@article{ref1,
title="Motivational versus metabolic effects of carbohydrates on self-control",
journal="Psychological science",
year="2012",
author="Molden, Daniel C. and Hui, Chin Ming and Scholer, Abigail A. and Meier, Brian P. and Noreen, Eric E. and D'Agostino, Paul R. and Martin, Valerie",
volume="23",
number="10",
pages="1137-1144",
abstract="Self-control is critical for achievement and well-being. However, people's capacity for self-control is limited and becomes depleted through use. One prominent explanation for this depletion posits that self-control consumes energy through carbohydrate metabolization, which further suggests that ingesting carbohydrates improves self-control. Some evidence has supported this energy model, but because of its broad implications for efforts to improve self-control, we reevaluated the role of carbohydrates in self-control processes. In four experiments, we found that (a) exerting self-control did not increase carbohydrate metabolization, as assessed with highly precise measurements of blood glucose levels under carefully standardized conditions; (b) rinsing one's mouth with, but not ingesting, carbohydrate solutions immediately bolstered self-control; and (c) carbohydrate rinsing did not increase blood glucose. These findings challenge metabolic explanations for the role of carbohydrates in self-control depletion; we therefore propose an alternative motivational model for these and other previously observed effects of carbohydrates on self-control.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0956-7976",
doi="10.1177/0956797612439069",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0956797612439069"
}