Hunger and Reduced Self-Control in the Laboratory and across the World: Reducing Hunger as a Self-Control Panacea

Abstract

Ten studies link hunger to reduced self-control. Higher levels of hunger-as assessed by self-report, time since last eating, or physiology-predicted reduced self-control, as indicated by increased racial prejudice, (hypothetical) sexual infidelity, passivity, accessibility of death thoughts and perceptions of task difficulty, as well as impaired Stroop performance and decreased self-monitoring. Increased rates of hunger across 200 countries predicted increased war killings, suggestive of reduced aggressive restraint. In a final experiment, self-reported hunger mediated the effect of hungry (v fed) participants performing worse on the Stroop task, suggesting a causal relationship of hunger reducing self-control.

Share and Cite:

Gailliot, M. (2013). Hunger and Reduced Self-Control in the Laboratory and across the World: Reducing Hunger as a Self-Control Panacea. Psychology, 4, 59-66. doi: 10.4236/psych.2013.41008.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

References

[1] Alaimo, K., Olson, C. M., Edward, A., & Frongillo, J. (2001). Food insufficiency and America’s school-aged children’s cognitive, academic, and psychosocial development. Pediatrics, 108, 44-53.
[2] Armentrout, J. A., & Hauer, A. L. (1978). MMPIs of rapists of adults, rapists of children, and non-rapist sex offenders. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 34, 330-332. doi:10.1002/1097-4679(197804)34:2<330::AID-JCLP2270340213>3.0.CO;2-R
[3] Arndt, J., Greenberg, J., Solomon, S., Pyszczynski, T., & Simon, L. (1997). Suppression, accessibility of death-related thoughts, and cultural worldview defense: Exploring the psychodynamics of terror management. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 73, 5-18. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.73.1.5
[4] Barrett, D. E., Radke-Yarrow, M., & Klein, R. E. (1982). Chronic mal nutrition and childbehavior: Effects of early caloric supplementation on social and emotional functioning at school age. Developmental Psychology, 18, 541-556. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.18.4.541
[5] Barry, V. C., & Klawans, H. L. (1976). One the role of dopamine in the pathophysiology of anorexia nervosa. Journal of Neural Transmission, 38, 107-122. doi:10.1007/BF01262969
[6] Barth, R. J., & Kinder, B. N. (1987). The mislabeling of sexual impulsivity. Journal of Sex and Marital Therapy, 13, 15-23. doi:10.1080/00926238708403875
[7] Baumeister, R. F., Bratslavsky, E., Muraven, M., & Tice, D. M. (1998). Ego depletion: Is the active self a limited resource? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74, 1252-1265. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.74.5.1252
[8] Baumeister, R. F. (2005). The cultural animal: Human nature, meaning, and social life. New York: Oxford University Press.
[9] Baumeister, R. F., Heatherton, T. F., & Tice, D. M. (1994). Losing control: How and why people fail at self-regulation. San Diego, CA: Academic Press.
[10] Benton, D., & Sargent, J. (1992). Breakfast blood glucose and memory. Biological Psychology, 33, 207-221. doi:10.1016/0301-0511(92)90032-P
[11] Bhalla, M., & Proffitt, D. R. (1999). Visual-motor recalibration in geo graphical slant perception. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 25, 1076-1096. doi:10.1037/0096-1523.25.4.1076
[12] Campfield, L. A., & Smith, F. J. (1986). Functional coupling between transient declines in blood glucose and feeding behavior: Temporal relationships. Brain Research Bulletin, 17, 427-433. doi:10.1016/0361-9230(86)90250-9
[13] Carnes, P. (1983). Out of the shadows: Understanding sexual addiction. Minneapolis: CompCare.
[14] Chavez, A., & Martinez, M. (1979). Consequences of insufficient nutriation on childcharacteristics and behavior. In D. A. Levitsky (Ed.), Malnutrition, Environment and Behavior (pp. 238-255). Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.
[15] Ciampolini, M., & Bianchi, R. (2006). Training to estimate blood glucose and to formassociations with initial hunger. Nutrition and Metabolism, 3, 42. doi:10.1186/1743-7075-3-42
[16] Ciampolini, M., Bianchi, R., de Pont, B., Lovell-Smith, D., Sifone, M., van Weeren, M. et al. (2008). Sustained self-regulation of energy intake: Initial hunger is associated with low pre-meal blood glucose and prevents energy accumulation. http://win.aegov.com/public/2763_NC%2012%20Dic%2008.doc
[17] Coleman, E. (1992). Is your patient suffering from compulsive sexual behavior? Psychiatric Annals, 22, 320-325.
