Turn It All You Want: Still No Effect of Sugar Consumption on Ego Depletion

Abstract

After having completed an initial self-control task, individuals typically show less self-controlled behavior on a consecutive task. In addition, this so-called ego-depletion effect is assumed to be alleviated by the consumption of sugar-containing drinks. However, a recent replication study indicates that this effect has been substantially overestimated. In contrast to mainstream ego-depletion research, initial and consecutive self-control tasks were identical in that study. Here we evaluate the generalizability of these results by testing 70 participants on a dual-task paradigm involving dissimilar tasks. Between self-control tasks, participants consumed a drink containing either sugar or an artificial sweetener. Results suggest that sugar consumption does not counteract ego depletion even when dissimilar self-control tasks are used.

Keywords

• self-control
• ego depletion
• sugar consumption
• replication
• strength model