitive process that explains how ego-depletion demotivates self-control. This research also contributes to the recent discussion of the psychological processes underlying ego-depletion.
TL;DR: Depleted participants who received mindfulness induction behaved less aggressively than depleted participants with no mindfulness induction, and mindfulness improved performance on a second measure of self-control (i.e., handgrip perseverance); however, this effect was independent of depletion condition.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined the relationship between day-specific work-related self-control demands (SCDs) as a stressor and day specific indicators of psychological well-being (ego depletion, need for recovery, and work engagement).
TL;DR: In this article, the assumption that persistent performance in an exhausting indoor cycling task would depend on momentarily available self-control strength (N = 20 active participants) was tested, and the results indicated that self control strength is necessary to obtain an optimal level of performance in endurance tasks requiring high levels of persistence.
Abstract: We tested the assumption that persistent performance in an exhausting indoor cycling task would depend on momentarily available self-control strength (N = 20 active participants). In a within-subjects design (two points of measurement, exactly seven days apart), participants’ self-control strength was experimentally manipulated (depletion: yes vs. no; order counterbalanced) via the Stroop test before the participants performed a cycling task. In line with our hypothesis, hierarchical linear modelling (HLM) revealed that participants consistently performed worse over a period of 18 minutes when they were ego depleted. In addition, HLM analysis revealed that depleted participants invested less effort in the cycling task, as indicated by their lower heart rate. This effect escalated over time, as indicated by a time × condition interaction. These results indicate that self-control strength is necessary to obtain an optimal level of performance in endurance tasks requiring high levels of persistence. Practical implications are discussed.
TL;DR: This is the first study that directly supports the general assumption that ego depletion is a major factor in influencing attention regulation under pressure, and shows that when one's self-control strength is depleted, attentionregulation under pressure cannot be maintained.
Abstract: In the current study we investigated whether ego depletion negatively affects attention regulation under pressure in sports by assessing participants' dart throwing performance and accompanying gaze behavior. According to the strength model of self-control, the most important aspect of self-control is attention regulation. Because higher levels of state anxiety are associated with impaired attention regulation, we chose a mixed design with ego depletion (yes vs. no) as between-subjects and anxiety level (high vs. low) as within-subjects factor. Participants performed a perceptual-motor task requiring selective attention, namely, dart throwing. In line with our expectations, depleted participants in the high-anxiety condition performed worse and displayed a shorter final fixation on bull's eye, demonstrating that when one's self-control strength is depleted, attention regulation under pressure cannot be maintained. This is the first study that directly supports the general assumption that ego depletion is a major factor in influencing attention regulation under pressure.
TL;DR: In this paper, the interaction of different motives and decision processes in determining behavior in the ultimatum game was studied, and it was shown that ego depletion increases the likelihood to accept offers, in line with unconditional monetary concerns being more automatic than affect-influenced reactions to reject unfair offers.
Abstract: We study the interaction of different motives and decision processes in determining behavior in the ultimatum game. We rely on an ego-depletion manipulation which consumes self-control resources, thereby enhancing the influence of default reactions, or in psychological terms, automatic processes. Experimental results provide evidence that proposers make higher offers under ego depletion. Based on findings from a closely related dictator game study, which shows that depleted dictators give less than non-depleted ones, we discard the possibility that other-regarding concerns are the default mode. Instead, we conclude that depleted proposers offer more because of a strategic `fear of rejection' of low offers, consistent with self-centered monetary concerns. For responders, ego depletion increases the likelihood to accept offers, in line with unconditional monetary concerns being more automatic than affect-influenced reactions to reject unfair offers.
TL;DR: The red effect depends on people’s momentary capacity to exert control over their prepotent responses (i.e., self-control) and it is proposed thatSelf-control strength moderated the red effect.
