Self-Regulatory Failure: A Resource-Depletion Approach

TLDR

Three studies examined the behavioral impact of effortful self‑regulation by exposing participants with chronic eating inhibition to varying self‑regulatory demands—good‑tasting snacks or emotional control—and measuring their subsequent self‑regulation ability. Exerting self‑control in the first task diminished self‑control on a later task, an effect unrelated to affective state and occurring only when self‑control was required first, supporting a resource‑depletion account.

Abstract

Three studies were conducted to test the behavioral consequences of effortful self-regulation. Individuals with chronic inhibitions about eating were exposed to situations varying in level of self-regulatory demand. Subsequently, participants' ability to self-regulate was measured. Two studies manipulated self-regulatory demand by exposing participants to good-tasting snack foods, whereas a third study required participants to control their emotional expressions. As hypothesized, exerting self-control during the first task led to decrements in self-control on a subsequent task. Moreover, these effects were not due to changes in affective state and occurred only when self-control was required in the first task. These findings are explained in terms of depletion of self-regulatory resources, which impairs successful volitional control.