Self-regulatory Resource Depletion Research Articles

Influencing Factors to Overeating in Restrained Eaters: An Analysis Based on Specific Occupation

Driven by the mainstream aesthetic in society, many people have begun to restrict their diet in pursuit of a better shape. Especially for specific occupations, such as dancers and figure skaters, the requirement of their careers has led to long-term restrained eating to keep a low BMI. However, a large proportion of people fail to restrict their diet or even develop eating disorders such as overeating at the end.Given the necessary restrained eating needs of specific occupation, the reasons why they may still break the dietary boundaries deserve to be investigated.Based on the definitions of restricted eating and overeating, this study summarizes previous research on overeating in restrained eaters, including psychological factors, attentional bias for food cues, lack of inhibitory control, and self-regulatory resource depletion. Then this study consider the particularity of specific occupations, including the influence of peer evaluation and repeated body surveillance, trying to conduct detailed analysis and reasonable inferences on specific influencing factors.Finally, based on the discussion, the study provides possible suggestions for the intervention of overeating and also directions for future empirical research.

Bearing the brunt: a daily diary examination of abusive supervision and the sustaining role of coworkers’ support

Purpose This study aims to examine the relationship between abusive supervision and workplace incivility using a dual theoretical framework. First, it draws on the ego depletion theory to investigate the relationship between abusive supervision and incivility by exploring the mediating role of ego depletion. Second, it integrates the job demands–resources model with the ego depletion theory to examine how perceived co-workers’ support functions as a buffer in mitigating the effects of ego depletion on incivility. Design/methodology/approach The authors tested our moderated mediation model using hierarchical linear modeling through an experience-sampling study based on data collected from a participants across five consecutive workdays. Findings The findings reveal employees subjected to abusive supervision are more likely to experience a depletion of self-regulatory resources. Moreover, the authors found a positive association between ego depletion and workplace incivility, suggesting that diminished self-control resulting from abusive supervision contributes to a higher likelihood of engaging in uncivil workplace behaviors. In addition, perceived coworkers’ support emerged as a significant moderating factor that attenuates the indirect impact of abusive supervision on workplace incivility through ego depletion. Specifically, when perceived coworkers’ support is high, the negative influence of abusive supervision on ego depletion, and subsequently, on workplace incivility, is mitigated. Originality/value By exploring ego depletion as the underlying mechanism and boundary conditions imposed by perceived coworker support on the relationship between abusive supervision and workplace incivility, this research contributes to a nuanced understanding of the intricate dynamics of this relationship. Based on the research findings, the authors advocate that organizations should establish and integrate support services, such as counseling and employee assistance programs, to reduce the emotional turmoil caused by abusive supervision.

Good for you, bad for me? The daily dynamics of perspective taking and well-being in coworker dyads.

Perspective taking is encouraged by organizations as a form of supporting coworkers. Yet, its impact on employees' and coworkers' well-being is not well understood. We, therefore, take a dyadic approach to understand the daily dynamics of employees' perspective taking, its benefits for coworkers, and its costs for employees themselves. Specifically, we draw from self-regulation theory to examine the double-edged sword of perspective taking for one's own and one's coworker's well-being (reflected by subjective vitality). With regard to coworker well-being, we take an other-oriented resource lens and theorize that the focal employee's perspective taking increases the coworker's received support and well-being. With regard to the focal employee's well-being, we take a self-oriented resource lens and theorize that perspective taking increases the focal employee's self-regulatory resource depletion, which impairs their well-being. We examined our research model in a dyadic experience sampling study with three daily measurement occasions over 2 working weeks in a sample of 89 coworker dyads (178 individuals). Multilevel analyses showed that perspective taking had a positive indirect effect on coworker well-being via received coworker support, while it had a negative indirect effect on the focal employee's well-being via self-regulatory resource depletion. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Inspiring, Yet Tiring: How Leader Emotional Complexity Shapes Follower Creativity

