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PLOS Science Wednesday: Hi reddit, my name is Michael and my research challenges the notion that self-control is a finite resource that diminishes with use over time – Ask Me Anything!
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Abstract

Hi reddit, My name is Michael Inzlicht and I am a professor at The University of Toronto. My research focuses on the topic of self-control and the related concepts of cognitive control and executive function. I recently published a study titled, “A pre-registered naturalistic observation of within domain mental fatigue and domain-general depletion of self-control” in PLOS ONE. In this paper, we monitored over 16,000 students as they engaged in voluntary learning on an online program to examine the impact of time-of-day and within-task fatigue on participation and performance. Contrary to models of self-control that suggest that self-control is domain general and runs out, we did not find that task engagement decreased at the end of the day. These findings join others (e.g., http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0147770) that cast doubt on the notion that self-control is based on some finite resource that diminishes with use. I will be answering your questions at 1pm ET. Ask me Anything! Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter @minzlicht!