Abstract: Colors have been found to affect psychological functioning. Empirical evidence suggests that, in test situations, brief perceptions of the color red or even the word "red" printed in black ink prime implicit anxious responses and consequently impair cognitive performance. However, we propose that this red effect depends on people's momentary capacity to exert control over their prepotent responses (i.e., self-control). In three experiments (Ns = 66, 78, and 130), first participants' self-control strength was manipulated. Participants were then primed with the color or word red versus gray prior to completing an arithmetic test or an intelligence test. As expected, self-control strength moderated the red effect. While red had a detrimental effect on performance of participants with depleted self-control strength (ego depletion), it did not affect performance of participants with intact self-control strength. We discuss implications of the present findings within the current debate on the robustness of priming results.
TL;DR: It is found that nature exposure moderated the effect of depletion on anagram task performance, and offer a viable and novel strategy to mitigate the negative impacts of ego-depletion.
Abstract: Previous research rarely investigated the role of physical environment in counteracting ego-depletion. In the present research, we hypothesized that exposure to natural environment counteracts ego-depletion. Three experiments were conducted to test this hypothesis. In Experiment 1, initially depleted participants who viewed pictures of nature scenes showed greater persistence on a subsequent anagram task than those who were given a rest period. Experiment 2 expanded upon this finding by showing that natural environment enhanced logical reasoning performance after ego-depleting task. Experiment 3 adopted a two- (depletion vs. no-depletion) -by-two (nature exposure vs. urban exposure) factorial design. We found that nature exposure moderated the effect of depletion on anagram task performance. Taken together, the present studies offer a viable and novel strategy to mitigate the negative impacts of ego-depletion.
TL;DR: It is recommended that task self-efficacy be further investigated as a psychological factor accounting for the negative change in self- control performance of physical endurance and sport tasks following self-control strength depletion.
Abstract: The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of task self-efficacy as a psychological factor involved in the relationship between self-control depletion and physical endurance Participants (N = 37) completed two isometric handgrip endurance trials, separated by a Stroop task, which was either congruent (control) or incongruent (causing depletion) Task self-efficacy for the second endurance trial was measured following the Stroop task Participants in the depletion condition reported lower task self-efficacy and showed a greater reduction in performance on the second endurance trial when compared with controls Task self-efficacy also mediated the relationship between self-control depletion and endurance performance The results of this study provide evidence that task self-efficacy is negatively affected following self-control depletion We recommend that task self-efficacy be further investigated as a psychological factor accounting for the negative change in self-control performance of physical endurance and sport tasks following self-control strength depletion
TL;DR: The present finding that the interaction between self-control depletion and moral identity is contingent upon people’s level of power suggests that power may enable people to refrain from helping behavior, and it may be effective to situationally induce moral values in their employees.
Abstract: Lack of self-control has been suggested to facilitate norm-transgressing behaviors because of the operation of automatic selfish impulses. Previous research, however, has shown that people having a high moral identity may not show such selfish impulses when their self-control resources are depleted. In the present research, we extended this effect to prosocial behavior. Moreover, we investigated the role of power in the interaction between moral identity and self-control depletion. More specifically, we expected that power facilitates the externalization of internal states, which implies that for people who feel powerful, rather than powerless, depletion decreases prosocial behavior especially for those low in moral identity. A laboratory experiment and a multisource field study supported our predictions. The present finding that the interaction between self-control depletion and moral identity is contingent upon people’s level of power suggests that power may enable people to refrain from helping behavior. Moreover, the findings suggest that if organizations want to improve prosocial behaviors, it may be effective to situationally induce moral values in their employees.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors synthesize the prior psychology literature on ego depletion and apply this literature to an auditing setting, and reveal that ego depletion likely has a pervasive effect in an audit setting and can hinder auditors' judgment and decision-making quality.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors discuss three components of self-control and how failure of any component can affect moral behavior, such as lack of clear standards and lack of commitment to standards, which deprives the individual of clear inner guidance.
Abstract: Moral virtue depends on self-control to override immoral impulses, so self-control failure can impair moral action. We discuss three components of self-control and how failure of any component can affect moral behavior. Lack of clear standards and lack of commitment to standards deprives the individual of clear inner guidance. Failure to monitor one's actions, as when self-awareness is low such as due to emotion or alcohol, deprives the individual of the ability to know whether behavior conforms to moral standards. Ego depletion signifies inadequate willpower to make oneself do what is right. Evidence supports these hypotheses but more is needed.