[18] Crowne, D. P., & Marlowe, D. (1960). A new scale of social desirability independent of psychopathology. Journal of Consulting Psychology, 24, 349-354. doi:10.1037/h0047358
[19] De Graaf, C., Blom, W. A. M., Smeets, P. A. M., Stafleu, A., & Hen driks, H. F. J. (2004). Biomarkers of satiation and satiety. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 79, 946-961.
[20] Devine, P. G. (1989). Stereotypes and prejudice: Their automatic and controlled components. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 56, 5-18. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.56.1.5
[21] DeWall, C. N., Baumeister, R. F., Gailliot, M. T., & Maner, J. K. (2008). Depletion makes the heart grow less helpful: Helping as a function of self-regulatory energy and genetic relatedness. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 34, 1653-1662. doi:10.1177/0146167208323981
[22] DeWall, C. N., Baumeister, R. F., Stillman, T. F., & Gailliot, M. T. (2007). Violence restrained: Effects of self-regulation and its depletion on aggression. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 43, 62-76. doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2005.12.005
[23] DeWall, C. N., Gailliot, M. T., Deckman, T., & Bushman, B. J. (2009). Sweetened blood cools hot tempers: Physiological self-control and aggression. Aggressive Behavior, 37, 73-78. doi:10.1002/ab.20366
[24] Duckworth, A. L., & Seligman, M. E. P. (2005). Self-discipline outdoes IQ in predicting academic performance of adolescents. Psychological Science, 16, 939-944. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9280.2005.01641.x
[25] Earle, R. H., & Crow, G. M. (1990). Sexual addiction: Understanding the phenomenon. Contemporary Family Therapy, 12, 89-104. doi:10.1007/BF00892488
[26] Exner, T. M., Meyer-Bahlburg, H. F. L., & Ehrhardt, A. A. (1992). Sexual self-control as a mediator of high risk sexual behavior in a New York City cohort of HIV+ and HIV? gay men. Journal of Sex Research, 29, 389-406. doi:10.1080/00224499209551655
[27] Fairclough, S. H., & Houston, K. (2004). A metabolic measure of mental effort. Biological Psychology, 66, 177-119. doi:10.1016/j.biopsycho.2003.10.001
[28] Finkel, E. J., & Campbell, W. K. (2001). Self-control and accommodation in close relationships: An interdependence analysis. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 81, 263-277. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.81.2.263
[29] Food and Agriculture Organization (2009). The state of food insecurity in the world 2009: Economic crises—impacts and lessons learned. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
[30] Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Economic and Social Department (2005). The state of food insecurity in the world 2005: Eradicating world hunger—Key to achieving the millennium development goals. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
[31] Gailliot, M. T. (2009). Having used self-control increases attention to food: A functional bias in the management of metabolic energy and a bias toward indulgence. Unpublished manuscript.
[32] Gailliot, M. T., Peruche, B. M., Plant., E. A., & Baumeister, R. F. (2009). Stereotypes and prejudice in the blood: Sucrose drinks reduce prejudice and stereotyping. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 45, 288-290. doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2008.09.003
[33] Gailliot, M. T. (2008). Unlocking the energy dynamics of executive functioning: Linkingexecutive functioning to brain glycogen. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 3, 245-263. doi:10.1111/j.1745-6924.2008.00077.x
[34] Gailliot, M. T., & Baumeister, R. F. (2007a). The physiology of willpower: Linking blood glucose to self-control. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 11, 303-327. doi:10.1177/1088868307303030
[35] Gailliot, M. T., & Baumeister, R. F. (2007b). Self-regulation and sexual restraint: Dispositionally and temporarily poor self-regulatory abilities contribute to failures at restraining sexual behavior. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 33, 173-186. doi:10.1177/0146167206293472
[36] Gailliot, M. T., Baumeister, R. F., DeWall, C. N., Maner, J. K., Plant, E. A., Tice, D. M., Brewer, L. E., & Schmeichel, B. J. (2007). Self control relies on glucose as a limited energy source: Willpower is more than a metaphor. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 92, 325-336. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.92.2.325
