TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2010//
TI  - Ego Depletion—Is It All in Your Head?
JO  - Psychological science
A1  - Job, Veronika
A1  - Dweck, Carol S.
A1  - Walton, Gregory M.
SP  - 1686
EP  - 1693
VL  - 21
IS  - 11
N2  - 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.<p />
LA  - 
SN  - 0956-7976
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0956797610384745
ID  - ref1
ER  -