Self-Regulation 2 Flashcards
Ethan has just spent an hour carefully managing his emotions during a tense meeting at work, making sure to stay calm and professional despite feeling frustrated. Later that evening, he goes to the grocery store, intending to stick to his shopping list. According to ego depletion theory, which behavior is Ethan most likely to exhibit?
a. He stays disciplined and only buys items on list
b. Feels more determined to stick to his plan and resists all temptations
c. Impulsively buys snacks and unnecessary items, feeling mentally drained
d. His previous effort at self control has no impact on shopping decisions
c. Impulsively buys snacks and unnecessary items, feeling mentally drained
What is trait self control?
Consistently better able to successfully deal with self-control dilemma
People vary in this
higher trait self-control is associated with…
*Better performance at school and work
*Sustaining healthy relationships
*Less binge-eating
*Higher overall psychological well-being
What do we assume about people with high trait self control?
We tend to think that people high on trait self-control are good at effortfully resisting temptation/ have more willpower
*We think: When they encounter a self-control dilemma, exert willpower to inhibit undesirable urge and choose to act in accordance with goals
What is the Paradox of Trait Self-Control?
How do ppl high in trait self control actually act?
in everyday life, people high on traitself-control experience fewer self-control dilemmas than low trait self-control people
*Report fewer experiences of temptation in everyday life
*Suggests that they’re hardly using effortful self-control
Why Do High Trait Self-Control Experience Less Temptation?
Four reasons:
- Better at setting goals that are intrinsically rewarding
*E.g., Actually enjoy activities that many struggle with like eating healthy, exercising, studying - Set-up and follow routines and habits
*E.g., consistent exercise routine, consistent study schedule - Structure their lives in such a way that they don’t experience temptation
*E.g., make a point of not walking by a bakery on the way to school
4.Identify self-control dilemmas (temptation) earlier
How do high trait self-control people react to self-control dilemmas?
Study: Participants presented with pictures of food on a computer
*Instructed to click “positive” when presented with healthy food and “negative” when presented with unhealthy foo
*Trait self-control
*Reaction time (RT) to select an answer
*Implicit self-control dilemma
*Mouse trajectory from the bottom of the screen to select an answer
*Intensity of dilemma = degree of “pull” in direction of answer not selected
*Also assessed when the “peak pull” occurred
(how much u moved mouse, when u moved it)
AND Explicit self-control dilemma
*“How conflicted do you feel about your answer?”
FOUND:
- Less conscious temptation but unconsciously same lvl of temptation
- Peak pull = earlier (so resolve the dilemma earlier)
What does the overall cake / mouse study suggest?
Together, suggests that high trait self-control people are detecting self-control dilemmas earlier which allows them to deal with them in a faster and more efficient way at an unconscious level
*So good at this that they don’t consciously experience the temptation!
How are people good at self-control exercising this ability?
Relying on automatic processes:
*Habits and routines
*Reducing exposure to temptation
*Earlier temptation detection
Implies that if you want to improve your chances of completing a goal, make your behaviour as automatic as possible
What is meant by the “paradox of trait self-control”?
Although people high in trait self-control are assumed to frequently resist temptation, research suggests they actually experience fewer self-control dilemmas in daily life
How do we make self-regulation more effortless?
Implementation Intentions
Very specific plan about how you will achieve a goal in a particular situation
*Link a situation with a specific action
*“When situation X arises, I will perform response Y”
Example of a goal:
“I want to eat healthier”
“I want to improve my GPA”
Provide an implementation intention…
“When I eat a meal, I will have at least one vegetable.”
“After each class, I will review my notes. If I don’t understand something, I’ll attend the next office hours.”
Why are Implementation Intentions so successful?
Solve problem of goals being too vague and increases your commitment by focusing on one method of achieving a goal
What might reduce your ability to o complete the goal?
Having too many ways to complete a goal reduces commitment to any one particular option making you less likely to complete the goal
SO: Don’t Put Your Eggs in More than One Basket
Do implementation intentions help people achieve goals?
Study: Participants were instructed to write a report about how they spent Christmas Eve that was due on December 26th
Experimental manipulation: *Implementation intentions: Think about when and where you will write report
*Control: Simply asked to write report
Who completed report?
- Implementation intentions group was more likely to complete goal
Is implementation intention better then a motivation boost?
Study: Recruited people who wanted to exercise more
*Participants tracked how often they exercised for 2 weeks
3 conditions:
*Control: Track how often you exercise
*Motivation: Track how often you exercise + read about benefits of exercise
*Implementation intention: Track how often you exercise + read about benefits of exercise + set implementation intention
Who exercised at least once per week?
