Ego-Depletion and Risk Behavior

Too Exhausted to Take a Risk

Dados Bibliográficos

ID5338656
AutoresAlexander Unger (0000-0003-3449-3045, Ludwigshafen University of Business and Society), Dagmar Stahlberg (0000-0001-5972-0641, University of Mannheim)
Ano2011
Volume42
Fascículo1
Páginas28-38
Data de publicação2011-01-01
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessNão
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoSocial Psychology (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 1864-9335 • E-ISSN: 2151-2590
EditoraHogrefe Publishing Group (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1027/1864-9335/a000040
OpenAlexW2159922978
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas8
Referências citadas40

Ego-depletion theory postulates the existence of a mental resource that is necessary for self-regulation. If the resource is diminished by a task involving self-control, achievement in subsequent self-control tasks will be impaired. Three experiments examined whether ego-depletion limits people's intentionality regarding risk behavior (i.e., choosing an option that has a certain probability of resulting in an adverse outcome). It is assumed that people operating under ego-depletion lack the self-control to deal with these possibly negative outcomes and will, therefore, be prone to avoid risky alternatives, if the decision requires certain levels of responsibility and information processing (i.e., people will choose safe options in an investment scenario with actual pay-offs according to expected values). Results support the assumption that people become risk averse under ego-depletion even when controlling for the alternate assumption that ego-depletion strengthens an existing individual disposition toward risk taking

Cognitive psychology · Economics · Ego Depletion · Id, ego and super-ego · Intentionality · Investment (military) · Microeconomics · Outcome (game theory) · Resource (disambiguation) · Resource depletion · Self-control · Task (project management) · Behavioral Health and Interventions · Computer Science · Decision-Making and Behavioral Economics · Psychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction · Psychology · Social Psychology