title: Ego depletion--is it all in your head? implicit theories about willpower affect self-regulation.
abstract: Much recent research suggests that willpower--the capacity to exert self-control--is a limited resource that is depleted after exertion. We propose that whether depletion takes place or not depends on a person's belief about whether willpower is a limited resource. Study 1 found that individual differences in lay theories about willpower moderate ego-depletion effects: People who viewed the capacity for self-control as not limited did not show diminished self-control after a depleting experience. Study 2 replicated the effect, manipulating lay theories about willpower. Study 3 addressed questions about the mechanism underlying the effect. Study 4, a longitudinal field study, found that theories about willpower predict change in eating behavior, procrastination, and self-regulated goal striving in depleting circumstances. Taken together, the findings suggest that reduced self-control after a depleting task or during demanding periods may reflect people's beliefs about the availability of willpower rather than true resource depletion.
authors.affiliation: Stanford University, USA. v.job@psychologie.uzh.ch
authors.forename: Veronika
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Job
authors.forename: Carol S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Dweck
authors.forename: Gregory M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Walton
mesh_terms: D000124:Achievement; D001288:Attention; D004526:Efficiency; D004532:Ego; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006040:Goals; D006801:Humans; D007206:Individuality; D007389:Internal-External Control; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D005222:Mental Fatigue / Q000523:psychology; D009042:Motivation; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual; D011582:Psychological Theory; D012649:Self Concept; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000150:complications; D057190:Stroop Test