Giving in to a cookie craving can save your self-control strength? I’m in!
Do you ever find yourself wondering why sometimes you have heroic self-control that allows you to withstand the temptation of evil sweets, but then other days, before you know it, you’ve eaten an entire box of Oreos and three bowls of ice cream? It all comes back to self-control.
Self-control is usually conceptualized as one’s ability to override their typical way of responding to their environment. As an example, after becoming exhausted while running a marathon, your body typically would want to take a break. Fortunately, self-control can give you that extra push that allows you to override your desire to sit your butt down and make it to the finish line. So, why does your self-control sometimes fail to show up to the party? Researchers, such as Roy F. Baumeister, see self control as being something similar to a muscle, after extensive use, it can fatigue and weaken.
In his research paper, Ego Depletion: is the active self a limited resource? , Baumeister devised a clever (and slightly cruel) way to fatigue their participant’s self-control and then test how it effected their self-control when engaging in a subsequent tasks. A plate of cookies and a bowl of radishes were placed in front of the participants. Some participants were told they could indulge and eat the cookies. Needless to say, this condition will not deplete anyone’s self-control. However, in the other condition, the participants could see and smell the cookies, however they couldn’t eat them and were instructed to only chow down on the radishes. This condition was expected to deplete the participant’s self-control. Turns out that the radish eaters were actually able to resist the cookies but it took self-control not to shove three in their mouths when the experiment wasn’t looking.
To then test the individual’s remaining self-control resources, they had the participants try and solve an impossible-to-solve puzzle to see how long it would take for the person to give up. The idea was that people with greater self-control resources would persist in trying to solve the puzzle longer. As predicted, people who had used their self-control resources to not eat the cookies gave up significantly faster than those who had been able to indulge.
Being aware of the limitations of your self-control has practical implications for your life. For instance, after exerting your self-control while studying for exams, you should try and avoid your snack cupboard!
References:
Baumeister, R.F. & Bratslavsky, E. & Muraven, M. & Tice D.M. (1998) Ego depletion: is the active self a limited resource? Journal of personality and social psychology. 74(5): 1252–65.
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