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137
Self-control relies on glucose as a limited energy source: Willpower is more than a metaphor
- Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
, 2007
"... The present work suggests that self-control relies on glucose as a limited energy source. Laboratory tests of self-control (i.e., the Stroop task, thought suppression, emotion regulation, attention control) and of social behaviors (i.e., helping behavior, coping with thoughts of death, stifling prej ..."
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Cited by 153 (17 self)
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The present work suggests that self-control relies on glucose as a limited energy source. Laboratory tests of self-control (i.e., the Stroop task, thought suppression, emotion regulation, attention control) and of social behaviors (i.e., helping behavior, coping with thoughts of death, stifling prejudice during an interracial interaction) showed that (a) acts of self-control reduced blood glucose levels, (b) low levels of blood glucose after an initial self-control task predicted poor performance on a subsequent self-control task, and (c) initial acts of self-control impaired performance on subsequent self-control tasks, but consuming a glucose drink eliminated these impairments. Self-control requires a certain amount of glucose to operate unimpaired. A single act of self-control causes glucose to drop below optimal levels, thereby impairing subsequent attempts at self-control.
The strength model of self-control
- Current Directions in Psychological Science
, 2007
"... ABSTRACT—Self-control is a central function of the self and an important key to success in life. The exertion of self-control appears to depend on a limited resource. Just as a muscle gets tired from exertion, acts of self-control cause short-term impairments (ego depletion) in subsequent self-contr ..."
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Cited by 138 (9 self)
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ABSTRACT—Self-control is a central function of the self and an important key to success in life. The exertion of self-control appears to depend on a limited resource. Just as a muscle gets tired from exertion, acts of self-control cause short-term impairments (ego depletion) in subsequent self-control, even on unrelated tasks. Research has supported the strength model in the domains of eating, drinking, spending, sexuality, intelligent thought, making choices, and interpersonal behavior. Motivational or framing factors can temporarily block the deleterious effects of being in a state of ego depletion. Blood glucose is an important component of the energy. KEYWORDS—self-control; ego depletion; willpower; impulse; strength Every day, people resist impulses to go back to sleep, to eat
Psychology as the science of self-reports and finger movements: Whatever happened to actual behavior
- Perspectives on Psychological Science
, 2007
"... ABSTRACT—Psychology calls itself the science of behavior, ..."
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Cited by 121 (19 self)
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ABSTRACT—Psychology calls itself the science of behavior,
Self-Regulation and Personality: How Interventions Increase Regulatory Success, and How Depletion Moderates the Effects of Traits on Behavior
"... ABSTRACT Self-regulation is a highly adaptive, distinctively human trait that enables people to override and alter their responses, including changing themselves so as to live up to social and other standards. Recent evidence indicates that self-regulation often consumes a limited resource, akin to ..."
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Cited by 61 (5 self)
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ABSTRACT Self-regulation is a highly adaptive, distinctively human trait that enables people to override and alter their responses, including changing themselves so as to live up to social and other standards. Recent evidence indicates that self-regulation often consumes a limited resource, akin to energy or strength, thereby creating a temporary state of ego depletion. This article summarizes recent evidence indicating that regular exercises in self-regulation can produce broad improvements in self-regulation (like strengthening a muscle), making people less vulnerable to ego depletion. Furthermore, it shows that ego depletion moderates the effects of many traits on behavior, particularly such that wide differences in socially disapproved motivations produce greater differences in behavior when ego depletion weakens the customary inner restraints. Self-regulation is an important personality process by which people seek to exert control over their thoughts, their feelings, their impulses and appetites, and their task performances. The human capacity for self-regulation appears to be much more extensive than what is found in other animals, which may suggest that the evolutionary pressures that guided the selection of traits that make up human nature, such as participation in cultural groups, found self-regulation to be especially adaptive and powerful (Baumeister, 2005). If so, then self-regulation may be one of the most distinctively human traits. Even if human beings are capable of more self-regulation than other animals, however, their capacity is far less than what many Correspondence concerning this article may be sent to R. Baumeister, Department
Self-affirmation and selfcontrol: Affirming core values counteracts ego depletion.
- Journal of Personality and Social Psychology,
, 2009
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A new look at habits and the habit–goal interface
- Psychological Review
, 2007
"... The present model outlines the mechanisms underlying habitual control of responding and the ways in which habits interface with goals. Habits emerge from the gradual learning of associations between responses and the features of performance contexts that have historically covaried with them (e.g., p ..."
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Cited by 50 (2 self)
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The present model outlines the mechanisms underlying habitual control of responding and the ways in which habits interface with goals. Habits emerge from the gradual learning of associations between responses and the features of performance contexts that have historically covaried with them (e.g., physical settings, preceding actions). Once a habit is formed, perception of contexts triggers the associated response without a mediating goal. Nonetheless, habits interface with goals. Constraining this interface, habit associations accrue slowly and do not shift appreciably with current goal states or infrequent counterhabitual responses. Given these constraints, goals can (a) direct habits by motivating repetition that leads to habit formation and by promoting exposure to cues that trigger habits, (b) be inferred from habits, and (c) interact with habits in ways that preserve the learned habit associations. Finally, the authors outline the implications of the model for habit change, especially for the selfregulation of habit cuing.
