The Bitter Truth About Sugar and Willpower
Vadillo, Gold and Osman examined the proposal that glucose is the limited resource behind ego depletion, which was what allowed the depletion metaphor to be presented as a physiological mechanism rather than a figure of speech. Noting theoretical challenges to the glucose account and mixed experimental results, they applied p-curve analysis to the published experiments to assess the evidential value of the literature as a whole. They report that the effect sizes in this literature are possibly influenced by publication or reporting bias, and that even within studies yielding significant results the evidential value is weak. Their recommendation is explicit: researchers and policymakers should refrain from drawing conclusions about the role of glucose in self-control pending further evidence. This is the paper that empties out the sugar-and-willpower advice still in print in popular books.
Vadillo, Gold and Osman examined the proposal that glucose is the limited resource behind ego depletion, which was what allowed the depletion metaphor to be presented as a physiological mechanism rather than a figure of speech. Noting theoretical challenges to the glucose account and mixed experimental results, they applied p-curve analysis to the published experiments to assess the evidential value of the literature as a whole. They report that the effect sizes in this literature are possibly influenced by publication or reporting bias, and that even within studies yielding significant results the evidential value is weak. Their recommendation is explicit: researchers and policymakers should refrain from drawing conclusions about the role of glucose in self-control pending further evidence. This is the paper that empties out the sugar-and-willpower advice still in print in popular books.
Written from the abstract, OpenAlex.
What our sources record
Reproduced as it was written when this source was checked, figures and all.
Vadillo, M. A., Gold, N. & Osman, M. (2016). “The bitter truth about sugar and willpower: The limited evidential value of the glucose model of ego depletion.” Psychological Science, 27(9), 1207-1214.
Where we use it
- Willpower Is Not a Fuel Tank, Why We Act
Reliability of this reference
The link below was matched against the publisher's record on title, first author and year, and all three agree.
The source
https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797616654911
DOI: 10.1177/0956797616654911