Abstract

CLOHECY, Elizabeth D.; STANDING, Lionel G.  and  MCKELVIE, Stuart J.. What Enables Self-Control?: a Test of Glucose, Fructose, and Vagus Nerve Activation as Possible Factors. Escritos de Psicología [online]. 2015, vol.8, n.1, pp.38-43. ISSN 1989-3809.  https://dx.doi.org/10.5231/psy.writ.2015.1512.

This study replicated the study by Miller, Bourrasseau, and Blampain (2013) on the effects of fructose and glucose on self-control. It also investigated these authors' suggestion that self-control may be under the influence of the vagus nerve, which can be activated by forceful exhalation in the Valsalva manoeuvre. The participants (N = 101) were assigned to one of five conditions: three groups that received a solution of either glucose, fructose, or a placebo sweetener (solution condition); and two groups that underwent the Valsalva manoeuvre (VM and VM-control). Participants in the solution condition groups ingested one of the three sweeteners, whereas those in the VM and VM-control conditions were required to blow or not blow into a manometer for 15 seconds, respectively. The number of anagrams that participants subsequently completed was used to assess their level of self-control. In contrast to the results obtained by Miller et al. (2013), it was found that fructose, glucose, and VM did not increase the participants' levels of self-control compared to control subjects. These negative results concur with several recent studies which document the difficulty of replicating published findings in psychology.

Keywords : Fructose; Glucose; Self-control; Vagus Nerve.

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