Ego depletion results from experiencing rudeness

Ego depletion represents the loss of self-control after exhibiting self-control. In social settings, self-control helps us to maintain cultural standards of kindness, often in the face of negative interactions such as experiencing rudeness. Zyphur et al. (2007), for example, examined rudeness in the context of a customer-service scenario and found ego depletion among participants playing the role of an employee who responded to rude customers as compared with a positive customer interaction. In the current study, we further examined the potential for the negative effects of experiencing rudeness to attenuate self-control in the context of participation in a research study rather than a customer-service context. Further, we enhanced realism by allowing participants to experience rudeness that we did not reveal as scripted, reflecting the experience of unexpectedly confronting rudeness in the context of an activity in which one is engaged, as might occur at times in the course of daily life. We anticipated ego depletion resulting from exposing participants to a rude confederate, and the data provided support for our hypothesis.