3 ms·
Though Ego Depletion doesn't seem to be a thing as you pointed out, "willpower is like a muscle" can still hold up if you take the depletion part out of the equ
by hobofan 6y ago
Though Ego Depletion doesn't seem to be a thing as you pointed out, "willpower is like a muscle" can still hold up if you take the depletion part out of the equation (muscle endurance vs. muscle strength). At least for the underlying neurological mechanisms, there seems to be a connection between connectivity of parts of the prefrontal cortex and the ability to self-regulate, and those parts also appear to be trainable.
- Godel_unicode 6y agoCan you cite some studies which have been replicated successfully and show this effect? I have been looking for them off and on, and have been able to find any which seem robust.
- hobofan 6y agoAs for a higher level psychological effect, I'm not aware of any studies (as that is also farther away from my field of study), and I'd also like to know of any. As for the underlying neurobiology, I think [0] is a decent study for identifying the relevant regions involved in procrastination in particular, and [1] is a good review about PFC plasticity. Of course that individually doesn't indicate a higher level effect, but dismissing it altogether in the same breath as ego depletion also doesn't seem right. [0]: https://www.nature.com/articles/srep33203 https://www.nature.com/articles/srep33203 [1]: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2013.06.028 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2013.06.028