Go Back Research Article May, 2007

Restoring the self: Positive affect helps improve self-regulation following ego depletion

Abstract

Previous work has shown that acts of self-regulation appear to deplete a psychological resource, resulting in poorer self-regulation subsequently. Four experiments using assorted manipulations and measures found that positive mood or emotion can counteract ego depletion. After an initial act of self-regulation, participants who watched a comedy video or received a surprise gift self-regulated on various tasks as well as non-depleted participants and significantly better than participants who experienced a sad mood induction, a neutral mood stimulus, or a brief rest period.

Keywords

Self-control Positive Affect Ego Depletion Self-Regulation Mood Induction Comedy Video Surprise Gift Psychological Resource Rest Period Mood Effects
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Volume 43
Issue 3
Pages 379-384
ISSN 1096-0465
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