Moods and emotions are an important influence on creativity at work, and recent developments point to emotional complexity as a particularly relevant influence in this respect. We develop this line of research by shifting focus from emotional complexity as an intrapersonal influence to emotional complexity as an interpersonal influence between leader and subordinate. Specifically, we integrate the social-functional approach to emotions with theory on self-regulation to shed light on the effects of leader emotional complexity (LEC), operationalized as alternations between leader displays of happiness and anger, on follower creativity. Three studies, two video experiments (Studies 1 and 2) and a multisource experience sampling study (Study 3), revealed that, on one hand, LEC stimulated creativity by enhancing the cognitive flexibility of followers; on the other hand, LEC led to heightened self-regulatory resource depletion, which compromised follower creativity. Our results also showed that trait epistemic motivation strengthened the positive effects of LEC on creativity via cognitive flexibility, the negative effects via self-regulatory resource depletion were also stronger for followers with higher trait epistemic motivation. Combined, results suggest that leader displays of emotional complexity can be tiring but are even more inspiring. Supplemental Material: The online appendices are available at https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.2019.13152 .

They were uncivil, and now I am too: A dual process model exploring relations between customer incivility and instigated incivility.

Incivility from customers is a common occurrence for employees working in service-oriented organizations. Typically, such incivility engenders instigated mistreatment, both towards customers and colleagues. Not much is understood, however, about the mechanisms underlying the relations between customer incivility and instigated incivility. Answering recent calls from incivility scholars, the present research, drawing from Self-Regulatory Resource Theory and Stressor-Emotion models of workplace behaviour, explored cognitive (i.e., self-regulatory resource depletion) and affective (i.e., negative affect) pathways that would explain relations between customer incivility and instigated incivility towards others. Through two multi-wave studies with different time lags (N1 =180, weekly lags; N2 =192, within-week lags) and different operationalizations of the instigated incivility construct (i.e., broad [unidimensional] and narrow [multidimensional]), we find consistent support for the mediating effects of the affective pathway. While our first study finds that customer incivility is linked to broad instigated incivility through negative affect, our second study finds that customer incivility is linked to, more specifically, gossip, exclusionary behaviour, and hostility through negative affect. In both studies, however, no support was found for the mediating effects of the cognitive pathway. Implications for both research and practice are discussed, and future research directions are offered.

Emotional Development of Transformational Leaders: Emotional Regulation Efficacy and Engagement

A leader-centric perspective on transformational leadership suggests that this leadership approach benefits employees, teams, and organizations, but may bring mixed emotional consequences for leaders themselves. Extending the self-regulatory resource depletion perspective, we integrate the learning and adaptation perspective with social cognitive theory to present a model examining how the process that transformational leadership develops their self-efficacy for emotional regulation and work engagement unfold. Using a cross-lagged panel design with four-wave, multisource field data from 243 leaders and 1807 followers, we found that transformational leadership had a positive cross-lagged effect on leader self-efficacy for emotional regulation, which in turn had a positive cross-lagged effect on leader work engagement. The indirect effects with reversed directionality were also significant, suggesting the reciprocal feature of these effects. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Behavioral Ethics Ecologies of Human-Artificial Intelligence Systems.

Historically, evolution of behaviors often took place in environments that changed little over millennia. By contrast, today, rapid changes to behaviors and environments come from the introduction of artificial intelligence (AI) and the infrastructures that facilitate its application. Behavioral ethics is concerned with how interactions between individuals and their environments can lead people to questionable decisions and dubious actions. For example, interactions between an individual’s self-regulatory resource depletion and organizational pressure to take non-ethical actions. In this paper, four fundamental questions of behavioral ecology are applied to analyze human behavioral ethics in human–AI systems. These four questions are concerned with assessing the function of behavioral traits, how behavioral traits evolve in populations, what are the mechanisms of behavioral traits, and how they can differ among different individuals. These four fundamental behavioral ecology questions are applied in analysis of human behavioral ethics in human–AI systems. This is achieved through reference to vehicle navigation systems and healthcare diagnostic systems, which are enabled by AI. Overall, the paper provides two main contributions. First, behavioral ecology analysis of behavioral ethics. Second, application of behavioral ecology questions to identify opportunities and challenges for ethical human–AI systems.

