ArticlePerspectives on psychological science : a journal of the Association for Psychological Science2016
A Multilab Preregistered Replication of the Ego-Depletion Effect.
Article in Perspectives on psychological science : a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 189 papers, 10 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
189 citing papers in PubMed, 10 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- A systematic review of ego depletion phenomenon in group-based hierarchical relations.Frontiers in psychology · 2025Pooled it
- An integrative review on unveiling the causes and effects of decision fatigue to develop a multi-domain conceptual framework.Frontiers in cognition · 2025Pooled it
- Assessing the Evidential Value of Mental Fatigue and Exercise Research.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2023Pooled it
- Interindividual Variability in Mental Fatigue-Related Impairments in Endurance Performance: A Systematic Review and Multiple Meta-regression.Sports medicine - open · 2023Pooled it
- A Multisite Preregistered Paradigmatic Test of the Ego-Depletion Effect.Psychological science · 2021Pooled it
- Mental Fatigue and Basketball Performance: A Systematic Review.Frontiers in psychology · 2021Pooled it
- Effects of Prior Cognitive Exertion on Physical Performance: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2020Pooled it
- An updated meta-analysis of the ego depletion effect.Psychological research · 2018Pooled it
- Pooled it
- The Effects of Mental Fatigue on Physical Performance: A Systematic Review.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2017Pooled it
- Ego-depletion and motor skill performance under pressure-experimental effects of a short term virtual-reality based mindfulness breathing meditation with integrated biofeedback.Scientific reports · 2024Trial
- Trial
- Acute Effect of Eating Sweets on Alcohol Cravings in a Sample with At-Risk Drinking.Annals of behavioral medicine : a publication of the Society of Behavioral Medicine · 2020Trial
- Testing the ego-depletion effect in optimized conditions.PloS one · 2019Trial
- Testing the validity of the attention control video: An eye-tracking approach of the ego depletion effect.PloS one · 2019Trial
- The (non-)replicability of regulatory resource depletion: A field report employing non-invasive brain stimulation.PloS one · 2017Trial
- Motivational incentives lead to a strong increase in lateral prefrontal activity after self-control exertion.Social cognitive and affective neuroscience · 2016Trial
- Decision volume and temporal workload structure as dissociable correlates of fatigue and mood in intensive care physicians: a real-time observational study.Critical care (London, England) · 2026Observational
- The Uptake of Preregistration, and Its Impact on the Proportion of Supported Hypotheses, in Sports Science.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2026Article
- A Hitchhiker's Guide to Physical and Cognitive Effort.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2026Review
129 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
64 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Good self-control has been linked to adaptive outcomes such as better health, cohesive personal relationships, success in the workplace and at school, and less susceptibility to crime and addictions. In contrast, self-control failure is linked to maladaptive outcomes. Understanding the mechanisms by which self-control predicts behavior may assist in promoting better regulation and outcomes. A popular approach to understanding self-control is the strength or resource depletion model. Self-control is conceptualized as a limited resource that becomes depleted after a period of exertion resulting in self-control failure. The model has typically been tested using a sequential-task experimental paradigm, in which people completing an initial self-control task have reduced self-control capacity and poorer performance on a subsequent task, a state known as ego depletion Although a meta-analysis of ego-depletion experiments found a medium-sized effect, subsequent meta-analyses have questioned the size and existence of the effect and identified instances of possible bias. The analyses served as a catalyst for the current Registered Replication Report of the ego-depletion effect. Multiple laboratories (k = 23, total N = 2,141) conducted replications of a standardized ego-depletion protocol based on a sequential-task paradigm by Sripada et al. Meta-analysis of the studies revealed that the size of the ego-depletion effect was small with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) that encompassed zero (d = 0.04, 95% CI [-0.07, 0.15]. We discuss implications of the findings for the ego-depletion effect and the resource depletion model of self-control.
Indexed as
Identifiers
27474142What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.