Observation

Paper Published in Perspectives Named Best of 2012

Perspectives_CoveThe International Social Cognition Network (ISCON) has recognized a paper written by APS Fellow Michael Inzlicht, University of Toronto, and APS member Brandon Schmeichel, Texas A&M University, with the 2012 Best Paper Award. The paper, published in Perspectives on Psychological Science, is titled “What Is Ego Depletion? Toward a Mechanistic Revision of the Resource Model of Self-Control.”

In their article, Inzlicht and Schmeichel present a preliminary process-focused model of self-control and suggest that the exertion of willpower causes a shift in motivation away from control and toward gratification. As part of the process, attention shifts away from cues that signal the need to control and toward cues that signal indulgence. This model challenges the traditional view that self-control is a limited resource that can be depleted.

The ISCON award committee chose the paper unanimously, calling it “a decisive advance for our understanding of how self-control operates.” The authors have been invited to present their award-winning research in February 2014, during the annual meeting of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology.


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