Religion, self-regulation, and self-control: Associations, explanations and implications
- Psychological Bulletin
, 2009
"... Many of the links of religiousness with health, well-being, and social behavior may be due to religion’s influences on self-control or self-regulation. Using Carver and Scheier’s (1998) theory of self-regulation as a framework for organizing the empirical research, the authors review evidence releva ..."
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Cited by 48 (4 self)
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Many of the links of religiousness with health, well-being, and social behavior may be due to religion’s influences on self-control or self-regulation. Using Carver and Scheier’s (1998) theory of self-regulation as a framework for organizing the empirical research, the authors review evidence relevant to 6 propositions: (a) that religion can promote self-control; (b) that religion influences how goals are selected, pursued, and organized; (c) that religion facilitates self-monitoring; (d) that religion fosters the development of self-regulatory strength; (e) that religion prescribes and fosters proficiency in a suite of self-regulatory behaviors; and (f) that some of religion’s influences on health, well-being, and social behavior may result from religion’s influences on self-control and self-regulation. The authors conclude with suggestions for future research.
Impulsivity and the self-defeating behavior of narcissists
- Personality and Social Psychology Review
, 2006
"... explain narcissists’self-defeating behaviors in terms of conscious cognitive and affective processes. We propose that the disposition of impulsivity may also play an important role. We offer 2 forms of evidence. First, we present a meta-analysis demonstrating a strong positive relationship between n ..."
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Cited by 39 (3 self)
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explain narcissists’self-defeating behaviors in terms of conscious cognitive and affective processes. We propose that the disposition of impulsivity may also play an important role. We offer 2 forms of evidence. First, we present a meta-analysis demonstrating a strong positive relationship between narcissism and impulsivity. Second, we review and reinterpret the literature on 3 hallmarks of narcissism: self-enhancement, aggression, and negative long-term outcomes. Our reinterpretation argues that impulsivity provides a more parsimonious explanation for at least some of narcissists’ self-defeating behavior than do existing models. These 2 sources of evidence suggest that narcissists ’ quest for the status and recognition they so intensely desire is thwarted, in part, by their lack of the self-control necessary to achieve those goals. Narcissists are a puzzle. Their bragging and arrogance interferes with the attainment of the status and recognition they so poignantly desire. Why do they continually undermine themselves in this way? The research literature appears to have achieved some consensus
Seeing race and seeming racist? Evaluating strategic colorblindness in social interaction
- Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
, 2008
"... One strategy practiced by many Whites to regulate the appearance of prejudice during social interaction is to avoid talking about race, or even acknowledging racial difference. Four experiments involving a dyadic task investigated antecedents and consequences of this tendency. Observed colorblindnes ..."
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Cited by 36 (4 self)
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One strategy practiced by many Whites to regulate the appearance of prejudice during social interaction is to avoid talking about race, or even acknowledging racial difference. Four experiments involving a dyadic task investigated antecedents and consequences of this tendency. Observed colorblindness was strategic in nature: Whites ’ acknowledgment of race was highly susceptible to normative pressure and most evident among individuals concerned with self-presentational aspects of appearing biased (Study 1). However, this tendency was often counterproductive, as avoiding race during interracial interaction predicted negative nonverbal behavior (Study 1), a relationship mediated by decreased capacity to exert inhibitory control (Study 2). Two studies examining White and Black observers ’ impressions of colorblind behavior revealed divergent assessments of actors ’ prejudice in situations where race was clearly relevant (Study 3) but convergent assessments when race was less relevant (Study 4). Practical and theoretical implications for interracial interaction are considered.
Pride and perseverance: The motivational role of pride
, 2008
"... Perseverance toward goals that carry short-term costs is an important component of adaptive functioning. The present experiments examine the role that the emotion pride may play in mediating such persever-ance. Across 2 studies, pride led to greater perseverance on an effortful and hedonically negat ..."
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Cited by 31 (0 self)
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Perseverance toward goals that carry short-term costs is an important component of adaptive functioning. The present experiments examine the role that the emotion pride may play in mediating such persever-ance. Across 2 studies, pride led to greater perseverance on an effortful and hedonically negative task believed to be related to the initial source of pride. In addition, the causal efficacy of pride was further demonstrated through dissociating its effects from related alternative mechanisms. Study 1 differentiated the effects of pride from self-efficacy. Study 2 differentiated the effects of pride from general positive affect. Taken together, these findings provide support for the proposed motivational function of pride in which this emotion serves as an incentive to persevere on a task despite initial costs.
