Pesquisa

The Effects of Ego Depletion on Selfish Behavior
Daniela Rossi de Camargo
Bates College

Abstract

Several studies have found that ego depletion reduces willingness to help others (Hagger, Wood, Stiff, & Chatzisarantis, 2010). This study explored the effects of ego depletion on willingness to partake in selfish behaviors. Forty college students participated in this study. Half were assigned to an ego depletion task, while the other half were assigned to a control task. Under the presumption that the experiment was over, students were allowed to take candy from a communal bowl. The assumption was that taking too much candy was both viewed as a selfish behavior and required some level of self-control to refrain from. The prediction was that participants in the ego depletion condition, who had had some of their self control reserves drained, would be less able to refrain from taking candy from the bowl. Yet, no significant differences were found in amount of candy taken by participants in each condition. It is possible that the ego depletion manipulation task did not deplete participants’ self-control reserves enough to hinder the exertion of self control in a subsequent task. It is also possible that the second task was not sufficiently tempting to require enough self-control so that a difference between the ego depletion and control groups could be observed. The nature of the participants recruited for this study may also have influenced the results. Finally, there may only be some circumstances in which ego depletion does, in fact, increase selfish behavior. Further studies should examine group size, as well as relationship between the participants and those whom their selfish acts would affect, as possible moderators of the effects of ego depletion on selfish behavior.

The Effects of Ego Depletion on Selfish Behavior

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