TL;DR: It is confirmed that endorsement of age stereotypes of PA predicted subjective vitality among active older adults, and suggested that stereotypes may be related to health-related outcomes notably through ego depletion effects.
Abstract: Objectives. This study ewhether stereotypes may predict health outcomes independently from their internalization into the self. Specifically, we tested whether endorsement of negative age stereotypes in the physical activity (PA) domain is related to decreased subjective vitality among active older adults, illustrating ego depletion. Method. This longitudinal study included 192 retired indi viduals aged 60–92 years who regularly participated in organized PA, and who completed the measures on three occasions (9-month period). Results. Multile vel growth models tested whether within-person variation in age stereotypes endorsement across waves predicted subjective vitality, after controlling for self-perceptions of aging and relevant covariates. Results showed that (a) within-person increases in endorsement of age stereotypes of self-efficacy (b = 0.17, p < .01) were associated with increases in subjective vitality, (b) between-person mean difference in endorsement of age stereotypes of PA benefits (b = 0.21, p < .05) positively predicted subjective vitality, and (c) subjective vitality mediated the relationship between endorsement of self-efficacy stereotype and self-rated health. Discussion. This study confirmed that endorsement of age stereotypes of P A predicted subjective vitality among active older adults. These results suggest that stereotypes may be related to health-related outcomes notably through ego depletion effects.
01 Jan 2015
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors propose the protective inhibition of self-regulation and motivation (PRISM) model, which holds that sustained physiological activation invokes a protective mechanism that increases subjective effort and decreases perceived level of physiological and social coping resources.
Abstract: Ivan Pavlov and his associates found during the 1950s that with increasing stimulus intensity, physiological arousal first increases up to a maximal point, and then decreases. Pavlov explained this pattern in terms of protective inhibition, a mechanism that protects the nervous system against excessive stimulation. In the present chapter, we extend this classic Pavlovian principle to the analysis of self-regulatory and motivational functioning in social life. To this end, we propose the protective inhibition of self-regulation and motivation (PRISM) model, which holds that sustained physiological activation invokes a protective mechanism that increases subjective effort and decreases perceived level of physiological and social coping resources. The PRISM model predicts nonlinear dynamics of energy mobilization over time, such that high activation and mobilization of resources will be followed by low mobilization of resources and increased fatigue. We review how the PRISM model may help to understand a wide range of social and personality phenomena that involve the expenditure of motivational and self-regulatory resources, such as ego depletion, effort mobilization, coping with stress, and regulation of cortisol and effort in depression. Finally, we discuss how PRISM implicates neural mechanisms to monitor the expenditure of resources and subjective effort. We suggest that the PRISM model may further advance our understanding of the biobehavioral foundations of self-regulation.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors applied a between-subjects design to test the assumption that autonomously exerted self control is less detrimental for subsequent self-control performance in sports than is forced self control exertion.
Abstract: It has been repeatedly demonstrated that athletes in a state of ego depletion do not perform up to their capabilities. We assume that autonomous self-control exertion, in contrast to forced self-control exertion, can serve as a buffer against ego depletion effects and can help individuals to show superior performance. In the present study, we applied a between-subjects design to test the assumption that autonomously exerted self-control is less detrimental for subsequent self-control performance in sports than is forced self-control exertion. In a primary self-control task, the level of autonomy was manipulated through specific instructions, resulting in three experimental conditions (autonomy-supportive: n = 19; neutral: n = 19; controlling: n = 19). As a secondary self-control task, participants executed a series of tennis serves under high-pressure conditions, and performance accuracy served as our dependent variable. As expected, a one-way between-groups ANOVA revealed that participants from the auton...
TL;DR: Questions are questioned of the legitimacy of using the limited-resource model to interpret the possible association between poverty and self-regulation failure and investigate the impact of poverty induced distraction on tasks relying on proceduralized processes.
