Effects of God Concept Primes on Prosocial Behavior after an Ego-Depletion Task

Indianapolis, IN

Using self-control is like using a muscle that can become fatigued (Rounding, Jacobson, & Ji, 2011). Daily, people undergo ego-depleting tasks, like waiting in traffic, which means their resources for self-control diminish as the day and week continues. The effects ego-depletion can be detrimental because researchers have found that lack of self-control reduces endurance through unpleasant tasks, and it reduces forgiveness (Rounding, et al., 2012; Balliet & Joireman, 2011). Also, Rounding, et al. (2012) found that priming ego-depleted participants with religion concepts reloads their self-control resources, allowing further endurance through unpleasant tasks. The proposed study intends to expand upon the research done on self-control, using the paradigm from Shariff & Norenzayan's (2007) study, which demonstrated that God concepts encourage prosocial behavior. I will examine whether God concept primes can replenish the self-control resources of participants who are ego-depleted, and thereby encourage prosocial behavior.