Too Drained from Being Agile? The Self-Regulatory Effects of the Use of Agile ISD Practices and their Consequences on Turnover Intention

While much is known about the beneficial effects of agile information systems development (ISD), scholars have largely neglected to address its potential downsides. Specifically, research on this topic has thus far overlooked the ambivalent implications of the specific demands placed on developers working in agile ISD teams, including potentially depleting effects. Drawing on ego depletion theory and the associated literature, we provide a more balanced view and introduce self-regulatory resource depletion triggered by using agile ISD practices—encompassing software development (SD) and project management (PM) practices—as a theoretical perspective on why agile developers experience different levels of work-related fatigue that lead to stronger or weaker turnover intentions. Furthermore, we propose that due to the specific way in which agile ISD methods organize ISD project work, developers’ perceived workload influences the intensity by which agile ISD practices affect self-regulatory resources and developers’ feelings of fatigue. We examined our research model using a multimethod approach including quantitative and qualitative data. We found that the use of agile SD practices enhances developers’ self-regulatory resources and reduces fatigue and turnover intention. Our results also show that perceived workload strengthens the energizing effects of the use of agile SD practices and reveals a depleting effect of the use of agile PM practices, with countervailing implications for turnover intention. This study contributes to agile ISD literature by drawing a more nuanced and balanced picture with both resource-enhancing and resource-draining effects of the use of agile ISD practices. Finally, we give managerial advice regarding factors to consider when designing and managing agile ISD projects.

Excuse me, do you have a minute? An exploration of the dark- and bright-side effects of daily work interruptions for employee well-being.

Work intrusions-unexpected interruptions by other people that interrupt ongoing work, bringing it to a temporary halt-are common in today's workplaces. Prior research has focused on the task-based aspect of work intrusions and largely cast intrusions as events that harm employee well-being in general and job satisfaction in particular. We suggest that apart from their task-based aspect, work intrusions also involve a social aspect-interaction with the interrupter-that can have beneficial effects for interrupted employees' well-being. Using self-regulation theory, we hypothesize that while work intrusions' self-regulatory demands of switching tasks, addressing the intrusion, and resuming the original task can deplete self-regulatory resources, interaction with the interrupter can simultaneously fulfill one's need for belongingness. Self-regulatory resource depletion and belongingness are hypothesized to mediate the negative and positive effects of work intrusions onto job satisfaction, respectively, with belongingness further buffering the negative effect of self-regulatory resource depletion on job satisfaction. Results of our 3-week experience sampling study with 111 participants supported these hypotheses at the within-individual level, even as we included stress as an alternate mediator. Overall, by extending our focus onto the social component of work intrusions, and modeling the mechanisms that transmit the dark- and the bright-side effects of work intrusions onto job satisfaction simultaneously, we provide a balanced view of this workplace phenomenon. In the process, we challenge the consensus that work intrusions harm job satisfaction by explaining why and when intrusions may also boost job satisfaction, thus extending the recent research on work intrusions' positive effects. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Being envied is not enviable! A study of the daily experience of being envied in the workplace

Recent research on workplace envy has suggested that perceiving oneself as the target of coworker envy is a common and ambivalent experience. We integrate theory on sensitivity about being the target of threatening upward comparisons (STTUC) with that on emotion regulation to theorize that envied employees may need to manage these ambivalent states to avoid negative coworker reactions. Specifically, we posit that on a daily-basis envied employees will engage in surface acting to manage the ambivalent emotional states associated with being envied. However, this can take a toll on their self-regulatory resources, leaving them depleted. Self-regulatory resource depletion, in turn, will result in low job satisfaction and job performance. We further suggest that these day-level relationships will be stronger for people who are low as opposed to high in the tendency of viewing themselves as being envied as the experience of being envied will be a novel and uncommon one for these individuals. Results of a 3 week experience sampling study supported our hypotheses and showed that being envied in the workplace is a complex social experience that can influence employee's job performance and satisfaction.

