Self-Control Strength and Mindfulness in Physical Exercise Performance: Does a Short Mindfulness Induction Compensate for the Detrimental Ego Depletion Effect?

Stocker, Eva; Englert, Christoph; Seiler, Roland (2018). Self-Control Strength and Mindfulness in Physical Exercise Performance: Does a Short Mindfulness Induction Compensate for the Detrimental Ego Depletion Effect? Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 31(3), pp. 324-339. Taylor & Francis 10.1080/10413200.2018.1471754

Text Self Control Strength and Mindfulness in Physical Exercise Performance Does a Short Mindfulness Induction Compensate for the Detrimental Ego.pdf - Published Version Restricted to registered users only Available under License Publisher holds Copyright. Download (564kB)

To meet specific goals, athletes frequently have to deal with several demands that may
deplete their limited self-control resources, which may in turn negatively affect their
subsequent performance in a wide variety of sports-related tasks (e.g., coordinative,
psychological, and physical tasks). Mindfulness meditation may be beneficial for
mechanisms involved during self-control exertion, because it supports efficient emotion
regulation, attention regulation, and executive functioning. In our study, we investigated
the effects of a short mindfulness exercise on physical performance in a state
with temporarily depleted self-control strength (ego depletion). We applied a mixed
between- (ego depletion: yes vs. no) and within- (two times of measurement, 7 days
apart; mindfulness: yes vs. no; order counterbalanced) subjects design to test our
hypothesis in a sample of 34 sport students. Ego depletion was manipulated via a
well-established transcription task. For the manipulation of mindfulness, participants
performed a 4-min mindfulness exercise via audio in the mindfulness condition and
listened to an audiobook in the control condition. As a dependent variable, participants
performed a previously validated strenuous physical exercise (plank exercise) for as
long as possible, and we measured the relative difference between the baseline measurement
and the second trial. We found no interaction effect, meaning that a short
mindfulness exercise was not able to compensate for the detrimental ego depletion
effect. In future studies, potential mechanisms should be assessed to reveal the ego
depletion effect on physical exercise performance.

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