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No indication that ego depletion improves insight
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Description: Recently DeCaro and Van Stockum have suggested that ego depletion following intensive self-control can improve insight problem solving; this finding was interpreted in terms of insight relying on decreased control over attention and memory. However, DeCaro and Van Stockum used three variants of the single matchstick arithmetic problem. Experiment 1 involved low sample and non-standard problem application, while the more powered Experiment 2 yielded a surprisingly low solution rate. These facts made both studies problematic and called for their replication. In the two present studies, the DeCaro and Van Stockum ego depletion manipulation and their matchstick problem were administered to a total of 316 people. Furthermore, various other insight problems, subjective ratings of insight experience, analytical problems, and executive control tests were applied. The key result was that no effect of ego depletion could be found. In contrast, insight problems positively correlated with analytical problems, suggesting that insight benefits from systematic thinking.