Ego Depletion and Decision-Making Styles among University Students (predictive – comparative study)

Document Type : Original Article

Author

Department of Mental Health, Faculty of Education for Men, Al-Azhar University, Cairo.

Abstract

The current study aimed to explore the levels of ego depletion and decision-making styles among university students. It also sought to examine the differences in these two variables based on certain demographic factors, namely gender (male/female), academic specialization (scientific/literary), and academic year (first/second/third/fourth year). Furthermore, the study investigated the possibility of predicting decision-making styles based on levels of ego depletion. The study sample consisted of 604 male and female students from the education sector at Al-Azhar University, with a mean age of 20.53 years and a standard deviation of 1.598. The researcher employed an ego depletion scale developed specifically for this study, and the Decision-Making Styles Scale developed by Scott & Bruce (1995), which was translated and adapted linguistically and culturally for the local context. The findings indicated that ego depletion levels among university students were high. Regarding decision-making styles, the ranking was as follows: rational style ranked first, followed by the dependent, intuitive, spontaneous, and finally the avoidant style. Concerning demographic differences in ego depletion and decision-making: Statistically significant differences in ego depletion were found based on gender, in favor of females. Significant differences were also observed based on academic specialization, in favor of students in scientific fields. Regarding decision-making styles, statistically significant differences were found across all styles (rational, spontaneous, intuitive, avoidant, dependent) in favor of male students. Additionally, significant differences in all decision-making styles appeared in favor of students in literary specializations. The results also revealed differences based on academic year, where students in the third and fourth years outperformed their peers in the first and second years in both ego depletion and all decision-making styles. Finally, the study concluded that it is possible to predict students’ decision-making styles based on their levels of ego depletion at the university stage.

