Despite increased awareness of complications, the use and abuse of alcohol remains a problem in the United States. With regard to drinking, individuals encounter situations in which they must maintain a balance between temptation to drink and the need to regulate alcohol intake. Maintaining this balance requires the use of self-control. For this reason, lack of self-control has been implicated a potential influence on excessive alcohol consumption. The Strength Model of Self-Control (Baumeister, Vohs, & Tice, 2007) posits that self-control draws on a limited resource that becomes depleted following repeated use. The term “ego depletion” is used to refer to this temporary loss of self-control. The current study examined the effect of ego depletion on alcohol-related cognitions to determine if the strength of alcohol-related cognitions is affected by temporary loss of self-control, as well as if its effects can be gauged using an implicit measure of alcohol motivation. There was not a significant effect of ego depletion on implicit attitudes toward alcohol. Limitations and future directions are discussed.
","abstract_html":"<p>Despite increased awareness of complications, the use and abuse of alcohol remains a problem in the United States. With regard to drinking, individuals encounter situations in which they must maintain a balance between temptation to drink and the need to regulate alcohol intake. Maintaining this balance requires the use of self-control. For this reason, lack of self-control has been implicated a potential influence on excessive alcohol consumption. The Strength Model of Self-Control (Baumeister, Vohs, & Tice, 2007) posits that self-control draws on a limited resource that becomes depleted following repeated use. The term “ego depletion” is used to refer to this temporary loss of self-control. The current study examined the effect of ego depletion on alcohol-related cognitions to determine if the strength of alcohol-related cognitions is affected by temporary loss of self-control, as well as if its effects can be gauged using an implicit measure of alcohol motivation. There was not a significant effect of ego depletion on implicit attitudes toward alcohol. Limitations and future directions are discussed.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Allen, Danielle B."],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Science in Experimental Psychology (M.S.)","degree_level":"Thesis (open access)","degree_discipline":"Department of Psychology","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Shauna Joye","Janie H. Wilson"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2015,"date_issued":"2015-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2015-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:28:22Z","subjects":["ETD","alcohol use","ego depletion","Clinical Psychology","Social Psychology"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/etd/1263","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Shauna Joye","Janie H. Wilson"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Allen, Danielle B."]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2015-04-15T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Department of Psychology"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis (open access)"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science in Experimental Psychology (M.S.)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["ETD","alcohol use","ego depletion","Clinical Psychology","Social Psychology"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/etd/1263"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Despite increased awareness of complications, the use and abuse of alcohol remains a problem in the United States. With regard to drinking, individuals encounter situations in which they must maintain a balance between temptation to drink and the need to regulate alcohol intake. Maintaining this balance requires the use of self-control. For this reason, lack of self-control has been implicated a potential influence on excessive alcohol consumption. The Strength Model of Self-Control (Baumeister, Vohs, & Tice, 2007) posits that self-control draws on a limited resource that becomes depleted following repeated use. The term “ego depletion” is used to refer to this temporary loss of self-control. The current study examined the effect of ego depletion on alcohol-related cognitions to determine if the strength of alcohol-related cognitions is affected by temporary loss of self-control, as well as if its effects can be gauged using an implicit measure of alcohol motivation. There was not a significant effect of ego depletion on implicit attitudes toward alcohol. Limitations and future directions are discussed.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["The Importance of Restraint in Gauging the Effects of Ego Depletion on Alcohol Motivation"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Shauna Joye","Janie H. Wilson"],"dc:creator":["Allen, Danielle B."],"dc:date.available":["2015-04-15T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Despite increased awareness of complications, the use and abuse of alcohol remains a problem in the United States. With regard to drinking, individuals encounter situations in which they must maintain a balance between temptation to drink and the need to regulate alcohol intake. Maintaining this balance requires the use of self-control. For this reason, lack of self-control has been implicated a potential influence on excessive alcohol consumption. The Strength Model of Self-Control (Baumeister, Vohs, & Tice, 2007) posits that self-control draws on a limited resource that becomes depleted following repeated use. The term “ego depletion” is used to refer to this temporary loss of self-control. The current study examined the effect of ego depletion on alcohol-related cognitions to determine if the strength of alcohol-related cognitions is affected by temporary loss of self-control, as well as if its effects can be gauged using an implicit measure of alcohol motivation. There was not a significant effect of ego depletion on implicit attitudes toward alcohol. Limitations and future directions are discussed.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/etd/1263"],"dc:subject":["ETD","alcohol use","ego depletion","Clinical Psychology","Social Psychology"],"dc:title":["The Importance of Restraint in Gauging the Effects of Ego Depletion on Alcohol Motivation"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Department of Psychology"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis (open access)"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science in Experimental Psychology (M.S.)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:28:22Z"}