How reliable are the effects of self-control training?: A re-examination using self-report and physical measures.
Level 2 - randomized trial
Controlled trial evaluating a behavioral intervention against a control group
PubMed 28594933 · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0178814
What was done
Participants were assigned to a control condition or a two-week self-control training protocol requiring increased use of their non-dominant hand. The authors evaluated training compliance, beliefs about self-control malleability, physical self-control measures, Stroop task performance, and self-reported self-control.
What was found
The abstract reports no numerical data, point estimates, or p-values. Participants complied with the training primarily if they held high-malleability beliefs; however, compared to control, the training produced no improvements in physical self-control, Stroop task performance, or self-reported self-control.
Why it matters
This experiment adds evidence challenging the strength model of self-control by demonstrating a failure to replicate behavioral training benefits on objective and subjective self-control metrics.
Limits
The abstract does not report sample size, participant demographics, randomization details, or any quantitative statistics and confidence intervals.