A Preregistered Test of Competing Theories to Explain Ego Depletion Effects Using Psychophysiological Indicators of Mental Effort
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In: Motivation Science, Vol. 7, No. 1, 01.03.2021, p. 32-45.
Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - A Preregistered Test of Competing Theories to Explain Ego Depletion Effects Using Psychophysiological Indicators of Mental Effort
AU - Gieseler, Karolin
AU - Loschelder, David D.
AU - Job, Veronika
AU - Friese, Malte
N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2020 American Psychological Association
PY - 2021/3/1
Y1 - 2021/3/1
N2 - A prominent, hotly debated idea—the “ego depletion” phenomenon—suggests that engaging in effortful, demanding tasks leads to poorer subsequent self-control performance. Several theories seek to explain the emergence of ego depletion effects. The two most prominent ones are the strength model of self-control (Baumeister & Vohs, 2016) and the process model of self-control (Inzlicht & Schmeichel, 2012). Predictions of these models are predominantly identical on the behavioral level. The models’ predictions differ, however, on the level of invested mental effort. The present pre-registered study (N = 179) contrasted these competing predictions combining an established moderator counteracting ego depletion effects (i.e., self-affirmation) and psychophysiological indicators of mental effort (i.e., systolic blood pressure and preejection period). Our data provide moderate evidence for ego depletion—decrements in self-control performance after a high- versus low-demanding task in the nonaffirmed conditions. Self-affirmation had an unexpected effect: Contrary to previous research, self-affirmed participants performed similarly poorly as participants in the high demand + nonaffirmed condition. Although this unexpected finding limited the ability to contrast competing model predictions, it points to hitherto unknown effects of self-affirmation on self-control performance. Systolic blood pressure reactivity emerged as a valid indicator of invested mental effort, but the data show no sign of disengagement after a high-demanding task predicted by the process (but not the strength) model. We explore systolic blood pressure progression across the sequential task paradigm, suggest a testable account for the effects of self-affirmation on self-control performance, and discuss theoretical implications of the results for the two competing models. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved)
AB - A prominent, hotly debated idea—the “ego depletion” phenomenon—suggests that engaging in effortful, demanding tasks leads to poorer subsequent self-control performance. Several theories seek to explain the emergence of ego depletion effects. The two most prominent ones are the strength model of self-control (Baumeister & Vohs, 2016) and the process model of self-control (Inzlicht & Schmeichel, 2012). Predictions of these models are predominantly identical on the behavioral level. The models’ predictions differ, however, on the level of invested mental effort. The present pre-registered study (N = 179) contrasted these competing predictions combining an established moderator counteracting ego depletion effects (i.e., self-affirmation) and psychophysiological indicators of mental effort (i.e., systolic blood pressure and preejection period). Our data provide moderate evidence for ego depletion—decrements in self-control performance after a high- versus low-demanding task in the nonaffirmed conditions. Self-affirmation had an unexpected effect: Contrary to previous research, self-affirmed participants performed similarly poorly as participants in the high demand + nonaffirmed condition. Although this unexpected finding limited the ability to contrast competing model predictions, it points to hitherto unknown effects of self-affirmation on self-control performance. Systolic blood pressure reactivity emerged as a valid indicator of invested mental effort, but the data show no sign of disengagement after a high-demanding task predicted by the process (but not the strength) model. We explore systolic blood pressure progression across the sequential task paradigm, suggest a testable account for the effects of self-affirmation on self-control performance, and discuss theoretical implications of the results for the two competing models. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved)
KW - blood pressure
KW - ego depletion
KW - mental effort
KW - preejection period
KW - self-control
KW - Business psychology
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85088453028&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - https://www.mendeley.com/catalogue/61e112ed-9904-30f2-ada8-9c3957dfb790/
U2 - 10.1037/mot0000183
DO - 10.1037/mot0000183
M3 - Journal articles
VL - 7
SP - 32
EP - 45
JO - Motivation Science
JF - Motivation Science
SN - 2333-8113
IS - 1
ER -