[37] Gailliot, M. T., Hildebrandt, B., Eckel, L. A., & Baumeister, R. F. (2010). A theory of limited metabolic energy and premenstrual syndrome (PMS) symptoms—Increased metabolic demands during the luteal phase divert metabolic resources from and impair self-control. Review of General Psychology, 14, 269-282. doi:10.1037/a0018525
[38] Gailliot, M. T., Plant, E. A., Butz, D. A., & Baumeister, R. F. (2007). Increasing self-regulatory strength can reduce the depleting effect of suppressing stereotypes. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 33, 281-294. doi:10.1177/0146167206296101
[39] Gailliot, M. T., Schmeichel, B. J., & Baumeister, R. F. (2006). Self regulatory processes defend against the threat of death: Effects of self-control depletion and trait self-control on thoughts and fears of dying. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 91, 49-62. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.91.1.49
[40] Gavin, J. R. (2001). Patho-physiologic mechanisms of postprandial hyperglycemia. American Journal of Cardiology, 88, 4-8. doi:10.1016/S0002-9149(01)01830-6
[41] Giotakos, O., Vaidakis, N., Markianos, M, & Chrisodoulou, G. N. (2003). Personalitycharacteristics of sexual offenders. Psychiatriki, 14, 189-190.
[42] Gold, S. N., & Heffner, C. L. (1998). Sexual addiction: Many conceptions, minimal data. Clinical Psychology Review, 18, 367-381. doi:10.1016/S0272-7358(97)00051-2
[43] Goodman, L. A. (1960). On the exact variance of products. Journal of the American Statistical Association, 55, 708-713. doi:10.1080/01621459.1960.10483369
[44] Gordijn, E. H., Hindriks, I., Koomen, W., Dijksterhuis, A., & Van Knippenberg, A. (2004). Consequences of stereotype suppression and internal suppression motivation: A self-regulation approach. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 30, 212-224. doi:10.1177/0146167203259935
[45] Gottfredson, M. R., & Hirschi, T. (1990). A general theory of crime. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
[46] Govorun, O., & Payne, B. K. (2006). Ego-depletion and prejudice: Separating automatic and controlled components. Social Cognition, 24, 111-136. doi:10.1521/soco.2006.24.2.111
[47] Gray, G. E. (1986). Diet, crime and delinquency: A critique. Nutritional Review, 44, 89-94. doi:10.1111/j.1753-4887.1986.tb07683.x
[48] Hanson, R. K., & Bussiere, M. T. (1998). Predicting relapse: A meta analysis of sexual offender recidivism studies. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 66, 348-362. doi:10.1037/0022-006X.66.2.348
[49] Heatherton, T. F., & Baumeister, R. F. (1991). Binge eating as escape from self-awareness. Psychological Bulletin, 110, 86-108. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.110.1.86
[50] Hernandez, J. T., & DiClemente, R. J. (1992). Self-control and ego identity development as predictors of unprotected sex in late adolescent males. Journal of Adolescence, 15, 437-447. doi:10.1016/0140-1971(92)90073-E
[51] Howard, L. L. (2008). Does food insecurity at home affect non-cognitive performance at school? A longitudinal analysis of elementary student classroom behavior. http://business.fullerton.edu/Economics/larryhoward/food_insecurity2008.pdf
[52] Inzlicht, M., McKay, L., & Aronson, J. (2006). Stigma as ego depletion: How being the target of prejudice affects self-control. Psychological Science, 17, 262-269. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9280.2006.01695.x
[53] Johns, M., Inzlicht, M., & Schmader, T. (2008). Stereotype threat and executive resourcedepletion: Examining the influence of emotion regulation. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 137, 691 705. doi:10.1037/a0013834
[54] Kalichman, S. C., Johnson, J. R., Adair, V., Rompa, D., Multhauf, K., & Kelly, J. A. (1994). Sexual sensation seeking: Scale development and predicting AIDS-risk behavior among homosexually active men. Journal of Personality Assessment, 62, 385-397. doi:10.1207/s15327752jpa6203_1
[55] Kaye, W. H., Pickar, D., Naber, D., & Ebert, M. H. (1982). Cerebrospinal fluid opioid activity in anorexia nervosa. American Journal of Psychiatry, 139, 643-645.
[56] Ketterman, R. L. (2004). Stereotype suppression effects on self-control of alcohol consumption. Masters Thesis, Tallahassee, FL: Florida State University.
[57] Kleinman, R. E., Murphy, J. M., Little, M., Pagano, M., Wehler, C. A., Regal, K., & Jellinek, M. S. (1998). Hunger in children in the United States: Potential behavioral and emotional correlates. Pediatrics, 101, 1-6. doi:10.1542/peds.101.1.e3
[58] Kochanska, G., Murray, K. T., & Harlan, E. T. (2000). Effortful control in early childhood: Continuity and change, antecedents, and implications for social development. Developmental Psychology, 36, 220 232. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.36.2.220
