| The current study aimed to introduce a novel method to prevent ego-depletion and to examine effects of ego-depletion at an electrophysiological level. Participants first completed a depleting or non-depleting letter-crossing task, then either chewed gum or consumed a mint. They then completed a computerized Stroop test as a measure of self-control. Overall, depleted participants made more errors on the Stroop test than non-depleted participants, regardless of chewing gum or consuming a mint. Among non-depleted participants, those who chewed gum had faster reaction times than those who consumed a mint, but among depleted participants, those who chewed gum had slower reaction times than those who consumed a mint. ERP results showed the expected Stroop interference effect, with greater error-related negativity (ERN) and N400 amplitude for incongruent trials, however, no differences in ERN or N400 were observed between depleted and non-depleted participants. Consistent with the behavioral effects of gum, participants who chewed gum showed less N400 negativity at the frontal electrode site than individuals who consumed a mint. Overall, the results suggest that chewing gum can boost self-control strength when not depleted, but is not an effective strategy to restore strength. |
