A Proposed Sociology & Social Psychology Study on understanding whether better health can lead to better functioning of the executive & conscious brain in the immediate moment.

1. EGO
RESTORATION
A QUEST TO LINK
PHSYIOLOGY TO
SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY
SOCI 229 FINAL PRESENTATION
NOV. 20th, 2013
TARA VISWANATHAN

2. THERE’S LOTS OF RESEARCH
ON THE BENEFITS OF
LAUGHTER, SLEEP,
AND EXERCISE.

3. MUCH OF IT
RELATING TO THE
BRAIN & COGNITIVE
FUNCTION
NATIONAL SLEEP
FOUNDATION
EVEN MILD
PHYSICAL ACTIVITY
KEEPS THE BRAIN FIT
& ACTIVE
A 20-30 MIN NAP PROVIDES
SIGNIFICANT BENEFIT FOR
IMPROVED ALERTNESS &
PERFORMANCE.
LAUGHTER CAN
IMPROVE
ATLERTNESS,
CREATIVITY, &
MEMORY.
JOHN RATY
HARVARD
MEDICAL
SCHOOL
PSYCHIATRIST
SONDRA KOMBLATT,
A BETTER BRAIN AT
ANY AGE

4. NOT SURPRISINGLY,
2 OUT OF THE 3 ARE
PROVEN TACTICS TO
RESTORE THE EGO
POST DEPLETION.
HAHAHA LOL ZZZZZZZZZZ GET YOLKED, BRO
NOT YET PROVEN
VIA SCIENTIFIC
METHOD.

5. TAKING A STEP BACK:
REMEMBER DUAL PROCESS THEORY?
• SYSTEM 1 VS SYSTEM 2 PROCESSING (REMEMBER THIS?!)
• UNCONSCIOUS VS. CONSCIOUS MIND
• SYSTEM 1: FAST, UNCONTROLLED, AUTOMATIC,
UNCONSCIOUS
• SYSTEM 2: CONTROLLED, EFFORTFUL, DELIBERATE,
INTENTIONAL, SLOWER, CONSCIOUS
• LIMITED BY WORKING MEMORY CAPACITY
• ELEPHANT & THE RIDER
• AUTOMATICITY
• EXPERIMENTS: SCRAMBLED SENTENCE TASK, DIJKSTERHUIS
APARTMENT
CONCLUSIONS
• UNCONSCIOUS THOUGHT MAY BE BETTER IN SOME CASES – WE
CAN PROCESS MORE INFORMATION MORE RAPIDLY THAN WE
CAN WITH CONSCIOUS THOUGHT
• WE OVERESTIMATE THE DEGREE OF CONSCIOUS AWARENESS &
CONTROL
• HOW IN CONTROL ARE WE REALLY?

6. BUT IF OUR
UNCONSCIOUS
MIND IS SO
SUCCESSFUL,
WHY DO
WE CARE
ABOUT THE
OTHER SIDE?

7. “THINGS DONE WITH
OUR CONSCIOUS ARE
DISPROPORTIONATLY
IMPORTANT TO LONG TERM
HEALTH, HAPPINESS, AND
SUCCESS OF THE INDIVIDUAL.”
WE CANNOT
AFFORD TO
IGNORE THIS.

8. • CRUCIAL FUNCTIONS OF THE SELF INVOLVE VOLITION
(MAKING CHOICES & DECISIONS CONSCIOUSLY – SYSTEM 2)
• OUR UNCONSCIOUS DOES A LOT. BUT ARGUABLY MORE
IMPORTANT THINGS ARE DONE WITH OUR CONSCIOUS
• THE RELATIVELY FEW ACTIVE, CONTROLLING CHOICES BY
THE SELF GREATLY INCREASE THE SELF’S CHANCES OF
ACHIEVING ITS GOALS
YOU’RE IN CHARGE…
BUT ARE YOU REALLY IN CHARGE?
CAN YOU BE MORE IN CHARGE?
WE <3 EGO

