A Multisite Preregistered Paradigmatic Test of the Ego-Depletion Effect
Vohs and colleagues ran the largest test of ego depletion, with thirty-six laboratories and more than three and a half thousand participants, and a design intended to be fair to the theory rather than to one protocol: laboratories used one of two accepted procedures, on the reasoning that a paradigm should be tested rather than a single recipe. The pre-registered analysis found no significant effect, and a Bayesian analysis indicated the data were several times more likely under the hypothesis of no effect than under the effect size the theory predicts. An exploratory analysis including all participants found a statistically significant but very small effect, with the Bayesian comparison then inconclusive. Exploratory tests suggested the effect was larger among participants reporting more fatigue, and was not affected by trait self-control or by beliefs about willpower. Notably, the paper is co-authored by researchers on both sides of the argument.
Vohs and colleagues ran the largest test of ego depletion, with thirty-six laboratories and more than three and a half thousand participants, and a design intended to be fair to the theory rather than to one protocol: laboratories used one of two accepted procedures, on the reasoning that a paradigm should be tested rather than a single recipe. The pre-registered analysis found no significant effect, and a Bayesian analysis indicated the data were several times more likely under the hypothesis of no effect than under the effect size the theory predicts. An exploratory analysis including all participants found a statistically significant but very small effect, with the Bayesian comparison then inconclusive. Exploratory tests suggested the effect was larger among participants reporting more fatigue, and was not affected by trait self-control or by beliefs about willpower. Notably, the paper is co-authored by researchers on both sides of the argument.
Written from the abstract, OpenAlex.
What our sources record
Reproduced as it was written when this source was checked, figures and all.
Vohs, K. D., Schmeichel, B. J., Lohmann, S., et al. (2021). “A multisite preregistered paradigmatic test of the ego-depletion effect.” Psychological Science, 32(10), 1566-1581. 36 labs, N = 3,531, d = 0.06.
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/10.1177/0956797621989733
DOI: 10.1177/0956797621989733