Willpower depletion seems to depend (at least to some extent) on whether you believe willpower is a finite resource or not. What that means for people who are aware of that fact, I haven’t the slightest idea, but it’s probably like what happens to people who have a thorough understanding of the placebo effect and are aware they may be experiencing it.
If you read in a reputable-looking book that your willpower is depletable, and you hadn’t heard any good evidence to the contrary before, you might end up believing that. That’s what happened to me for the span of a couple of years, in fact.
Ah, well, on general grounds I have a rather low expectation of all work on experimental psychology.
FWIW, though, one of the findings of the biases literature is priming. If one takes that one seriously, it should lead one to take less personally seriously any of the rest.
Willpower depletion seems to depend (at least to some extent) on whether you believe willpower is a finite resource or not. What that means for people who are aware of that fact, I haven’t the slightest idea, but it’s probably like what happens to people who have a thorough understanding of the placebo effect and are aware they may be experiencing it.
Your willpower gets depleted only if you think it does? So...why do that then?
If you read in a reputable-looking book that your willpower is depletable, and you hadn’t heard any good evidence to the contrary before, you might end up believing that. That’s what happened to me for the span of a couple of years, in fact.
Ah, well, on general grounds I have a rather low expectation of all work on experimental psychology.
FWIW, though, one of the findings of the biases literature is priming. If one takes that one seriously, it should lead one to take less personally seriously any of the rest.