Ego Depletion: Theory and Evidence

2012 ◽  
pp. 110-126 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Muraven
Keyword(s):  
Limited Resource ◽  
Ego Depletion ◽  
Self Control ◽  
Negative Outcomes ◽  
Ego Strength ◽  
Loss Of Self ◽  
Comprehensive Theory ◽  
Depletion Effect

Self-control all too often fails. Despite people's best intentions and considerable negative outcomes, people often find themselves at the losing end of resisting temptation, combating urges, and changing their behavior. One reason for these failures may be that exerting self-control depletes a limited resource (ego depletion) that is necessary for the success of self-control. Hence, after exerting self-control individuals are less able to resist temptations, fight urges, or stop a behavior, which results in a loss of self-control. This chapter reviews the evidence for this theory in a wide variety of domains and examines what behaviors appear to deplete ego strength and how depletion affects behavior. A comprehensive theory that examines how depletion operates is put forth and this theory is used to examine some factors that might moderate the depletion effect.

Ego Depletion

2019 ◽  
pp. 111-134 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Muraven ◽  
Jacek Buczny ◽  
Kyle F. Law
Keyword(s):  
Limited Resource ◽  
Ego Depletion ◽  
Self Control ◽  
Negative Outcomes ◽  
Ego Strength ◽  
Loss Of Self ◽  
Comprehensive Theory ◽  
Depletion Effect

Self-control all too often fails. Despite people’s best intentions and considerable negative outcomes, people often find themselves at the losing end of resisting temptation, combating urges, and changing their behavior. One reason for these failures may be that exerting self-control depletes a limited resource (ego depletion) that is necessary for the success of self-control. Hence, after exerting self-control, individuals are less able resist temptations, fight urges, or stop a behavior that results in a loss of self-control. This chapter reviews the evidence for this theory in a wide variety of domains and examines what behaviors appear to deplete ego strength and how depletion affects behavior. A comprehensive theory that examines how depletion operates is put forth and used to examine some factors that might moderate the depletion effect.

scholarly journals Task Duration and Task Order do not Matter: No Effect on Self-Control Performance

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wanja Wolff ◽  
Vanda Sieber ◽  
Maik Bieleke ◽  
Chris Englert
Keyword(s):  
Limited Resource ◽  
Ego Depletion ◽  
Task Type ◽  
Self Control ◽  
Control Performance ◽  
Control Task ◽  
Impaired Performance ◽  
Task Duration ◽  
Depletion Effect ◽  
Task Variation

The strength model of self-control proposes that all acts of self-control are energized by one global limited resource that becomes temporarily depleted by a primary self-control task, leading to impaired self-control performance in secondary self-control tasks. However, failed replications have cast doubt on the existence of this so-called ego depletion effect. Here, we investigated between-task (i.e. variation in self-control tasks) and within-task variation (i.e. task duration) as possible explanations for the conflicting literature on ego depletion effects. In a high-powered experiment (N = 709 participants), we used two established self-control tasks (Stroop task, transcription task) to test how variations in the duration of primary and secondary self-control tasks (2, 4, 8, or 16 minutes per task) affect the occurrence of an ego depletion effect (i.e., impaired performance in the secondary task). In line with the ego depletion hypothesis, subjects perceived longer lasting secondary tasks as more self-control demanding. Contrary to the ego depletion hypothesis, however, performance did neither suffer from prior self-control exertion, nor as a function of task duration. If anything, performance tended to improve when the primary self-control task lasted longer. These effects did not differ between the two self-control tasks, suggesting that the observed null findings were independent of task type.

scholarly journals A Schema-Activation Approach to Failure and Success in Self-Control

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alex Bertrams
Keyword(s):  
Energy Supply ◽  
Limited Resource ◽  
Ego Depletion ◽  
Theoretical Explanation ◽  
Self Control ◽  
Physiological Changes ◽  
Control Task ◽  
Depletion Effect ◽  
Schema Activation ◽  
Schema Model

Numerous studies confirm the so-called ego depletion effect (i.e., self-control is impaired after an initial unrelated self-control task). There are also many studies on the moderators of the effect. During recent years, the criticism on this limited-resource approach to willpower has increased, and alternative models have been developed. I argue that the existing models cannot explain the variety of results found in the ego depletion literature (e.g., the vicarious depletion effect). Therefore, I sought a theoretical explanation that incorporates many of the findings, and, thus, I introduce the schema model of self-control. It is characterized by several mediating paths, with each having specific moderators. Referring to related schema conceptions already existing in the literature (i.e., illness schemas and emotion schemas), I posit that the processes that cause ego depletion effects occur around the activation of the fatigue/decreased vitality schema. This schema becomes activated via the registration of behavioral and physiological changes related to exercising self-control. The activation of the fatigue/vitality schema should instigate the motivation to conserve energy and, therefore, cause reduced effort and decreased performance in a subsequent self-control task. The moderators (e.g., energy supply) should influence the (non)activation of the fatigue/vitality schema or its consequences.

scholarly journals A Multisite Preregistered Paradigmatic Test of the Ego-Depletion Effect

2021 ◽  
pp. 095679762198973
Author(s):  
Kathleen D. Vohs ◽  
Brandon J. Schmeichel ◽  
Sophie Lohmann ◽  
Quentin F. Gronau ◽  
Anna J. Finley ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alternative Hypothesis ◽  
Ego Depletion ◽  
Self Control ◽  
Bayesian Analyses ◽  
Action Orientation ◽  
Replication Method ◽  
Depletion Effect ◽  
Confirmatory Tests ◽  
Nonsignificant Result ◽  
Meta Analyses

We conducted a preregistered multilaboratory project ( k = 36; N = 3,531) to assess the size and robustness of ego-depletion effects using a novel replication method, termed the paradigmatic replication approach. Each laboratory implemented one of two procedures that was intended to manipulate self-control and tested performance on a subsequent measure of self-control. Confirmatory tests found a nonsignificant result ( d = 0.06). Confirmatory Bayesian meta-analyses using an informed-prior hypothesis (δ = 0.30, SD = 0.15) found that the data were 4 times more likely under the null than the alternative hypothesis. Hence, preregistered analyses did not find evidence for a depletion effect. Exploratory analyses on the full sample (i.e., ignoring exclusion criteria) found a statistically significant effect ( d = 0.08); Bayesian analyses showed that the data were about equally likely under the null and informed-prior hypotheses. Exploratory moderator tests suggested that the depletion effect was larger for participants who reported more fatigue but was not moderated by trait self-control, willpower beliefs, or action orientation.

scholarly journals Searching for the bottom of the ego well: Failure to uncover ego depletion in Many Labs 3

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miguel A. Vadillo ◽  
Natalie Gold ◽  
Magda Osman
Keyword(s):  
Stroop Task ◽  
Secondary Task ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Limited Resource ◽  
Ego Depletion ◽  
Self Control ◽  
Significant Evidence ◽  
Heated Debate ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Optimal Measure

According to a popular model of self-control, willpower depends on a limited resource that can be depleted when we perform a task demanding self-control. Over the last five years, the reliability of the empirical evidence supporting this model has become the subject of heated debate. In the present study, we reanalysed data from a large-scale study –Many Labs 3– to test whether performing a depleting task has any effect on a secondary task that also relies on self-control. Although we used a large sample of more than 2,000 participants for our analyses, we did not find any significant evidence of ego-depletion: Persistence on an anagram solving task (a typical measure of self-control) was not affected by previous completion of a Stroop task (a typical depleting task in this literature). Our results suggest that persistence in anagram solving may not be an optimal measure to test depletion effects.

Is Ego Depletion Real? An Analysis of Arguments

2018 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 107-131 ◽  
Author(s):  
Malte Friese ◽  
David D. Loschelder ◽  
Karolin Gieseler ◽  
Julius Frankenbach ◽  
Michael Inzlicht
Keyword(s):  
Publication Bias ◽  
Ego Depletion ◽  
Self Control ◽  
True Effect ◽  
Depletion Effect ◽  
Abundant Evidence ◽  
Control Failure ◽  
Future Work

An influential line of research suggests that initial bouts of self-control increase the susceptibility to self-control failure (ego depletion effect). Despite seemingly abundant evidence, some researchers have suggested that evidence for ego depletion was the sole result of publication bias and p-hacking, with the true effect being indistinguishable from zero. Here, we examine (a) whether the evidence brought forward against ego depletion will convince a proponent that ego depletion does not exist and (b) whether arguments that could be brought forward in defense of ego depletion will convince a skeptic that ego depletion does exist. We conclude that despite several hundred published studies, the available evidence is inconclusive. Both additional empirical and theoretical works are needed to make a compelling case for either side of the debate. We discuss necessary steps for future work toward this aim.

scholarly journals Bored Into Depletion? Toward a Tentative Integration of Perceived Self-Control Exertion and Boredom as Guiding Signals for Goal-Directed Behavior

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (5) ◽  
pp. 1272-1283 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wanja Wolff ◽  
Corinna S. Martarelli
Keyword(s):  
Ego Depletion ◽  
Self Control ◽  
Strength Model ◽  
Control Performance ◽  
The Past ◽  
Working Model ◽  
Societal Relevance ◽  
Depletion Effect ◽  
Control Research ◽  
Goal Directed Behavior

During the past two decades, self-control research has been dominated by the strength model of self-control, which is built on the premise that the capacity for self-control is a limited global resource that can become temporarily depleted, resulting in a state called ego depletion. The foundations of ego depletion have recently been questioned. Thus, although self-control is among the most researched psychological concepts with high societal relevance, an inconsistent body of literature limits our understanding of how self-control operates. Here, we propose that the inconsistencies are partly due to a confound that has unknowingly and systematically been introduced into the ego-depletion research: boredom. We propose that boredom might affect results of self-control research by placing an unwanted demand on self-control and signaling that one should explore behavioral alternatives. To account for boredom in self-controlled behavior, we provide a working model that integrates evidence from reward-based models of self-control and recent theorizing on boredom to explain the effects of both self-control exertion and boredom on subsequent self-control performance. We propose that task-induced boredom should be systematically monitored in self-control research to assess the validity of the ego-depletion effect.

Development of a Within-Subject, Repeated-Measures Ego-Depletion Paradigm

2018 ◽  
Vol 49 (5) ◽  
pp. 271-286 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zoë Francis ◽  
Marina Milyavskaya ◽  
Hause Lin ◽  
Michael Inzlicht
Keyword(s):  
Repeated Measures ◽  
Lower Energy ◽  
Statistical Power ◽  
Ego Depletion ◽  
Spillover Effects ◽  
Self Control ◽  
Practice Effects ◽  
Control Performance ◽  
Depletion Effect ◽  
Limited Statistical Power

Abstract. Ego depletion is under scrutiny for low replicability, possibly reflecting the limited statistical power available in between-subject designs. In response, we created a within-subject, repeated-measures ego-depletion paradigm that repeatedly alternated depletion and recovery manipulations. Each manipulation was followed by measuring subjective fatigue, mood, and self-control performance. Across 12 studies (N = 754), participants reliably reported having lower energy and mood after depleting manipulations compared to after recovery manipulations. Depletion manipulations did not consistently affect behavioral self-control, although the depletion effect was meta-analytically significant (d = .045). Furthermore, unintended fatigue and practice effects occurred over the course of the paradigm, systematically interfering with the intended depletion effects. We recommend that depletion research takes advantage of within-subject designs across multiple sessions to avoid spillover effects between measurements.

scholarly journals Do people avoid mental effort after facing a highly demanding task?

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karolin Gieseler ◽  
Michael Inzlicht ◽  
Malte Friese
Keyword(s):  
Subjective Experience ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Mental Effort ◽  
Ego Depletion ◽  
Self Control ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Self Assessment ◽  
Depletion Effect ◽  
Effort Choice

Ego depletion effects are usually examined in a sequential task paradigm in which exerting mental effort in a first task is thought to affect performance on a subsequent self-control task. A so-called ego depletion effect is observed if performance on the second task is impaired for the high demand relative to the low demand group. The present studies take a different approach. Instead of measuring performance in the second task that is equally difficult for all participants, the present studies investigated effects of effortful exertion on the choice to willingly exert effort on a subsequent task. Three pre-registered studies investigated if participants select less effort demanding math problems for upcoming tasks compared to a control group after exerting mental effort in an initial task. Results were mixed. Study 1 (N = 86) revealed no significant effect of mental effort exertion on mean choice difficulty. In Study 2 (N = 269), the expected effect emerged in an exploratory analysis when controlling for math self-assessment, which was robustly associated with the choice measure. Study 3 (N = 330) descriptively, albeit non-significantly replicated this result. An internal random-effects meta-analysis revealed a small overall effect of g = 0.18 when accounting for math self-assessment, albeit with large heterogeneity. Exploratory analyses point to the importance of the subjective experience of mental effort in effort-selection paradigms. We discuss the implications of the small overall effect size for future research and the possibility to examine effort choice in everyday life.

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