Boredom and self-control as guiding signals for goal-directed behavior: A novel approach to the ego depletion effect

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Self-control research has been dominated by the strength model of self-control which is built on the premise that the capacity for self-control is a limited global resource that can become temporarily depleted, resulting in a state called ego depletion. However, replication failures have severely questioned the model’s validity. We propose that this is due to a confound that has unknowingly been introduced into ego depletion research: boredom. Boredom impairs goal attainment by causing attentional failures to engage with an ongoing task. Thus, ego depletion and boredom both exert their detrimental effects via impaired attentional control. We propose that the control conditions that are traditionally used in ego depletion research induce greater levels of boredom and are therefore ill-suited to test the strength model of self-control. As this potential confound in ego depletion research and the relationship between self-control and boredom have largely been overlooked by previous research, we aim to address this gap with three subprojects.Here, we combine two up to this point separate lines of research: self-control and boredom research. Specifically, we suggest that not only self-control but also boredom is a guiding signal for goal-directed behavior. In subprojects A and B, we plan to use psychological, neuronal and physiological measures (including oculomotor measures and brain activity) to unravel the temporal dynamics of self-control and boredom and its impact on cognitive performance (subproject A) and on physical performance (subproject B). With the use of these psychological, neuronal and physiological measures we aim to disentangle the independent and interactive effects of perceived self-control exertion and perceived boredom on performance, thereby illuminating a potential blind spot in the ego depletion literature. In subproject C we will combine the data of the first two subprojects and test a moderated multiple mediation model. We expect that in the low self-control tasks, the sensation of boredom increases self-control demands, whereas in the high self-control tasks, self-control demands are the direct result of the manipulation. Thus, we propose that in traditional ego depletion research both experimental conditions might impair self-control performance and modulate attendant psychoneurophysiological measures. However, we expect these impairments and modulations to be primarily driven by the sensation of boredom (low self-control condition) or perceived self-control exertion (high self-control condition). This research can address a substantial blind spot in one of the most popular fields of psychological research. Given the innovative nature of this research, state-of-the-art data analysis, and adoption of a comprehensive psychoneurophysiological approach, the results obtained from this project will have the potential for acceptance in high-impact journals.