The Impact of Trait Skepticism and Ego Depletion on Auditor Judgment
研究发现，当审计师自我控制资源未耗尽时，其特质怀疑影响判断；但资源耗尽后，无论特质如何，审计师都会做出更怀疑的判断，因为这是更安全的选择。
ABSTRACT Prior research finds that trait skepticism influences auditors' judgments but that situational variables may interact with trait skepticism. We examine whether ego depletion, an exhaustion of individuals' self-control resources which limits one's ability to vigilantly process information and apply critical thinking, moderates the relationship between trait skepticism and auditor judgment. We contend that when not depleted, auditors' trait skepticism will influence judgment; conversely, when depleted, auditors' trait skepticism will not influence auditors' judgments due to a lack of necessary cognitive resources to vigilantly process information. Rather, depleted auditors are expected to adopt a less cognitively demanding strategy and simply make more skeptical judgments, as they expect this is the more acceptable, safer judgment when accountable. Results from an experiment involving a risk assessment task support our expectations: when not depleted, auditors' judgments are in-line with their trait skepticism but, when depleted, auditors make more skeptical judgments regardless of their trait skepticism. Data Availability: Data are available from the authors upon request.