Keywords

References

Abbas, H. (2022). Ego depletion and its relationship to social support among university students (Master’s thesis, College of Education for Human Sciences, University of Karbala).
Al-Tawashlemy, R. M. (2014). The effectiveness of training based on the use of the CoRT program in developing creative thinking skills and decision-making ability among a sample of students at the Faculty of Education (Master’s thesis, Faculty of Education, Port Said University).
Soweid, A. M. (2003). Thinking skills and coping with life. United Arab Emirates: Dar Al-Kitab Al-Jamii.
Al-Khouly, A. S. (2024). Ego depletion and its relationship to emotional competence among teachers at different educational stages. Journal of the Faculty of Education, Menoufia University, 39(4), 382–412.
El-Shazly, W. A., & Abdel-Azim, M. M. (2019). Ego depletion and its relationship to future anxiety among a sample of gifted secondary school students. Journal of the Faculty of Education, Assiut University , 35(6), 394–448.
Oqaili, W. I., & Al-Dhobian, N. A. (2023). Ego depletion among a sample of gifted students in Jeddah (A descriptive study). The Arab Journal of Disability and Gifted Sciences, Arab Foundation for Education, Science and Arts, 7(26), 431–462.
Abdellah, Y. A. (2019). The relationship between ego depletion and both gender and age among a sample of university students. Journal of Graduate Youth in Educational Sciences, Faculty of Education, Sohag University, 1, 189–211.
ثالثا:المراجع الإنجليزية:
Ackerman, J. M., Goldstein, N. J., Shapiro, J. R., & Bargh, J. A. (2009). You wear me out: The vicarious depletion of self-control. Psychological Science, 20(3), 326–332.
Ajzen, I., & Fishbein, M. (2005). The influence of attitudes on behavior. In D. Albarracín, B. T. Johnson, & M. P. Zanna (Eds.), The Handbook of Attitudes (pp. 173-221). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Ballard, A. L.(2025).  Career Decision-Making Self-Efficacy of Tennessee State University Agriculture Students. Master of Science,Tennessee State University
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(5), 1252–1265.
Baumeister, R. F., Vohs, K. D., & Tice, D. M. (2007). The strength model of self-control. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 16(6), 351–355.Mann, T., & Ward, A. (2007). Attention, self-control, and health behaviors. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 16(5), 280–283.
Baumeister, R. F., Vohs, K. D., & Tice, D. M. (2007). The strength model of self-control. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 16(6), 351–355.
Bruine de Bruin, W. , Parker, A.M., & Fischhoff, B. (2007). Individual differences in adult decision-making competence. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 92(5), 938-956.
Cokely, E. T., Feltz, A., Ghazal, S., Allan, J. N., Petrova, D., & Garcia-Retamero, R. (2018). Decision making skill: From intelligence to numeracy and expertise. Cambridge handbook of expertise and expert performance, 2018, 476-505.‏
Critcher, C. R., & Ferguson, M. J. (2014). The cost of keeping it hidden: Decomposing concealment reveals what makes it depleting. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 143(2), 721–735.
De Witt Huberts, J. C., Evers, C., & de Ridder, D. T. D. (2014). License to sin: Self-licensing as a mechanism underlying hedonic consumption. European Journal of Social Psychology, 44(6), 614–621.
Delaney, R., Strough, J., Parker, A. M., & Bruine de Bruin, W. (2015). Variations in decision-making profiles by age and gender: A cluster-analytic approach. Personality and Individual Differences, 85, 19–24.
Delaney, R., Strough, J., Parker, A. M., & de Bruin, W. B. (2015). Variations in decision-making profiles by age and gender: A cluster-analytic approach. Personality and individual differences, 85, 19-24.
DeWall, C. N., Baumeister, R. F., Gailliot, M. T., & Maner, J. K. (2007). Depletion makes the heart grow less helpful: Helping as a function of self-regulatory energy and genetic relatedness. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 34(12), 1653–1662.
Dou, K., Nie, Y., Wang, Y., Li, J.,& Shen, W. (2014). Ego depletion promotes impulsive decision: Evidences from behavioral and ERPS studies. Acta Psychologica Sinica, 46(10), 1564-1579. 
El Othman, R., El Othman, R., Hallit, R., Obeid, S., & Hallit, S. (2020). Personality traits, emotional intelligence and decision making styles in Lebanese universities medical students. BMC Psychology, 8, Aricle 45.
El Othman, R., El Othman, R., Hallit, R., Obeid, S., & Hallit, S. (2020). Personality traits, emotional intelligence and decision-making styles in Lebanese universities medical students. BMC psychology, 8, 1-14.‏
Fan, J., Cheng, Y., Tang, M., Huang, Y., & Yu, J. (2024). The mediating role of ego depletion in the relationship between state anxiety and academic procrastination among university students. Scientific Reports, 14, Article 15568.
Finkel, E. J., & Campbell, W. K. (2001). Self-control and accommodation in close relationships: An interdependence analysis. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 81(2), 263–277.
Furley, P., Bertrams, A., Englert, C., & Delphia, A. (2013). Ego depletion, attentional control, and decision making in sport. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 14(6), 900-904.‏
Gailliot, M. T., Baumeister, R. F., DeWall, C. N., Maner, J. K., Plant, E. A., Tice, D. M., & 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(2), 325–336.
Govorun, O. & Payne, B. (2006). Ego-depletion and prejudice: separating automatic and controlled components, Social Cognition, 24 (2), 111-136.
Greene, J. D., Morelli, S. A., Lowenberg, K., Nystrom, L. E., & Cohen, J. D. (2008). Cognitive load selectively interferes with utilitarian moral judgment. Cognition, 107(3), 1144-1154.‏
Hurley, P.J. (2015). Ego depletion: applications and implications for auditing research. Journal of Accounting Literature, 35, 47-76.
Hofstede, G., Hofstede, G. J., & Minkov, M. (2020). Cultures and organizations: Software of the mind (4th ed.). McGraw-Hill.
Job, V., Dweck, C., & Walton, G. (2010). Ego depletion – Is it all in your head? Implicit theories about willpower affect self-regulation. Psychological Science, 21(11), 1686-1693.
Kahneman, D. (2011). Thinking, fast and slow. Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Kahneman, D., & Tversky, A. (1979). Prospect theory: An analysis of decision under risk. Econometrica, 47(2), 263–291.
Khan, U., & Dhar, R. (2006). Licensing effect in consumer choice. Journal of Marketing Research, 43(2), 259–266.
Lavie, N. (2010). Attention, distraction, and cognitive control under load. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 19(3), 143-148.
https://doi.org/10.1177/0963721410370295
Lerner, J. S., Li, Y., Valdesolo, P., & Kassam, K. S. (2015). Emotion and decision making. AnnualReviewofPsychology,66,799-823.
