@article{WolffBaumgartenBrand2013,
  author    = {Wolff, Wanja and Baumgarten, Franz and Brand, Ralf},
  title     = {Reduced self-control leads to disregard of an unfamiliar behavioral option - an experimental approach to the study of neuroenhancement},
  series = {Substance abuse treatment, prevention, and policy},
  volume    = {8},
  journal   = {Substance abuse treatment, prevention, and policy},
  number    = {23},
  publisher = {BioMed Central},
  address   = {London},
  issn      = {1747-597X},
  doi       = {10.1186/1747-597X-8-41},
  pages     = {6},
  year      = {2013},
  abstract  = {Background: Neuroenhancement (NE), the use of psychoactive substances in order to enhance a healthy individual's cognitive functioning from a proficient to an even higher level, is prevalent in student populations. According to the strength model of self-control, people fail to self-regulate and fall back on their dominant behavioral response when finite self-control resources are depleted. An experiment was conducted to test the hypothesis that ego-depletion will prevent students who are unfamiliar with NE from trying it. Findings: 130 undergraduates, who denied having tried NE before (43\% female, mean age = 22.76 +/- 4.15 years old), were randomly assigned to either an ego-depletion or a control condition. The dependent variable was taking an "energy-stick" (a legal nutritional supplement, containing low doses of caffeine, taurine and vitamin B), offered as a potential means of enhancing performance on the bogus concentration task that followed. Logistic regression analysis showed that ego-depleted participants were three times less likely to take the substance, OR = 0.37, p = .01. Conclusion: This experiment found that trying NE for the first time was more likely if an individual's cognitive capacities were not depleted. This means that mental exhaustion is not predictive for NE in students for whom NE is not the dominant response. Trying NE for the first time is therefore more likely to occur as a thoughtful attempt at self-regulation than as an automatic behavioral response in stressful situations. We therefore recommend targeting interventions at this inter-individual difference. Students without previous reinforcing NE experience should be provided with information about the possible negative health outcomes of NE. Reconfiguring structural aspects in the academic environment (e.g. lessening workloads) might help to deter current users.},
  language  = {en}
}
@misc{WolffBaumgartenBrand2013,
  author    = {Wolff, Wanja and Baumgarten, Franz and Brand, Ralf},
  title     = {Reduced self-control leads to disregard of an unfamiliar behavioral option},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-401386},
  pages     = {6},
  year      = {2013},
  abstract  = {Background: Neuroenhancement (NE), the use of psychoactive substances in order to enhance a healthy individual's cognitive functioning from a proficient to an even higher level, is prevalent in student populations. According to the strength model of self-control, people fail to self-regulate and fall back on their dominant behavioral response when finite self-control resources are depleted. An experiment was conducted to test the hypothesis that ego-depletion will prevent students who are unfamiliar with NE from trying it. Findings: 130 undergraduates, who denied having tried NE before (43\% female, mean age = 22.76 +/- 4.15 years old), were randomly assigned to either an ego-depletion or a control condition. The dependent variable was taking an "energy-stick" (a legal nutritional supplement, containing low doses of caffeine, taurine and vitamin B), offered as a potential means of enhancing performance on the bogus concentration task that followed. Logistic regression analysis showed that ego-depleted participants were three times less likely to take the substance, OR = 0.37, p = .01. Conclusion: This experiment found that trying NE for the first time was more likely if an individual's cognitive capacities were not depleted. This means that mental exhaustion is not predictive for NE in students for whom NE is not the dominant response. Trying NE for the first time is therefore more likely to occur as a thoughtful attempt at self-regulation than as an automatic behavioral response in stressful situations. We therefore recommend targeting interventions at this inter-individual difference. Students without previous reinforcing NE experience should be provided with information about the possible negative health outcomes of NE. Reconfiguring structural aspects in the academic environment (e.g. lessening workloads) might help to deter current users.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{EnglertWolff2015,
  author    = {Englert, Chris and Wolff, Wanja},
  title     = {Ego depletion and persistent performance in a cycling task},
  series = {International journal of sport and exercise psychology},
  volume    = {46},
  journal   = {International journal of sport and exercise psychology},
  number    = {2},
  publisher = {Pozzi},
  address   = {Roma},
  issn      = {0047-0767},
  doi       = {10.7352/IJSP2015.46.137},
  pages     = {137 -- 151},
  year      = {2015},
  abstract  = {We tested the assumption that persistent performance in an exhausting indoor cycling task would depend on momentarily available self-control strength (N = 20 active participants). In a within-subjects design (two points of measurement, exactly seven days apart), participants' self-control strength was experimentally manipulated (depletion: yes vs. no; order counterbalanced) via the Stroop test before the participants performed a cycling task. In line with our hypothesis, hierarchical linear modelling (HLM) revealed that participants consistently performed worse over a period of 18 minutes when they were ego depleted. In addition, HLM analysis revealed that depleted participants invested less effort in the cycling task, as indicated by their lower heart rate. This effect escalated over time, as indicated by a time x condition interaction. These results indicate that self-control strength is necessary to obtain an optimal level of performance in endurance tasks requiring high levels of persistence. Practical implications are discussed.},
  language  = {en}
}