Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 43 (2007) 150–156 www.elsevier.com/locate/jesp 0022-1031/$ - see front matter  2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2006.01.001 Resistance to persuasion as self-regulation: Ego-depletion and its eVects on attitude change processes S. Christian Wheeler a,¤ , Pablo Briñol b , Anthony D. Hermann c a 518 Memorial Way, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305-5015, USA b Universidad Autonoma de Madrid, Facultad de Psicologia, Carretera de Colmenar, Km. 15, 28049 Madrid, Spain c Department of Psychology, Willamette University, 900 State Street, Salem, OR 97301, USA Received 21 August 2004; revised 1 December 2005 Available online 28 February 2006 Communicated by Spencer Abstract Counterarguing persuasive messages requires active control processes (e.g., generation and application of contradictory information) similar to those involved in other forms of self-regulation. Prior research has indicated that self-regulation ability is a Wnite resource sub- ject to temporary depletion with use, and so engaging in self-regulatory tasks could impair individuals’ ability to subsequently counterar- gue. Participants completed an initial task designed to deplete or not deplete their regulatory resources. Following the manipulation, participants read a message supporting a counterattitudinal policy. Results indicated that prior self-regulation reduced subsequent resis- tance, primarily when the message arguments were specious. Counterargument appears to be a self-regulatory process that can be under- mined when self-regulatory resources have previously been diminished.  2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Keywords: Ego-depletion; Self-regulation; Resistance to persuasion; Attitude change; Acquiescence People are often motivated to resist persuasion in order to hold correct attitudes, restore freedom, or maintain psy- chological consistency and sense of control (Wegener, Petty, Smoak, & Fabrigar, 2004). Resistance to persuasion is inXuenced by a wide variety of factors such as character- istics of the attitude under attack (e.g., its accessibility or importance, Fazio, 1995; Zuwerink & Devine, 1996), but also characteristics of the message recipient (e.g., motiva- tion and ability to resist the persuasive appeal, Briñol & Petty, 2005; Briñol, Rucker, Tormala, & Petty, 2004; DeMarree, Wheeler, & Petty, 2005; Haugtvedt & Petty, 1992). Counterargument is the most extensively docu- mented means of resistance, especially under conditions when processing motivation (Petty & Cacioppo, 1979) and ability (Wood, Rhodes, & Biek, 1995) are high, such as when one has ample resources to evaluate a personally rele- vant persuasive message. In this research, we sought to test the eVects of a self-regulation construct, ego-depletion, on individuals’ ability to resist counterattitudinal messages. The term ego-depletion refers to a state in which one’s self-regulatory resources are diminished, and this diminish- ment is proposed to occur because acts of self-regulation and volition draw upon a single, limited intrapsychic resource (Muraven, Tice, & Baumeister, 1998). Theory in this area draws upon a strength metaphor, whereby exer- tion in one situation is followed by a period of reduced abil- ity in a subsequent situation. Accordingly, any exertion of willpower or self-regulation in one task, so long as it is suY- ciently demanding, should reduce any subsequent self-regu- lation on a second, seemingly unrelated task. This prediction has been supported across many experiments (e.g., Baumeister, Muraven, & Tice, 2000; Muraven et al., 1998; Schmeichel, Vohs, & Baumeister, 2003). Ego-deple- tion eVects do not seem to be simply the result of the amount of eVort required to complete the task. For * Corresponding author. Fax: +1 650 725 9932. E-mail address: scwheeler@stanford.edu (S.C. Wheeler).