Li, Y. (2022). A review of the compensation effect of mindfulness to ego depletion. Psychology of China, 4(4), 475-481.
Li, L., Liu, H., Wang, G., Chen, Y., & Huang, L. (2022). The relationship between ego depletion and prosocial behavior of college students during the COVID-19 pandemic: the role of social self efficacy and personal belief in a just world. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, Article 801006
Lieder, F., & Griffiths, T. L. (2020). Strategy selection as rational metareasoning. Psychological Review, 127(6), 947–973.
Lizarraga, M., Baquedano, M., Soria-Oliver, M., & Closas, A. (2009). Development and validation of a decision-making questionnaire. British Journal of Guidance & Counselling, 37(3), 357-373.
MA, Y., XIAO, C., CHE, J., WANG, H., & LI, A. (2020). Ego depletion impedes rational decision making: Mechanisms and boundary conditions. Advances in Psychological Science, 28(11), 1911- 1925.‏
Mann, T., & Ward, A. (2007). Attention, self-control, and health behaviors. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 16(5), 280-283.
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(3), 255–260.
Merritt, A. C., Effron, D. A., & Monin, B. (2010). Moral self-licensing: When being good frees us to be bad. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 4(5), 344–357.
Mostert, J., & Gulseven, O. (2019). The role of gender and education on decision-making. Studies in Business and Economics, 14(3), 117–130
Muraven, M., & Baumeister, R. F. (2000). Self-regulation and depletion of limited resources: Does self-control resemble a muscle? Psychological Bulletin, 126(2), 247–259.
Muraven, M., Baumeister, R. F., & Tice, D. M. (1998). Longitudinal improvement of self-regulation through practice: Building self-control strength through repeated exercise. Journal of Social Psychology, 139, 446–457.
Muraven, M., Buczny, J., Law, K. F., & Ryan, R. M. (2019). Ego depletion: Theory and evidence. In R. M. Ryan (Ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Human Motivation (2nd ed., pp. 111–134). Oxford University Press. 
Muraven, M., Shmueli, D., & Burkley, E. (2006). Conserving self-control strength. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 91(3), 524–537
Ones, D. S., Viswesvaran, C., & Dilchert, S. (2021). Personality at work: Relevance for occupational stress, well-being and performance. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 42(8), 967–985.
Payne, J. W., Bettman, J. R., & Johnson, E. J. (2022). The adaptive decision maker: Effort and accuracy in choice. Journal of Behavioral Decision Making, 35(1), 15-29.
Peters, E., Lipkus, I., & Diefenbach, M. (2017). The affect heuristic: How feelings influence risk perception and decision making. In The handbook of decision making (pp. 53-69).
Pocheptsova, A., Amir, O., Dhar, R., & Baumeister, R. F. (2009). Deciding without resources: Resource depletion and choice in context. Journal of Consumer Research, 37(3), 421–434.
Rand, D. G., Brescoll, V. L., Everett, J. A., Capraro, V., & Barcelo, H. (2016). Social heuristics and social roles: Intuition favors altruism for women but not for men. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 145(4), 389.‏
Richeson, J. A., & Shelton, J. N. (2003). When prejudice does not pay: Effects of interracial contact on executive function. Psychological Science, 14(3), 287–290.
Sanz de Acedo Lizárraga, M. L., Sanz de Acedo Baquedano, M. T., & Cardelle-Elawar, M. (2007). Factors that affect decision making: Gender and age differences. International Journal of Psychology and Psychological Therapy, 7(3), 381–391. 
Schmeichel, B., Demaree, H., & Robinson, J., & Pu, J. (2006). Ego depletion by response exaggeration. Journal of Experimental Social Pychology, 42(1), 95-102.
Scott, S. G., & Bruce, R. A. (1995). Decision-making style: The development and assessment of a new measure. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 55(5), 818-831.
Simmons, J. P., Nelson, L. D., & Simonsohn, U. (2021). False-positive psychology: Undisclosed flexibility in data collection and analysis allows presenting anything as significant. Psychological Science, 32(4), 593–601.
Teleb, R. (2022). Self control, self regulation and procrastination as psychological predictors for ego depletion among university students. Journal of Scientific Research in Education, 23(3), 263-286.
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(3), 379–384. 
Tversky, A., & Kahneman, D. (1981). The framing of decisions and the psychology of choice. Science, 211(4481), 453-458.
Tversky, A., & Kahneman, D. (1992). Advances in prospect theory: Cumulative representation of uncertainty. Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, 5(4), 297–323.
Unger, A., & Stahlberg, D. (2011). Ego-depletion and risk behavior. Social Psychology, 42(1):28–38.
Uziel, L., & Hefetz, S. (2014). The deleterious effects of self-control depletion on prosocial behavior. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 54, 75–88.
Vaidya, P. R. & Acharya, K. (2023). Students' decision making at the university level: aphenomenological study. Journal of Business and Management Research, 5(1), 20-34.
van Dellen, M. R., Hoyle, R. H., & Miller, R. S. (2014). The regulation of self and relationships: Regulatory depletion and the management of social interactions. Self and Identity, 13(2), 187–203.
Vohs, K. D., Baumeister, R. F., & Ciarocco, N. J. (2005). Self-regulation and self-presentation: Regu/latory resource depletion impairs impression management and effortful self-presentation depletes regulatory resources. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 88(4), 632–657.
Vohs, K. D., Baumeister, R. F., Twenge, J. M., Nelson, N. M., Schmeichel, B. J., & Tice, D. M. (2008). Making choices impairs subsequent self-control: A limited-resource account of decision making, self-regulation, and active initiative. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 94(5), 883–898.
Webb, T. L., & Sheeran, P. (2003). Can implementation intentions help to overcome ego-depletion? Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 39(3), 279–286. 
Westaby, J. D. (2005). Behavioral Reasoning Theory: Identifying new linkages underlying intentions and behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 98(2), 97-120.
Wu, G., & Gonzalez, R. (1996). Curvature of the probability weighting function. Management Science, 42(12), 1676-1690.
Yam, K. C., Chen, X. P., & Reynolds, S. J. (2014). Ego depletion and its paradoxical effects on ethical decision making. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 124(2), 204-214.
Yurtseven, R., Akkas Baysal, Ö., & Ocak, G. (2021). Analysis of the Relationship between Decision Making Skills and Problem Solving Skills of Primary School Students. International Online Journal of Education and Teaching, 8(3), 2117-2130.‏
 

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics