The Mediating Role of Gaze on the Effect of Self-Control on Use of Force

Amidst ongoing police misconduct and calls for reform regarding use of force, it is imperative to investigate what factors predict using force against unarmed individuals. Engaging in a previously demanding task may be one such factor. Previous research has shown that after engaging in a demanding task, participants have subsequently been less able to control their attention, act more aggressively and were more likely to engage in misconduct than participants assigned a less demanding task. The present study tested whether individuals assigned to complete a demanding symbol-counting task were more likely to subsequently use lethal force (bias) and were less discerning between armed and unarmed targets (sensitivity) than those who were assigned to a less demanding task. Further, I used an eye tracker to test whether the latter effect was mediated by participant’s speed to attend to the most relevant information (what the depicted individuals had in their hands). Unfortunately, all results were nonsignificant and did not support my hypotheses. This study adds to the dispute on if more demanding tasks do in fact affect one’s ability on subsequent tasks than less demanding ones. According to three failed manipulation checks, the manipulation used was likely the root cause of non-significant findings, which leaves room for further study. Future studies could address the shortcomings, such as low power, ineffective manipulation, and lack of real-world applicability, to further study this important line of work.