Ego depletion and the use of force: Investigating the effects of ego depletion on police officers' intention to use force. Issue 2 (21st December 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Staller, Mario S.; Müller, Marcel; Christiansen, Paul; Zaiser, Benjamin; Körner, Swen; Cole, Jon C.
• Is Part Of: Aggressive behavior. Volume 45:Issue 2(2019)
• Page Start: 161
• Page End: 168
• Publication Date: 2018-12-21
• Subjects: aggression -- ego depletion -- police use of force -- self‐control; Aggressiveness -- Periodicals; Violence -- Periodicals; Psychology, Experimental -- Periodicals; Agressivité -- Périodiques; Agressivité chez les animaux -- Periodiques; 152.232
• DOI: 10.1002/ab.21805
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0096-140X

Abstract

Abstract : The current study aims to investigate corresponding self‐control and self‐control failures that are the result of ego depletion and its impact on police officers' decision to use force. For that purpose, a total of 200 German police recruits were randomly assigned to either an experimental or control group. Ego depletion was manipulated using the "e" crossing task. Participants then worked through a video‐based scenario exercise, in which they encountered a provocative citizen. They were required to indicate the time that they would take to resort to using force to resolve the situation. Results showed that ego depleted officers intended to use force earlier than controls. This indicates that circumstances that produce ego depletion could lead to the inappropriate use of force by reducing self‐control. This has major implications for the police use of force and how we understand police officers' decision making in response to provocation.