Abstract: Recently, Mani et al. (2013) demonstrated the detrimental effect of poverty on cognitive tasks demanding working memory and logical thinking through a series of experimental and field studies. In the same issue, Vohs (2013) identified these findings as an instance of ego depletion, which led her to predict that the financial strain would entail self-regulatory failures such as overeating and overspending because such strain taxes the poor's limited self-regulatory resources.
Understanding the underlying mechanism and boundary conditions of these remarkable findings is of crucial interest before efficient policy can be built upon them. Mani et al. (2013) attributed their findings to distraction. Due to the limitation of human working memory capacity, the poor tend to fall short of full consideration to other problems as they are preoccupied with pressing budgetary concerns. This suggests a causal, not merely correlational relationship between poverty and mental functions, such that poverty directly impedes cognitive functions because the poor could be easily distracted by monetary concerns (Mani et al., 2013).
Although these authors went through great efforts to safeguard external validity of their independent variable, we contend that they paid insufficient attention to that of the dependent variable. First, the cognitive tasks they used (e.g., IQ tests, the Stroop task) are irrelevant to participants' daily life. It is possible that the poor do not have sufficient motivation to fully engage in these tasks while worrying about their financial situation. Regarding tasks highly relevant to the poor such as financial decision making, the reverse might be found. Indeed, a recent paper by some of the same authors showed that financial concerns increased selectivity of attention, away from irrelevant tasks (which IQ tests arguably are) toward relevant task (which financial decision making arguably is) (Shah et al., 2012). This is also consistent with previous studies showing that stress improves selectivity of attention to task-relevant attributes but reduces utilization of task-irrelevant attributes (Chajut and Algom, 2003). As a result of increased attention, struggling with the financial challenge may lead the poor to gradually get adapted to the enduring financial strain and eventually become proficient and efficient in the domain of financial decision making.
Second, although distraction arising from monetary concerns undermines task performances that rely on working memory, it may not harm cognitive functions (e.g., information-integration category learning) that rely on proceduralized processes running best without heavy demand on working memory and attentional control (Beilock and Carr, 2001; Waldron and Ashby, 2001; Maddox and Ashby, 2004; DeCaro et al., 2011). Instead, distraction has been shown to facilitate such performances since attention is diverted to elsewhere and will not disrupt the learning and execution of proceduralized processes (Markman et al., 2006; DeCaro et al., 2008; Medeiros-Ward et al., 2014). To the extent that the poor are generally engaged in occupations (e.g., driving and typewriting) that require proceduralized processes more often than they require executive controls which rely heavily on working memory, we suggest investigating the impact of poverty induced distraction on tasks relying on proceduralized processes would be equally relevant before policy could build upon Mani et al.'s (2013) findings.
With regard to the influence of poverty on self-regulation, Vohs (2013) argued that the poor tended to enact more self-regulatory problematic behaviors because the financial strain taxes their limited self-regulatory resources. Recently, the limited-resource model has been seriously challenged because: (1) the concept of “resource” is vague and unfalsifiable; (2) more and more empirical findings are hard to reconcile with this model (Kurzban et al., 2013; Inzlicht et al., 2014). Thus, we question the legitimacy of using the limited-resource model to interpret the possible association between poverty and self-regulation failure. Instead, we suggest such association results from two specific mental processes that work in parallel. Self-regulation reflects competition between the force that motivates the impulse and the force that overrides the impulse (Baumeister and Heatherton, 1996). Self-regulation fails when the impulse is relatively strong, when control is relatively weak, or both (Heatherton and Wagner, 2011). From this point, we suggest poverty may lead to self-regulatory collapse by increasing approach-motivated impulses and impeding the control force harnessing impulses.