Pardon the Interruption: A Study of the Dark- and Bright-Side Effects of Daily Work Intrusions

Work intrusions—unexpected encounters initiated by other people that interrupt ongoing work and bring it to a temporary halt (Jett & George, 2003)—are common in today’s dynamic workplaces. Prior research has focused on the task-based aspect of intrusions and cast them as negative events that harm employee wellbeing in general, and job satisfaction in particular (e.g., Keller, Meier, Elfering, & Semmer, 2019; Pachler et al., 2018). However, we suggest that apart from their task-based aspect, intrusions also involve a social component of interaction with the interrupter that can have beneficial effects for the interrupted employee. Using theory on self-regulation (e.g., Baumeister & Vohs, 2016), we hypothesize that while an intrusion’s self-regulatory demands of switching tasks, addressing the intrusion, and resuming the original task can deplete self-regulatory resources, the interaction with the interrupter can simultaneously lead to high levels of belongingness. Self-regulatory resource depletion and belongingness will, in turn, mediate the negative and positive effects of work intrusions on job satisfaction, with belongingness further hypothesized to buffer the negative effect of self-regulatory depletion on job satisfaction. Results of our 3-week experience sampling study supported these hypotheses at the within individual level. Overall, by extending focus onto the social component of work intrusions, unpacking the bright side of daily intrusions, and explaining the psychological mechanisms that transmit the dark- and bright-side effects of intrusions onto job satisfaction, we extend the current work intrusion literature by providing a more comprehensive and balanced view of work intrusions

Unable to Resist the Temptation to Tell the Truth or to Lie for the Organization? Identification Makes the Difference

Previous research indicates that the depletion of self-regulatory resources can promote unethical behavior that benefits the self. Extending this literature, we focus on norm-transgressing behavior that is intended to primarily benefit others. In particular, we predicted a differing effect of self-regulatory resource depletion on dishonesty that benefits one’s group, depending on the degree of identification with the group. Following a dual process approach, we argue that if identification with the group is strong, then people may have an automatic inclination to benefit their group even perhaps by lying. In contrast, if identification with the group is weak, then the default, uncontrolled impulse may be to tell the truth. Accordingly, identification with the social group should interact with self-regulatory resource depletion in predicting group-benefiting dishonesty. Focusing on pro-organizational dishonesty, we tested our hypotheses in one field study with 1269 employees and in one experimental study with 71 university students. As predicted, the results revealed a highly significant interaction of organizational identification and self-control strength: Depletion of self-regulatory resources increased the level of pro-organizational dishonesty among those who identify highly with the organization, but decreased the level of such behavior among those who identify less.

Too Depleted to Turn In: The Relevance of End-of-the-Day Resource Depletion for Reducing Bedtime Procrastination.

Bedtime procrastination is an important predictor of sleep insufficiency in the general population (Kroese et al., 2014b), but little is known about the determinants of this self-undermining behavior. As the phenomenon has been conceptualized in the literature as a form of self-regulation failure (Kroese et al., 2014a), we hypothesized that people’s self-regulatory resources in the evening would be predictive of going to bed later than they intended. Specifically, we examined whether the cumulative effect of resisting desires, a measure of self-regulatory resource depletion (Hofmann et al., 2012b), relates to bedtime procrastination. Participants (N = 218) reported how many desires they had tried to resist during the previous day and the extent of their bedtime procrastination. Results show that people who attempted to resist more desires were more likely to engage in bedtime procrastination, suggesting that people may be less likely to stick to their intended bedtime after a particularly taxing day. Implications for intervention strategies are discussed.

