The depletion of self-regulation may lead to poorer impulse control and an inability to control actions that may be detrimental to one's livelihood, such as drinking and driving. To date, few studies have examined the impact of self-regulation depletion on drinking. This study aimed to replicate and expand on a study conducted by Muraven et al. (2002), which found that a self-regulation depleted group consumed more alcohol than a control group. However, the current study used an alcohol placebo (as opposed to alcohol itself) to eliminate the confound of alcohol affecting self-regulation. Additionally, electrocardiogram and skin conductance response data were used in an attempt to explore measuring self-regulation depletion physiologically, as few studies have attempted to measure self-regulation in this way. One hundred and eight college students completed a battery of behavioral tests and self-report questionnaires to determine whether the depletion group consumed more of the alcohol placebo than the control group. Participants' physiological responses were also measured to determine whether the depletion of self-regulation could be measured physiologically. Results indicated that both trait self-regulation (β=.04, p=.78) and the depletion of self-regulation (β=-.05, p=.68) had no effect on the consumption of the alcohol placebo. The findings also suggest that individuals in a high self-regulatory depleting activity had increased heart rate (HR; t(104) = 2.43, p = .02) and skin conductance responses (SCR; t(93.42) = 8.31, p< .01). The findings that trait-self-regulation and the depletion of self-regulation had no effect on the consumption of the alcohol placebo were contrary to the hypothesis. They may indicate that self-regulation plays no role in the consumption of alcohol; however, as the study contained limitations, such as the size of the placebo beverage and the inclusion age of the participants, the results must be interpreted with caution. Furthermore, the finding of increased physiological responses to a high self-regulatory depleting activity may be an initial step in developing a psychophysiological measurement of self-regulation depletion. / A Thesis submitted to the Department of Psychology in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
Master of Science. / Spring Semester, 2014. / February 25, 2014. / Alcohol, Depletion, Self-Regulation, Self-Regulation Depletion / Includes bibliographical references. / Jeanette Taylor, Professor Directing Thesis; Ashby Plant, Committee Member; Joyce Carbonell, Committee Member.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_253549 |
| Contributors | Chavarria, Jesus (authoraut), Taylor, Jeanette (professor directing thesis), Plant, Ashby (committee member), Carbonell, Joyce (committee member), Department of Psychology (degree granting department), Florida State University (degree granting institution) |
| Publisher | Florida State University, Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, text |
| Format | 1 online resource, computer, application/pdf |
| Rights | This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s). The copyright in theses and dissertations completed at Florida State University is held by the students who author them. |
Page generated in 0.0016 seconds