Research paper
Carter EC, Kofler LM, Forster DE, McCullough ME. A series of meta-analytic tests of the depletion effect: Self-control does not seem to rely on a limited resource. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General. 2015;144(4):796-815. doi:10.1037/xge0000083. PMID: 26076043.
Why we cite it
The meta-analytic re-appraisal that reversed the field's reading of its own evidence. Earlier meta-analysis had reported a medium-sized depletion effect; this paper applied focused meta-analytic tests addressing limitations in those prior appraisals and found very little evidence that the effect is real when assessed with the methods most commonly used in the laboratory. Its title states the conclusion outright. For this library it is the first citation in the chronology `ked01`'s hedge needs — re-analysis (2015), then preregistered replication (`cwp08`, 2016), then a larger paradigmatic test (`cwp09`, 2021), with `cwp11` (2019) arguing the whole picture remains unsettled. 183 citations (Europe PMC, 2026-08-23).