[59] Koepp, W., Schildbach, S., Schmager, C., & Rohner, R. (1993). Borderline diagnosis andsubstance abuse in female patients with eating disorders. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 14, 107-111. doi:10.1002/1098-108X(199307)14:1<107::AID-EAT2260140114>3.0.CO;2-Q
[60] Lopez-Sobaler, A. M., Ortega, R. M., Quintas, M. E., Navia, B., & Requejo, A. M. (2003). Relationship between habitual breakfast and intellectual performance (logical reasoning) in well-nourished scho olchildren of Madrid (Spain). European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 57, 49-53. doi:10.1038/sj.ejcn.1601815
[61] Malik, S., McGlone, F., Bedrossian, D., & Dagher, A. (2008). Ghrelin modulates brain activity in areas that control appetitive behavior. Cell Metabolism, 7, 400-409. doi:10.1016/j.cmet.2008.03.007
[62] Masicampo, E. J., & Baumeister, R. F. (2008). Toward a physiology of dual-process reasoning and judgment: Lemonade, willpower, and expensive rule-based analysis. Psychological Science, 19, 255-260. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9280.2008.02077.x
[63] Matthews, G., Jones, D. M., & Chamberlain, A. G. (1990). Refining the measurement of mood: The UWIST mood adjective checklist. British Journal of Psychology, 81, 17-42. doi:10.1111/j.2044-8295.1990.tb02343.x
[64] Mayer, J. D., & Gaschke, Y. N. (1988). The experience and meta experience of mood. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 55, 102-111. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.55.1.102
[65] McCloskey, D. I., Ebeling, P., & Goodwin, G. M. (1974). Estimation of weights and tensions and apparent involvement of a “sense of effort”. Experimental Neurology, 42, 220-232. doi:10.1016/0014-4886(74)90019-3
[66] McGrath, R. J. (1991). Sex-offender risk assessment and disposition planning: A review of empirical and clinical findings. International Journal of Offender Therapy &Comparative Criminology, 35, 328 335.
[67] Merimee, T. J., & Tyson, J. E. (1974). Stabilization of plasma glucose during fasting. Normal variations in two separate studies. New England Journal of Medicine, 291, 1275-1278. doi:10.1056/NEJM197412122912404
[68] Messier, C., & White, N. M. (1987). Memory improvement by glucose, fructose, and two glucose analogs: A possible effect on peripheral glucose transport. Behavioral and Neural Biology, 48, 104-127. doi:10.1016/S0163-1047(87)90634-0
[69] Muraven, M. (2008). Prejudice as self-control failure. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 38, 314-333. doi:10.1111/j.1559-1816.2007.00307.x
[70] Muraven, M., & Slessareva, E. (2003). Mechanisms of self-control failure: Motivation and limited resources. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 29, 894-906. doi:10.1177/0146167203029007008
[71] Muraven, M., Shmueli, D., & Burkley, E. (2006). Conserving self control strength. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 91, 524-537. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.91.3.524
[72] Murphy, J. M. (2007). Breakfast and learning: An updated review. Current Nutrition and Food Science, 3, 3-36. doi:10.2174/1573401310703010003
[73] Murphy, J. M., Wehler, C. A., Pagano, M. E., Little, M., Kleinman, R. F., & Jellinek, M. S. (1998). Relationship between hunger and psychosocial functioning in low-income American children. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 37, 163 170. doi:10.1097/00004583-199802000-00008
[74] Nafziger, E. W., & Auvinen, J. (2002). Economic development, inequality, war, and stateviolence. World Development, 30, 153-163. doi:10.1016/S0305-750X(01)00108-5
[75] Pollak, J. M. (1979-1980). Correlates of death anxiety: A review of empirical studies. Omega: Journal of Death and Dying, 10, 97-121. doi:10.2190/4KG5-HBH0-NNME-DM58
[76] Pollitt, E. (1995). Does breakfast make a difference in school? Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 95, 1134-1139. doi:10.1016/S0002-8223(95)00306-1
[77] Pollitt, E., & Mathews, R. (1998). Breakfast and cognition: An integrative summary. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 67, 804-813.
[78] Pollitt, E., Cueto, S., & Jacoby, E. R. (1998). Fasting and cognition in well and undernourished schoolchildren: A review of three experimental studies. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 67, 779-784.
[79] Pollitt, E., Golub, M., & Gorman, K. (1996). A reconceptualization of the effects of undernutrition on children’s biological, psychosocial, and behavioral development. Social Policy Report, 10, 1-21.
