Neuroscience of depletion 1 The neuroscience of “ego depletion” or: How the brain can help us understand why self- control seems limited Michael Inzlicht1,2, Elliot Berkman3, & Nathaniel Elkins-Brown1 1Department of Psychology, University of Toronto 2Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto 3Department of Psychology, University of Oregon Word count (including references): 10,885 Please send correspondence to: Michael Inzlicht University of Toronto Department of Psychology 1265 Military Trail Toronto, Ontario M1C 1A4, Canada E-mail:
[email protected] Telephone: 416-208-4862 Fax: 416-287-7642 Neuroscience of depletion 2 The neuroscience of ego depletion or: How the brain can help us understand why self- control seems limited The past decade has witnessed an explosion of research on the topic of self-control. And this is a good thing. After all, self-control is thought to sustain the better angels of our nature while discouraging our more demonic sides. This could be why self-control failure is thought to be at the root of societal ills ranging from financial debt to marital infidelity to criminality (Baumeister, Heatherton, & Tice, 1994). It could also be why poor self-control has been blamed for up to 40% of preventable deaths (Schroeder, 2007). What is self-control? Self-control, known colloquially as willpower, refers to the mental processes that allow people to override any of their thoughts, emotions, or behaviors that compete with their overarching goals. At its heart, self-control is instigated when a person faces a conflict between two competing desires or response tendencies—say, when a dieter is conflicted between ordering a salad or a juicy hamburger for lunch; or when a writer is conflicted between putting pen to paper or checking her favorite social media websites; or even when a study participant is conflicted between naming the color of a word and reading the word in a Stroop task.