Egodepletion

Egodepletion, or self-control depletion, is the proposed state in which self-control resources are temporarily reduced after prior exertion of self-control, leading to diminished performance on subsequent tasks that require self-control. The idea frames self-control as a finite resource that can be consumed by previous acts of regulation and then later retarded in new challenges.

Origins and concept, often associated with Baumeister, Schmeichel, and Vohs in the late 1990s, view self-control as a limited pool that can be depleted by use. When depleted, individuals may show increased impulsivity, poorer persistence on effortful tasks, and reduced capacity to regulate emotions or thoughts. The concept has been applied across domains such as eating, decision making, and moral judgment.

Evidence and typical findings in early experiments involved tasks that required self-control, followed by a second task demanding restraint. Participants who exerted self-control first tended to perform worse on the second task compared with those who did not. Classic demonstrations included resisting temptations and then performing a harder cognitive task, or regulating emotions and then failing to persist in a subsequent activity.

Criticism and debate focus on replicability and effect size. Some large-scale studies and meta-analyses report small or inconsistent effects, with substantial heterogeneity across studies. Critics have questioned the robustness of the effect and proposed alternative explanations, such as motivational factors, attention, fatigue, or beliefs about willpower. Other researchers have suggested refined theories that emphasize cognitive control processes, context, or the role of motivation rather than a strictly finite resource.

Current status remains mixed: egodepletion is still discussed as a potential mechanism of self-regulation failure in some contexts, while others argue that effects are small, context-dependent, or better explained by alternative models. See also self-control, willpower, and self-regulation.