Self-control and limited willpower: Current status of ego depletion theory and research.

Ego depletion theory proposes that self-regulation depends on a limited energy resource (willpower). The simple initial theory has been refined to emphasize conservation rather than resource exhaustion, extended to encompass decision making, planning, and initiative, and linked to physical bodily energy (glucose). Recent challenges offered alternative explanations (which have largely failed) and questioned replicability (which has now been well established).