抵制诱惑失败：自我控制资源损耗在抑郁症状中的作用

目的：考察自我控制资源损耗在抑郁和正常个体中对抵制诱惑的影响。方法：测量被试的抑郁症状，采用经典的自我损耗实验范式，考察不同抑郁水平下自我损耗对抵制诱惑的影响。结果：与非损耗组相比，损耗组更难以抵制美食诱惑(F(1) = 5.60, P = 0.020)；抑郁分组和自我损耗对于抵制诱惑有显著的交互作用(F(1) = 4.88, P = 0.030)。和正常组相比，抑郁组被试在自我损耗的情况下更难以抵制美食诱惑(M抑郁组 = 16.58 ± 5.40, M正常组 = 13.35 ± 4.76)，但在非损耗的情况下则无显著差异(M抑郁组 = 12.00 ± 3.14, M正常组 = 13.19 ± 4.50)，该差异主要与抑郁个体的抑制阈限降低有关。结论：抑郁症是一种自我调节障碍，自我控制资源损耗显著降低了抑郁个体抵制诱惑的能力。 Objective: To examine the role of self-regulatory resource depletion on temptation resistance among depressed and normal population. Methods: Measuring depressive symptoms, using clas-sical experimental paradigm of self-depletion, we examined the differential effect of self-depletion on temptation resistance among depressed and normal populations. Results: Compared with non-depleted participants, the depleted participants were less likely to resist food temptation (F(1) = 5.60, P = 0.020); depressive symptoms and self-depletion have significant interactive effect on temptation resistance (F(1) = 4.88, P = 0.030). Compared with normal participants, depressed participants were less likely to resist food temptation under self-depleted condition (MDepressed = 16.58 ± 5.40, MNormal = 13.35 ± 4.76); however, there was no significant difference between normal and depressed participants under non-depleted condition (MDepressed = 12.00 ± 3.14, MNormal = 13.19 ± 4.50). The differential effects of self-depletion between normal and depressed population could be explained by the lowered inhibition threshold in depressed participants. Conclusion: Depression could be viewed as a self-regulatory disorder; self-regulatory resource depletion significantly reduced the likelihood of temptation resistance among depressed population.

About to Burst: How State Self-Regulation Affects the Enactment of Bullying Behaviors

Past research has demonstrated that employees’ perceptions of abusive supervision are positively associated with the enactment of bullying behaviors. However, an investigation of the factors influencing employees’ decision to bully others at work has yet to be completed. In this study, we propose that the relationship between perceptions of abusive supervision and the enactment of bullying behaviors is mediated by state self-regulation, and that active coping moderates the relationship between state self-regulation and bullying. Further, we analyze how the situational context (e.g., positive or negative) affects employees’ levels of self-regulatory resource depletion and ultimately, the extent to which they engage in bullying behaviors. A moderated mediation analysis using time-separated data (N = 136) provided support for our hypotheses, suggesting that employees’ state self-regulation helps explain why abusive supervision is associated with bullying and that active coping helps to reduce bullying behaviors. Further, the results suggest that negative environments are associated with more bullying. Contributions, practical implications, and future research directions are discussed.

Comparing cognitive load and self-regulatory depletion: Effects on emotions and cognitions

Prior research has found both similar and different effects of self-regulatory resource depletion and cognitive load. To resolve these seeming contradictions, we experimentally compared the effects of cognitive load and self-regulatory depletion. Ego depletion led participants to pay more attention to pain and to persist less on a pain test, whereas load had opposite effects (Study 1). Load distracted people from processing and reacting to negative emotional content of pictures (Study 2), and boosted positive feelings even without an overt emotion induction (Study 3), whereas depletion did not change how people felt relative to control. Depletion and load had equivalent null effects on visual recognition memory (Study 2) but different effects on semantic processing involving emotional connections (Study 3). Taken together, results suggest that load distracts attention away from, whereas ego depletion undermines top-down control over the processing of pain and negatively-valenced content. We discuss implications for learning and instruction.