On the one hand, recent research reveals that eagerness for reward or exposure to a rewarding stimulus can activate a general rewarding system which in turn prompts people to seek anything rewarding (Briers et al., 2006; Van den Bergh et al., 2008; Wadhwa et al., 2008). Thus, such mechanism contributes to the poor's self-regulatory failure as their continued financial deprivation makes them more sensitive to reward cues, which stimulates them to pursue rewards in other domains (e.g., palatable but unhealthy food or expensive goods beyond budget). On the other hand, poverty induced distraction, which was demonstrated by Mani et al. (2013), also contributes to the poor's self-regulatory failure because successful self-regulation is underpinned by basic executive functions including working memory capacity and behavioral control (Hofmann et al., 2012). Compared with seeing the association between poverty and self-regulation through a pessimistic lens such as a continued state of self-regulatory depletion, which is poorly understood and hard to specify or remedy, our proposition elaborates specific processes through which poverty may dampen self-regulation and which may show more fruitful avenues to channel intervention effort.
Further, we suggest poverty does not necessarily lead to self-regulation failure. Previous studies demonstrated that engaging in a concurrent inhibitory task (e.g., retrenching expenditure within limited budget) would facilitate self-regulation through an inhibitory spillover mechanism (Tuk et al., 2015) or by blocking individuals from recognizing the tempting value of attractive stimuli (Van Dillen et al., 2013). From this perspective, the poor may excel in self-regulation under certain circumstances. Future studies are needed to specify.
TL;DR: It is argued in this paper that motivation toward exercise can influence each of the three overlapping pathways through which exercise may increase the likelihood of consuming pleasurable but unhealthy foods: through impulsive cognitive processes, reflective Cognitive processes, and/or physiological responses.
Abstract: It is well established that regular exercise plays an important role in achieving a number of health and wellbeing outcomes. However, certain post-exercise behaviors, including the consumption of unhealthy high-calorie foods, can counteract some of the benefits of physical activity. There are at least three overlapping pathways through which exercise may increase the likelihood of consuming pleasurable but unhealthy foods: through impulsive cognitive processes, reflective cognitive processes, and/or physiological responses. It is argued in this paper that motivation toward exercise can influence each of these pathways. Drawing from literature from various domains, we postulate that controlled exercise motivation, as opposed to autonomous exercise motivation, is more likely to influence each of these pathways in a manner that leaves individuals susceptible to the post-exercise consumption of pleasurable but unhealthy foods.
TL;DR: This article investigated whether depleting people's mental resources (or "willpower" affects the degree to which they are susceptible to framing effects and found strong evidence of a framing effect in all three tasks, though the strength of these effects is not affected by induced changes in the level of willpower depletion.
Abstract: One of the hallmark findings from behavioral economics is that choices are sensitive to the context they are presented in. However, the strength of such ‘framing effects’ varies between studies, and some studies fail to find any effect at all. A long line of research has argued that the presence and size of framing effects depend to a large extent on whether people use higher or lower-level mental decision making processes (or heuristics). A similarly important line of research in social psychology and economics suggests that higher-level mental processes such as self-control draw upon a limited pool of mental resources that can be exhausted. This study links these two lines of research and investigates whether depleting people's mental resources (or ‘willpower’) affects the degree to which they are susceptible to framing effects. In three separate experiments we depleted participants’ willpower using the commonly used Stroop task method and subsequently made them take part in a series of tasks, including a framed prisoner's dilemma, an attraction effect task and an anchoring effect task. However, though we find strong evidence of a framing effect in all three tasks, the strength of these effects is not affected by induced changes in the level of willpower depletion.
TL;DR: It is concluded that ego depletion has a detrimental influence on the sprint start in athletes without track and field experience.
Abstract: We tested the assumption that ego depletion would affect the sprint start in a sample of N = 38 athletes without track and field experience in an experiment by applying a mixed between- (depletion vs. non-depletion) within- (T1: before manipulation of ego depletion vs. T2: after manipulation of ego depletion) subjects design. We assumed that ego depletion would increase the possibility for a false start, as regulating the impulse to initiate the sprinting movement too soon before the starting signal requires self-control. In line with our assumption, we found a significant interaction as there was only a significant increase in the number of false starts from T1 to T2 for the depletion group while this was not the case for the non-depletion group. We conclude that ego depletion has a detrimental influence on the sprint start in athletes without track and field experience.