9. BUT WHAT’S EGO DEPLETION,
AGAIN?
THE EGO
• THE CONTROLLING ASPECT OF THE SELF
• THE SELF’S EXECUTIVE FUNCTION
• SYSTEM 2 REGULATING & OVERRIDING SYSTEM 1
• HAS SOME SORT OF STRENGTH DIMENSION
THE DEPLETION
• TEMPORARY REDUCTION IN THE SELF’S CAPACITY OR
WILLINGNESS TO ENGAGE IN VOLITIONAL ACTION
• THE SELF’S ACTS OF VOLITION DRAW ON SOME LIMITED
RESOURCE (SIMILAR TO STRENGTH/ENERGY)
• ONE CONTROLLING CHOICE WILL TAKE AWAY FROM
SUBSEQUENT CHOICES
• DO TWO VERY DIFFERENT ACTS OF SELF-CONTROL DRAW ON
THE SAME LIMITED RESOURCE?
• CHOCOLATE/RADISH & UNSOLVABLE PUZZLE
• YES!
• RESTORATION: SLEEP. (I’M SO MOTIVATED IN THE MORNINGS!)

10. NOT SURPRISINGLY,
2 OUT OF THE 3 ARE
PROVEN TACTICS TO
RESTORE THE EGO
POST DEPLETION.
HAHAHA LOL ZZZZZZZZZZ GET YOLKED, BRO
NOT YET PROVEN
VIA SCIENTIFIC
METHOD.

11. “POSITIVE MOOD
OR EMOTION CAN
COUNTERACT
EGO DEPLETION.”
-TICE et. al, 2005

12. RESTORING THE SELF: POSITIVE
AFFECT HELPS SELF-REGULATION
FOLLOWING EGO DEPLETION
- Tice, Baumeister (remember this guy?!), Shmueli, Muraven, 2005
• INITIAL ACT OF SELF-REGULATION (IV)
• NASTY DRINKS
• CROSS OUT 3 (FORM HABIT & BREAK IT)
• WHITE BEAR
• PARTICIPANTS WATCHED COMEDY VIDEO OR RECEIVED
SURPRISE GIFT (IV)
• THEN MEASURED TASK PERSISTENCE (DV)
• RESULTS:
• DEPLEATED DID JUST AS WELL AS NON-DEPLETED &
SIGNIFICANTLY BETTER THAN PARTICIPANTS WHO
EXPERIENCED SAD MOOD INDUCTION, NEUTRAL MOOD
INDUCTION, OR BRIEF REST PERIOD

13. NOT SURPRISINGLY,
2 OUT OF THE 3 ARE
PROVEN TACTICS TO
RESTORE THE EGO
POST DEPLETION.
HAHAHA LOL ZZZZZZZZZZ GET YOLKED, BRO
NOT YET PROVEN
VIA SCIENTIFIC
METHOD.

14. QUESTION: CAN
EXERCISE
RECOVER &
RESTORE
THE EXECUTIVE
FUNCTION OF
THE SELF?

15. CAN BETTER HEALTH LEAD
TO BETTER SOCIAL
INTERACTIONS,
MORE HUMAN AGENCY,
INCREASED SELF-CONTROL,
RESPONSIBLE DECISION
MAKING, & ACTIVE CHOICE,
VIA EGO RESTORATION?
CAN WE USE EGO DEPLETION THEORY
TO BETTER UNDERSTAND THE
PSYCHOLOGICAL AND SOCIOLOGICAL
IMPLICATIONS OF BETTER HEALTH?

16. • 50 PARTICIPANTS, COLLEGE PSYCHOLOGY STUDENTS
• RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO:
• 40 INITIALLY DEPLETE EGO (CROSSING OUT E TASK)
• 10 DO NOT (CONTROL)
• 40 WITH DEPLETED EGOS RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO 1 OF 4
CONDITIONS (RESTORATION IV)
• 20 MINS OF EXERCISE
• 20 MINS OF POSITIVE AFFECT
• 20 MINS OF REST
• 20 MINS OF NOTHING (CONTROL)
• 10 WITHOUT DEPLETED EGOS GO STRAIGHT TO DV EGO
DEPLETION 2
• THEN MEASURE TASK PERSISTENCE (DV) FOR ALL 50
PARTICIPANTS
AN EXERCISE IN EGO