When Wanting To Be Fair Is Not Enough: The Effects of Depletion and Self-Appraisal Gaps on Fair Behavior

Ensuring that managers engage in fair behaviors is critical for the effective functioning of organizations. Previous research has focused on increasing the enactment of interactional justice (i.e., justice as a dependent variable) by enhancing managers’ willingness to be fair. Drawing upon the limited strength model of self-regulation, we argue that the enactment of interactional justice may not depend solely on managers’ willingness or motivation but also on the extent to which managers have the self-regulatory resources required to engage in these behaviors. Using four experimental studies, our results indicate that the depletion of self-regulatory resources is negatively associated with the enactment of interactional justice. Furthermore, we argue that depletion can give rise to self-appraisal gaps (i.e., individuals’ ability to accurately appraise the fairness of their behavior is hampered), which can diminish the impetus to regulate fair behaviors (i.e., diminish interactional justice). Results provide support for self-appraisal gaps as an underlying explanation for why depletion can negatively affect the enactment of interactional justice. Moreover, the negative effects of depletion can be overcome by increasing managers’ awareness that they may be overestimating the fairness of their behavior. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Middle choice preference and snack choice: The role of self-regulatory resources to nudge healthier food choice

When confronted with a three-choice paradigm, products placed in the middle position are selected more frequently compared to peripheral options. Under low self-regulatory resource conditions, exploiting the middle position preference may be a promising nudge towards healthier food choices. This study aims to investigate boundary conditions of the middle choice preference in a convenience sample (n=182) using a 2 (high depletion vs. low depletion of self-regulatory resources)×2 (low caloric snack position: left vs. middle) between-subjects design. Three different snack bars were positioned from left to right in ascending order of calorie content (apple, chocolate-banana and chocolate) with the apple variety as either positioned on the left side or in the middle position (nudge). Our results showed that across all participants, no middle position preference could be observed between different snacks (χ2(2)=0.28, p=0.35), neither for participants in low depletion (36.8%; 35/95), χ2(1)=0.18, p=0.53 or high depletion condition (35.6%; 31/87), χ2(1)=0.83, p=0.25. Liking and gender did not influence choice behavior. Our findings suggest that nudging healthy middle choice preferences is limited to the extent of self-regulatory resource availability. This boundary condition should be considered when designing public health interventions to nudge healthier food choices based on middle position preferences.

Influence of Self-Regulatory Resource and Self-Regulatory Modes on Fashion Product Purchase Intention

This study examined the influence of self-regulatory resource depletion and self-regulatory modes on fashion product purchase intention. Initial research design dealt with differences of the resource depletion effect according to self-regulatory modes. The study used a 2 (self-regulatory resource depletion: depletion/non-depletion) × 2 (regulatory mode: assessment mode/locomotion mode) between-subjects factorial design. Second, the research design empirically analyzed the influence of self-regulatory resource depletion and self-regulatory mode on the fashion product purchase intention by each product group divided by type and involvement of fashion product. The subjects for the initial research were 255 university students in Seoul, Gyeonggi, and Daejeon. The subjects for the second research were 873 university students in Seoul and Daejeon. Collected data were analyzed with SPSS statistical package with reliability analysis, t-test, analysis of variance (ANOVA), and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA). The resu ts were as follows. First, assessment-oriented consumers showed low purchase intentions about fashion products when self-regulatory resources were exhausted than when self-regulatory resource were not exhausted. Locomotion-oriented consumers, indicated no differences in purchase intention about fashion products regardless of self-regulatory resource depletion. Second, influences on purchase intention by self-regulatory resource depletion and self-regulatory mode were different according to the fashion product group. The results of this study implied that strategies should be differentiated when establishing a fashion industry marketing strategy according to the self-regulatory resource depletion and self-regulatory mode of consumers.

Positive Thinking Impairs Subsequent Self-Regulation: Focusing on Defensive Pessimists and Optimists

The purpose of this study was to examine effects of positive/negative thinking on the depletion of self-regulatory resources in defensive pessimists and optimists. A laboratory experiment was conducted individually with 90 university students to investigate whether defensive pessimists or optimists exhibited different effects for depletion of resources. Results showed that when participants were instructed to engage in tasks with external pressure and given negative feedback, defensive pessimists required lower levels of self-regulation than did optimists. When participants engaged in an autonomous task and were given positive feedback, this pattern was reversed. That is, even if defensive pessimists receive negative feedback, they prepare carefully for a variety of worst-case scenarios. Therefore it is not necessary for them to expend greater resources, whereas, for defensive pessimists positive thinking does require more use of resources. Future research should examine different effects of manipulation resulting in positive or negative thinking.