TY - JOUR

T1 - Revisiting Ego Depletion

T2 - Evidence from Multi-Lab Collaborations

AU - Dang, Junhua

AU - Xiao, Shanshan

AU - Mao, Lihua

AU - Liu, Xiaoping

AU - Baumert, Anna

AU - Bonneterre, Solenne

AU - Cai, Shiyu

AU - Chen, Xiaoxi

AU - de Chanaleilles, Margaux

AU - Ding, Ning

AU - Fan, Wei

AU - Feng, Yi

AU - Gao, Dingguo

AU - He, Xiaoqing

AU - Huang, Wanting

AU - Ismail, Ismaharif

AU - Jia, Lile

AU - Li, Haijiang

AU - Li, Ruijing

AU - Li, Zhenhua

AU - Lim, Chunhui

AU - Linke, Laura

AU - Nie, Yangang

AU - Qiao, Zhihong

AU - Ren, Mengmeng

AU - Sevincer, A. Timur

AU - Tan, Jingbin

AU - Wang, Ziyi

AU - Wu, Song

AU - Zerhouni, Oulmann

AU - Zhong, Yiping

AU - Zhu, Yalin

AU - Zinkernagel, Axel

AU - Schiöth, Helgi B.

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © The Author(s) 2025. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits non-commercial use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access page (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage).

PY - 2025/10/16

Y1 - 2025/10/16

N2 - The ego depletion effect posits that initial exertion of self-control impairs subsequent self-regulatory performance. Despite being examined in over 1000 independent studies and cited extensively, recent large-scale studies have questioned its validity. We propose that the replicability of ego depletion may hinge on the intensity of the manipulation. Our new paradigm, involving a demanding antisaccade task lasting for 30–40 min followed by a Go-Nogo task, was tested across 14 samples, totaling 2078 participants worldwide, both in laboratory settings and online. Results consistently demonstrated significant ego depletion effects (d = 0.31 to 0.35) with minimal heterogeneity (I2 = 0). Bayesian meta-analysis further supported these findings with strong evidence (BF10 > 700). This study underscores the importance of manipulation intensity in ego depletion research and provides a reliable method for future studies. These findings have significant implications for resolving empirical controversies in ego depletion and addressing the broader replication crisis in psychology.

AB - The ego depletion effect posits that initial exertion of self-control impairs subsequent self-regulatory performance. Despite being examined in over 1000 independent studies and cited extensively, recent large-scale studies have questioned its validity. We propose that the replicability of ego depletion may hinge on the intensity of the manipulation. Our new paradigm, involving a demanding antisaccade task lasting for 30–40 min followed by a Go-Nogo task, was tested across 14 samples, totaling 2078 participants worldwide, both in laboratory settings and online. Results consistently demonstrated significant ego depletion effects (d = 0.31 to 0.35) with minimal heterogeneity (I2 = 0). Bayesian meta-analysis further supported these findings with strong evidence (BF10 > 700). This study underscores the importance of manipulation intensity in ego depletion research and provides a reliable method for future studies. These findings have significant implications for resolving empirical controversies in ego depletion and addressing the broader replication crisis in psychology.

KW - Ego depletion

KW - manipulation intensity

KW - replication crisis

KW - Psychology

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=105018964203&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1177/18344909251386084

DO - 10.1177/18344909251386084

M3 - Journal articles

AN - SCOPUS:105018964203

VL - 19

JO - Journal of Pacific Rim Psychology

JF - Journal of Pacific Rim Psychology

SN - 1834-4909

M1 - 18344909251386084

ER -