17. [RANDOM ASSIGNMENT INTO CONDITIONS]
A.
10 STUDENTS
B.
10 STUDENTS
50 PRE-VETTED UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT PARTICIPANTS
C.
10 STUDENTS
D.
10 STUDENTS
E.
10 STUDENTS
INITIAL EGO DEPLETION – CROSSING OUT E TASK
A.
SLEEP
B.
POSITIVE
AFFECT
C.
EXERCISE
ALL 50 UNDERGO EGO DEPLETION –
TASK PERSISTENCE (DV) ON UNSOLVABLE TRACING TASK
NO INITIAL
EGO
DEPLETION
OR
SUBSEQUENT
RECOVERY
D.
NO
RECOVERY
AN EXERCISE IN EGO

18. CONDITIONS:
A.
10 STUDENTS
B.
10 STUDENTS
C.
10 STUDENTS
D.
10 STUDENTS
E.
10 STUDENTS
1. INITIAL EGO
DEPLETION
2. SLEEP
RECOVERY
3. FINAL EGO
DEPLETION
1. INITIAL EGO
DEPLETION
2. POSITIVE
AFFECT
RECOVERY
3. FINAL EGO
DEPLETION
1. INITIAL EGO
DEPLETION
2. EXERCISE
RECOVERY
3. FINAL EGO
DEPLETION
1. INITIAL EGO
DEPLETION
2. FINAL EGO
DEPLETION
1. FINAL EGO
DEPLETION
AN EXERCISE IN EGO
HYPOTHESIS: 20 MINS OF EXERCISE HAS AT LEAST AS MUCH OF AN
EGO RESTORATION EFFECT AS 20 MINS OF POSITIVE AFFECT OR 20
MINS OF REST (SLEEP)
IF CORRECT: A, B, C, E WOULD SHOW SIMILAR MINUTES OF
PERSISTENCE, WHILE CONDITION D SHOULD BE SIGNIFICANTLY
LOWER

19. • PARTICIPANT SELECTION
• NUMBER
• FROM WHERE
• DEMOGRAPHIC
• MANIPULATION CHECKS & EXPERIMENTOR EFFECT
• COVER STORY
• TYPE OF EGO-DEPLETION?
• CONTROLLING EXTRANEOUS FACTORS
• POST-EXPERIMENT QUESTIONAIRE & DEBRIEFING PROBE FOR
SUSPICION
OF COURSE, AS WITH MOST LABORATORY EXPERIMENTS,
THERE IS REASON FOR CONCERN IN FINDING EXTERNAL
VALIDITY.
CAN WE EXTRAPOLATE?

20. BUT IF WE CAN…

21. CAN BETTER HEALTH LEAD
TO BETTER SOCIAL
INTERACTIONS,
MORE HUMAN AGENCY,
INCREASED SELF-CONTROL,
RESPONSIBLE DECISION
MAKING, & ACTIVE CHOICE,
VIA EGO RESTORATION?
CAN WE USE EGO DEPLETION THEORY
TO BETTER UNDERSTAND THE
PSYCHOLOGICAL AND SOCIOLOGICAL
IMPLICATIONS OF BETTER HEALTH?

22. HOW MIGHT THIS AFFECT OUR
EVERY DAY LIFE?
• SLEEP ON IT? RUN ON IT?
• TRUTH TO “CLEARNING YOUR MIND”.
• IMPORTANT SOCIAL ENGAGEMENT – EXERCISE BEFOREHAND?
• MAXIMIZE SLEEP, EXERCISE, AND PLEASURE
• SPREAD OUT SLEEP, EXERCISE, AND PLEASURE
• INTERESTING THAT THE MOST STRESSFUL TIMES ARE WHEN WE
MOST READILY GIVE UP OUR HEALTH
• HAVE WE FOUND REASON TO CHANGE THIS MINDSET?

23. IDEAS FOR FOLLOW UP
RESEARCH.
• ONE DEPLETABLE RESOURCE, BUT CAN WE STRATEGICALLY
RECOVER OUR EGO?
• EFFECT OF EXERCISE ON HEALTH DECISIONS VS. UNRELATED
DECISIONS

24. THANK YOU!
QUESTIONS?