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Changes in pupil size track self-control failure.

Sean R O'Bryan1,2, Mindi M Price3, Jessica L Alquist3

  • 1Department of Psychological Sciences, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, 79409, USA. sean_obryan@brown.edu.

Experimental Brain Research
|February 19, 2024
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Ego-depletion, or reduced self-control after demanding tasks, may stem from increased attentional effort. Elevated pupil diameter (PD) during initial tasks predicted poorer performance on subsequent self-control tasks, revealing a physiological mechanism.

Keywords:
Ego-depletionEye trackingLocus coeruleusNorepinephrinePupillometrySelf-control

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Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Neuroscience

Background:

  • Self-control tasks can impair performance on subsequent tasks, a phenomenon known as ego-depletion.
  • The underlying mechanisms driving ego-depletion, particularly the role of attentional effort, remain incompletely understood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the role of attentional effort, measured by pupillometry, in the ego-depletion effect.
  • To examine the association between pupil diameter (PD) during an initial self-control task and performance on a subsequent cognitive control task.

Main Methods:

  • Participants underwent a high- or low-demand attention task (ego-depletion manipulation).
  • Pupillometry was used to measure sustained and phasic changes in pupil diameter (PD) during both tasks.
  • Performance on a subsequent Stroop task was assessed to measure cognitive control lapses.

Main Results:

  • Participants in the high-demand condition showed larger sustained PD during the initial task.
  • Elevated sustained PD during the manipulation phase predicted worse accuracy on the Stroop task, suggesting an indirect pathway via sustained attention.
  • Large phasic PD responses during the manipulation independently predicted poorer Stroop performance, indicating a direct pathway via transient attentional control.

Conclusions:

  • Attentional effort, reflected in pupil diameter changes, plays a significant role in ego-depletion.
  • Both sustained and transient increases in attentional effort can contribute to cognitive control impairments following demanding tasks.
  • Findings offer neuroscientific insights into the physiological underpinnings of self-control and ego-depletion.