Dr. CHOW Tak Sang, JasonJasonDr. CHOW Tak SangHui, Chin MingChin MingHuiLau, ShunShunLau2018-06-132018-06-132015European Journal of Social Psychology, Oct 2015, vol. 45(6), pp. 754-768.0046-2772http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11861/5242Recent research has found that ego-depletion undermines self-control by motivating cognition that justifies conservation of mental resource. One potential cognitive mechanism is reduction of self-efficacy. Specifically, we propose that ego-depletion might demotivate self-control by making people believe that they are inefficacious in exerting self-control in subsequent tasks. Three experiments support the proposal. First, we demonstrated that (a) ego-depletion can reduce self-efficacy to exert further control (Experiments 1 to 3) and (b) the temporary reduction of self-efficacy mediates the effect of depletion on self-control performance (Experiment 2). Finally, we found that (c) these effects are only observed among participants who endorse a limited (versus non-limited) theory of willpower and are, hence, more motivated to conserve mental resources (Experiment 3). Taken together, the present findings show that decrease in self-efficacy to exert further self-control is an important cognitive process that explains how ego-depletion demotivates self-control. This research also contributes to the recent discussion of the psychological processes underlying ego-depletion.enSelf-ControlEgo-DepletionLimited-Resource ModelSelf-EfficacyImplicit Theory of WillpowerPeer Reviewed Journal Article10.1002/ejsp.2120456754