You Wear Me Out: The Vicarious Depletion of Self-Control

Ackerman, Joshua M.; Goldstein, Noah J.; Shapiro, Jenessa R.; Bargh, John A.

doi:10.1111/j.1467-9280.2009.02290.x

Cited by 132Behavioral Health and InterventionsMedia Influence and HealthEmotions and Moral Behavior

You Wear Me Out: The Vicarious Depletion of Self-Control

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Ackerman, Joshua M., Goldstein, Noah J., Shapiro, Jenessa R., Bargh, John A.·2009·Psychological Science

DOI 10.1111/j.1467-9280.2009.02290.xPMC PMC2714914

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Abstract

Acts of self-control may deplete an individual's self-regulatory resources. But what are the consequences of perceiving other people's use of self-control? Mentally simulating the actions of others has been found to elicit psychological effects consistent with the actual performance of those actions. Here, we consider how simulating versus merely perceiving the use of willpower can affect self-control abilities. In Study 1 , participants who simulated the perspective of a person exercising self-control exhibited less restraint over spending on consumer products than did other participants. In Study 2 , participants who took the perspective of a person using self-control exerted less willpower on an unrelated lexical generation task than did participants who took the perspective of a person who did not use self-control. Conversely, participants who merely read about another person's self-control exerted more willpower than did those who read about actions not requiring self-control. These findings suggest that the actions of other people may either deplete or boost one's own self-control, depending on whether one mentally simulates those actions or merely perceives them.

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Authors: Ackerman, J. M., Goldstein, N. J., Shapiro, J. R., & Bargh, J. A.
Affiliations: Yale University (US)
University of California, Los Angeles (US)
Corresponding author: Ackerman, Joshua M.
ORCID: Ackerman, Joshua M.
Goldstein, Noah J.
Bargh, John A.
Venue: Psychological Science
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Published: 2009-03
Volume: 20
Issue: 3
Pages: 326-332
ISSN: 0956-7976 (ISSN-L)
1467-9280
DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-9280.2009.02290.x
PMC: PMC2714914
OpenAlex: W2150911794
Cited by: 132
References: 44
Citations by year: 2026: 4 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 1 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 3 · 2019: 9 · 2018: 5 · 2017: 5 · 2016: 14 · 2015: 10 · 2014: 14 · 2013: 15 · 2012: 13
FWCI: 13.72
Type: journal article
Language: en
Open access: green
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Licence: journals.sagepub.com/page/policies/text-and-data-mining-license (tdm)
Locations: Psychological Science (publishedVersion)
PubMed (publishedVersion)
PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders: National Institute of Mental Health (R01MH060767, MH60767)
Topics: Social Sciences › Psychology › Applied Psychology › Behavioral Health and Interventions
Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Literature and Literary Theory › Media Influence and Health
Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Emotions and Moral Behavior
Keywords: self-control, self-regulation, mental simulation, perspective taking, willpower, ego depletion
MeSH terms: Fatigue, Female, Humans, Interpersonal Relations, Male, Surveys and Questionnaires, Vocabulary, Self Efficacy, Young Adult

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You Wear Me Out: The Vicarious Depletion of Self-Control

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