[80] Pollitt, E., Leibel, R. L., & Greenfield, R. L. (1981). Brief fasting and cognition in children. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 34, 1526-1533.
[81] Pollitt, E., Lewis, N., Garza, C., & Schulman, R. J. (1982). Fasting and cognitive function. Journal of Psychiatry Research, 17, 169-174. doi:10.1016/0022-3956(82)90018-8
[82] Proffitt, D. R., Stefanucci, J., Banton, T., & Epstein, W. (2003). The role of effort in perceiving distance. Psychological Science, 14, 106 112. doi:10.1111/1467-9280.t01-1-01427
[83] Pyszczynski, T., Greenberg, J., & Solomon, S. (1999). A dual process model of defense against conscious and unconscious death-related thoughts: An extension of terror management theory. Psychological Review, 106, 835-845. doi:10.1037/0033-295X.106.4.835
[84] Reid, L. L. (2000). The consequences of food insecurity for child well being: An analysis of children’s school achievement, psychological well-being, and health. JCPR Working Paper #137, Chicago, IL: Joint Center for Poverty Research, Northwestern University/University of Chicago.
[85] Richeson, J. A., Trawalter, S., & Shelton, J. N. (2005). African Americans’ implicit racial attitudes and the depletion of executive function after interracial interactions. Social Cognition, 23, 336-352. doi:10.1521/soco.2005.23.4.336
[86] Schmeichel, B. J. (2007). Attention control, memory updating, and emotion regulationtemporarily reduce the capacity for executive con trol. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 136, 241-255. doi:10.1037/0096-3445.136.2.241
[87] Schmeichel, B. J., Vohs, K. D., & Baumeister, R. F. (2003). Intellectual performance and ego depletion: Role of the self in logical reasoning and other information processing. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 85, 33-46. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.85.1.33
[88] Shoda, Y., Mischel, W., & Peake, P. K. (1990). Predicting adolescent cognitive and self-regulatory competencies from preschool delay of gratification: Identifying diagnostic conditions. Developmental Psychology, 26, 978-986. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.26.6.978
[89] Sigman, M., Whaley, S. E., Neumann, C. G., Bwibo, N., Guthrie, D., Weiss, R. E. et al. (2005). Diet quality affects the playground activities of Kenyan children. Food and Nutrition Bulletin, 26, 202-212.
[90] Stucke, T. S., & Baumeister, R. F. (2006). Ego depletion and aggressive behavior: Is the inhibition of aggression a limited resource? European Journal of Social Psychology, 36, 1-13. doi:10.1002/ejsp.285
[91] Tangney, J. P., Baumeister, R. F., & Boone, A. L. (2004). High self control predicts good adjustment, less pathology, better grades, and interpersonal success. Journal of Personality, 72, 271-322. doi:10.1111/j.0022-3506.2004.00263.x
[92] Tice, D. M., Baumeister, R. F., Shmueli, D., & Muraven, M. (2007). Restoring the self: Positive affect helps improve self-regulation following ego depletion. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 43, 379-384. doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2006.05.007
[93] Tice, D. M., Bratslavsky, E., & Baumeister, R. F. (2001). Emotional distress regulation takes precedence over impulse control: If you feel bad, do it! Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 80, 53-67. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.80.1.53
[94] United Nations (2004). United Nations Development Program’s 2004 Human Development Report.
[95] Vohs, K. D., & Gailliot, M. T. (2006). Using or losing self-control: Antecedents of regulatory strength and regulatory depletion. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Association for Consumer Research, Orlando.
[96] Wiederman, M. W. (2004). Self-control and sexual behavior. In R. F. Baumeister & K. D. Vohs (Eds.), Handbook of self-regulation: Research, theory, and applications. New York: Guilford Press.
[97] Wills, T. A., Gibbons, F. X., Gerrard, M., Murry, V. M., & Brody, G. H. (2003). Family communication and religiosity related to substance use and sexual behavior in early adolescence: A test for pathways through self-control and prototype perceptions. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 17, 312-323. doi:10.1037/0893-164X.17.4.312
[98] Zanarini, M. C., Frankenburg, F. R., Dubo, E. D., Sickel, A. E., Trikha, A., Levin, A., & Reynolds, V. (1998). Axis I comorbidity of borderline personality disorder. American Journal of Psychiatry, 155, 1733 1739.

Copyright © 2024 by authors and Scientific Research Publishing Inc.

Creative Commons License

This work and the related PDF file are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.