Week 3 - Willpower
What were the 3 'exhibits' presented to Baumeister, going against the 'Strength Model'?
1: Depletion effects are only present for people who BELIEVE their resources are limited [so there seems to be a way t override the ego depletion effect] (Job et al 2010) 2: Motivating participants can override the depletion effect (Muraven and Slessevara 2003) e.g. telling the participants the task is important. 3: Telling participants they could leave early if they performance well reversed the depletion effect, even after 2 hours of depleting tasks (Hopstaken et al 2015).
What type of memory is not affected by depletion?
Rote memory; automatic and independent of executive control
What does falsifiability mean?
A theory is falsifiable if it says certain things cannot happen; if it makes prediction which rule out other possibilities.
What does the process model say about ego depletion?
After we have used self-control, we are more motivated to do something rewarding and less motivated to exert further self-control. We also pay less attention to cues signalling us to use self-control. So, ego depletion occurs as a CHOICE in this thoery.
Solutions for poor studies and reporting and publishing.
Conduct more replication studies Make sure studies are well-powered Preregister studies to prevent p-hacking Make data and materials publicly available
What is decision fatigue?
Deteriorating quality of decisions made by an individual after a long session of decision making
What does delay gratification predict?
Developmental and mental health disorders. Predicted higher self-worth, lower likelihood of being involved with drugs etc.
Describe the Ego Depletion effect.
Doing a task involving self-control impairs performance on a subsequent task involving self-control (the perform worse).
What are the two predictions of the Strength Model?
Exerting self-control should TEMPORARILY reduce performance as it depletes resources. HOWEVER, in the long-term, repeatedly exerting self-control should INCREASE resources, improving performance.
Briefly describe Walter Mischel's marshmallow test.
Give a small child a marshmallow and say that if they wait 15 minutes, they will receive TWO [delay gratification]. They measures outcomes using self-report (longitudinal).
How replicable is the ego depletion effect? What did Hagger et al (2016) 'Registered Replication Report' find?
If people are depleted, the performance on a stroop task should be lower. They found a very small, non-significant effect.
What did Popper say adding extra things to your theory does?
It decreases the degree of falsifiability [and we WANT theories to be falsifiable).
Why can believing Baumeister be potentially bad for us?
It may give us an EXCUSE not to exert willpower and thus undermine our self control [self-fulfilling prophecy]. Believing willpower as a limited resource is associated with less academic success, poorer health and lower happiness.
Which system in the brain plays an important role in the exploitation/exploration process?
Locus-coeruleus-norepinephrine system.
What is a type II error?
Non-rejection of a false null hypothesis (false negative; rejected result but should have kept it)
What did Baumeister do to his model in 2018?
Revised it. He is no longer saying the level of resources are most important; people's performance is dependent on a combination of limited resources and decisions about whether to conserve your resources.
What did Vohs et al's (2008) study on making choices find?
Participants asked to choose objects. After they were given a task requiring self-control (hand in ice water for as long as possible). Participants (across 7 experiments) in the condition involving choice performance less well on subsequent self-control task.
What is a type I error?
Rejection of a true null hypothesis (false positive; should have rejected result)
What did the Reproductability project do and find?
Repeated 100 psychology studies and found that many did not replicate. Only 40% were comparable to the original studies
Which study demonstrates that ego depletion is NOT inevitable?
Savani and Job (2017) - Indians tended to believe that exerting willpower was energising and showed reverse ego depletion effects; thus there is a culture difference.
What are the two KEY tenets of the Process Model?
Shifts in motivation (reduced motivation to exert control and increased motivation to act on impulse) Shifts in attention (reduced attention to cues signalling control and increased attention to reward)
How does each self-control [ego depletion] theory explain me getting a takeaway after I write this lecture?
Strength Model - Writing the lecture depleted my self-control resources and I was then less capable of resisting the temptation to get a takeaway [focus on capability] Process Model - Writing the lecture made me feel motivated to do something rewarding and made me pay less attention to the negative emotions I felt about spending money on another takeaway [focus on motivation for reward]
What is the KEY tenet in Baumesiter's 'Strength Model'?
That self-control, or willpower depends on a limited resource.
What are some definitions of willpower?
The ability to resist short-term temptations in order to meet long term goals - the mental capacity individuals have to override or alter their own thoughts, emotions and behaviours - the ability to do what matters most, even when it is difficult or when some parts of you does not want to.
What did the 'Depletion Replication Project' meta-analysis find?
There is a real but SMALL effect.
What does the Process Model by Inzlicht and Schemichel (2012) consist of?
They agree with Baumeister but they feel like the limited resource part is not necessary; they think it is all about motivation and rewards in personal circumstances.
Who is best at self-regulation (in terms of willpower)?
Those that use willpower the least; they do not need it as they guide themselves in such a manner that they do not need to force themselves to do a certain thing.
What did Baumeister, DeWall, Ciarocco and Twenge's (2005) study on social exclusion find?
Undergrads get to know eachother for 20 minutes using prompts; then asked to write 2 names to partner up with (manipulation of social exclusion). Students ate more cookies after being told "no one chose you as someone they wanted". Main findings; after exclusion, they ate more cookies (poorer self-control in people who have been socially excluded).