Ego Depletion, Working Memory, and the Executive Function of the Self

The ability to alter, regulate, or otherwise control one's own behavior is a valuable but limited human capacity. Good self-control facilitates success in life, but self-control attempts often fail. The present work examined two causes of self-control failure, divided attention and depleted self-control strength, and sought to demonstrate that these are closely related but separate causes of self-control failure. In Studies 1 and 2, controlling (vs. not controlling) attention at the start of the study reduced the ability to divide attention during a subsequent test of working memory, indicating that the ability to control attention relies on a depletable internal resource or strength. In Study 3, performing (vs. not performing) a test of divided attention impaired subsequent emotion suppression ability, indicating that the act of dividing attention depletes the same strength that underlies dissimilar forms of self-control. In Study 4, regulating (vs. not regulating) emotional expression reduced subsequent pain tolerance, but concurrent divided attention did not reduce pain tolerance, indicating that divided attention and depleted strength have different effects on behavior. The findings converge to show that divided attention and self-control strength are related but distinct determinants of the capacity for self-control.