- No benefit of increased motivation intervention
*Implementation intentions doubled the rate of exercise
What does the implementation intention vs motivation boost study suggest?
Suggests that when we don’t reach goals, not because of lack of motivation or lack of monitoring, but because lack of specific plan
Implementation intentions facilitate goal achievement, such as
(types of goals)
*Exercising more
*Eating a healthy diet
*Writing a CV
*Managing anger
*Increasing perspective-taking
*Increasing public transportation use
*Increasing voter turn-out
*Increasing flu shot rate
Does goal difficulty moderate Implementation intentions
(Study: Participants identified personal projects they intended to achieve during Christmas break)
Experimental manipulation:
*Easy goal
*Difficult goal
*Assessed implementation intentions
Results: Implementation intentions were useful for completing difficult goals, less relevant for completing easy goals
Why Are Implementation Intentions Helpful?
(2 things)
- Heightened accessibility of situational cues (“when”)
*Improves ability to detect the situational cue relevant to our goal - Formation of a strong mental link between the situation cue and the planned response
*Consequently, automates action initiation
What are the implications of Implementation intentions?
Implementation intentions show that conscious planning can make goal pursuit more automatic over time
*Remove need for a conscious decision to pursue a goal at the relevant time
*Intended action is executed more effortlessly, rather than relying on effortful self-control
How do we sometimes pursue goals without even realizing it?
What is the Auto-Motive Model?
Goal pursuit is not always deliberate, goals can be activated and pursued automatically, without conscious awareness
What are the two aspects of the auto-motive model?
- Learned associations:
- Automatic goal activation and pursuit:
- Learned associations:
people form associations between situations, goals, and actions based on repeated past experiences
- Automatic goal activation and pursuit:
Once these associations are established, encountering the situation can automatically trigger the goal and its associated action, such that the person is pursuing the goal outside of conscious awareness
What is an example of the auto motive model?
You don’t consciously decide on which direction in the metro (it is a habit)
Briefly what is the Auto-Motive Model?
*Situation-goal-action mental links created unconsciously via learned associations
*Person is not necessarily aware the goal is being pursued
Briefly what is Implementation Intentions?
*Situation-goal-action mental links created consciously via forming “if-then” plans
*Person is aware they set up the goal pursuing
Sophia has a big exam coming up and wants to minimize distractions. She decides, “If my phone buzzes while I’m studying, then I will ignore it and keep working.” Meanwhile, her friend Noah also wants to study but doesn’t make a plan—however, when he enters the library, the quiet environment unconsciously triggers his focus. How do their strategies differ?
Sophia is using implementation intentions
(Specific if-then plan)
Noah is using the auto motive model
Ross says Rachels name at his wedding with someone else, what theory does this follow?
Automotive model
(he has an unconscious association with Rachel and wedding)
How does the unconscious goal of
Want to be liked
Show up in real life?
Action: Make jokes in a social setting
Maybe never thought to themself “I wanna be liked so I’ll tell jokes”
- They do this automatically
Explain Study 1: Unconscious Interpersonal Goals
*What kind of goals do people pursue in different relationships
Classmate
Friend
Mother
*Classmate = self-enhancement
*But not with friend or romantic partner
*Friend = “helping friend” + “having fun together”
*Mother = “wanting to make mom proud”
*But not with friend or romantic partner
Our goals change with different people
Explain Study 2: Automatic Activation of Goals
*Does thinking about a specific relationship automatically trigger interpersonal goals usually pursued in that relationship?
Randomly assigned to 1 of 3 priming conditions:
Form a vivid picture in your mind and write about…
*Mother
*Best friend
*Bedroom (control)
*Part 2: Read about “Mark” and form impression (He’s a student and struggling but working hard)
FOUND:
Mother prime = Will see Mark as more motivated to succeed (vs. friend prime)
*The goal of wanting to make mom proud will be more accessible and thus attributed to Mark
How does the mother association cause u to assume mark is more motivated?
Thinking about mother increased accessibility of participants’ own goal with mother (i.e., wanting to make mom proud) which they then projected onto Mark
*Evidence that relationship-specific goals can be automatically activated by just thinking about that person
What are the implications of the mother - mark study?
Relationship partners can unconsciously activate interpersonal goals which are then pursued unconsciously
*Relationships have the power to influence our motivations and behaviours, even when the relationship partner is not physically present
