Testing the validity of the attention control video: An eye-tracking approach of the ego depletion effect

The attention control video has been frequently applied to test the ego depletion effect. However, its validity has never been tested, a shortcoming we address in this preregistered study. In the first task, self-control strength was temporarily depleted in the depletion condition (n = 56) but remained intact in the control condition (n = 56). The attention control video served as the secondary task, and we assumed that the depletion condition would perform significantly worse compared to the control condition. Attention regulation was measured with an eye-tracking device. The results revealed that the gaze behavior in the two conditions differed statistically significantly; however, the actual difference was small, indicating that the attention control video may not be an optimal measure of self-control.

注意控制视频（attention control video）已被广泛应用于检验自我损耗效应（ego depletion effect）。然而，其效度从未得到验证，这一学术短板正是本项预注册研究（preregistered study）所要解决的问题。在第一项任务中，损耗组（depletion condition，n=56）的自我控制力量被暂时耗竭，而对照组（control condition，n=56）的自我控制力量则保持完好。本研究以该注意控制视频作为次级任务，并假设损耗组的任务表现将显著劣于对照组。注意调控（attention regulation）通过眼动追踪设备（eye-tracking device）进行测量。结果显示，两组被试的注视行为在统计学上存在显著差异，但实际差异较小，这表明注意控制视频或许并非衡量自我控制的最优测量工具。