Dataset Information

Failure to replicate depletion of self-control.

ABSTRACT: The limited resource or strength model of self-control posits that the use of self-regulatory resources leads to depletion and poorer performance on subsequent self-control tasks. We conducted four studies (two with community samples, two with young adult samples) utilizing a frequently used depletion procedure (crossing out letters protocol) and the two most frequently used dependent measures of self-control (handgrip perseverance and modified Stroop). In each study, participants completed a baseline self-control measure, a depletion or control task (randomized), and then the same measure of self-control a second time. There was no evidence for significant depletion effects in any of these four studies. The null results obtained in four attempts to replicate using strong methodological approaches may indicate that depletion has more limited effects than implied by prior publications. We encourage further efforts to replicate depletion (particularly among community samples) with full disclosure of positive and negative results.

SUBMITTER: Xu X

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4204816 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Failure to replicate depletion of self-control.

Xu Xiaomeng X Demos Kathryn E KE Leahey Tricia M TM Hart Chantelle N CN Trautvetter Jennifer J Coward Pamela P Middleton Kathryn R KR Wing Rena R RR

PloS one 20141021 10

The limited resource or strength model of self-control posits that the use of self-regulatory resources leads to depletion and poorer performance on subsequent self-control tasks. We conducted four studies (two with community samples, two with young adult samples) utilizing a frequently used depletion procedure (crossing out letters protocol) and the two most frequently used dependent measures of self-control (handgrip perseverance and modified Stroop). In each study, participants completed a ba ...[more]

PMID: 25333564

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Project description:Self-control enables people to override momentary thoughts, emotions, or impulses in order to pursue long-term goals. Good self-control is a predictor for health, success, and subjective well-being, as bad self-control is for the opposite. Therefore, the question arises why evolution has not endowed us with perfect self-control. In this article, we draw some attention to the hidden benefits of self-control failure and present a new experimental paradigm that captures both costs and benefits of self-control failure. In an experiment, participants worked on three consecutive tasks: 1) In a transcription task, we manipulated how much effortful self-control two groups of participants had to exert. 2) In a number-comparison task, participants of both groups were asked to compare numbers and ignore distracting neutral versus reward-related pictures. 3) After a pause for recreation, participants were confronted with an unannounced recognition task measuring whether they had incidentally encoded the distracting pictures during the previous number-comparison task. The results showed that participants who exerted a high amount of effortful self-control during the first task shifted their priorities and attention toward the distractors during the second self-control demanding task: The cost of self-control failure was reflected in worse performance in the number-comparison task. Moreover, the group which had exerted a high amount of self-control during the first task and showed self-control failure during the second task was better in the unannounced third task. The benefit of self-control failure during number comparison was reflected in better performance during the recognition task. However, costs and benefits were not specific for reward-related distractors but also occurred with neutral pictures. We propose that the hidden benefit of self-control failure lies in the exploration of distractors present during goal pursuit, i.e. the collection of information about the environment and the potential discovery of new sources of reward. Detours increase local knowledge.

Dataset Information

Failure to replicate depletion of self-control.

Publications

Failure to replicate depletion of self-control.

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