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Background The process model proposes that the ego depletion effect is due to (a) an increase in motivation toward indulgence, and (b) a decrease in motivation to control behaviour following an initial act of self-control. In contrast, the reflective-impulsive model predicts that ego depletion results in behaviour that is more consistent with desires, and less consistent with motivations, rather than influencing the strength of desires and motivations. The current study sought to test these alternative accounts of the relationships between ego depletion, motivation, desire, and self-control. Methods One hundred and fifty-six undergraduate women were randomised to complete a depleting e-crossing task or a non-depleting task, followed by a lab-based measure of snack intake, and self-report measures of motivation and desire strength. Results and Conclusions In partial support of the process model, ego depletion was related to higher intake, but only indirectly via the influence of lowered motivation. Motivation was more strongly predictive of intake for those in the non-depletion condition, providing partial support for the reflective-impulsive model. Ego depletion did not affect desire, nor did depletion moderate the effect of desire on intake, indicating that desire may be an appropriate target for reducing unhealthy behaviour across situations where self-control resources vary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditionally, self-control has been conceptualized as the effortful overcoming of desires in order to enact goal-consistent behavior. Several researchers have suggested that instead, self-control is effortless, as individuals with high self-control experience less intense desire that conflicts with valued goals. The current study tested whether the relationship between trait self-control and snack intake was mediated by desire strength, or whether those with higher trait self-control were better able to overcome desire to indulge in unhealthy food, controlling for aspects of the food environment and goal motivation. A sample of women with the goal of eating healthily for weight management ( N = 134) completed a lab-based assessment of snack food consumption and self-report measures of desire strength and trait self-control (generic self-control, and both inhibitory and initiatory subcomponents). As expected, desire strength mediated the relationship between generic self-control and intake, such that higher self-control was related to lower snack intake indirectly via lower desire strength. The relationship between desire and intake was consistent across self-control levels. The same pattern of results emerged for both inhibitory and initiatory self-control. These findings support the contemporary conceptualization of self-control as being effortless due to the reduced strength of unhealthy desires. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A more negative implicit evaluation of unhealthy food stimuli and a more positive implicit evaluation of a weight-management goal have been shown to predict lower consumption of unhealthy food. However, the associations between these evaluations, temptation to indulge and consumption of unhealthy food remain unclear. The current study investigated whether temptation would mediate the relationship between implicit food and goal evaluations and consumption (resembling an antecedent-focused route to self-control of eating), or whether those evaluations would moderate the relationship between temptation and consumption (resembling a response-focused route). A sample of 156 women (17–25 years), who tried to manage their weight through healthy eating, completed two implicit association tasks assessing implicit food and goal evaluations, respectively. Intake of four energy-dense snack foods was measured in a task disguised as a taste test, and participants reported the strength of experienced temptation to indulge in the snacks offered. Negative implicit food evaluation was associated with lower snack intake, and temptation mediated this relationship. Implicit goal evaluation was unrelated to both temptation strength and snack consumption. The findings contribute to an understanding of how negative implicit unhealthy food evaluation relates to lower consumption, namely through the mediation of temptation to indulge in those foods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]