The Self-Control Irony: Desire for Self-Control Limits Exertion of Self-Control in Demanding Settings.
Self-control is a highly adaptive human capacity. Accordingly, development of self-control is widely encouraged. Whereas the benefits of having self-control are well documented, little is known about the impact of wanting self-control. The present investigation fills this void by exploring the effect of desire for self-control on the ability to exert self-control. It was expected that in the context of demanding self-control challenges, a desire for self-control will highlight a discrepancy between one's goals and perceived performance potential, leading to reduced efficacy beliefs and task disengagement. Four studies ( N = 635) supported the prediction. Study 1 showed that a strong desire impaired performance on a demanding task but not on a simple task. Study 2 conceptually replicated the decrement in performance and established causality by experimentally manipulating desire for self-control. Studies 3 and 4 showed that reduction in efficacy beliefs mediate the effect. Implications of the findings are discussed.
['Uziel|Liad|L|', 'Baumeister|Roy F|RF|']
D000328:Adult D005260:Female D006040:Goals D006801:Humans D008297:Male D009042:Motivation D020377:Self Efficacy D000068356:Self-Control D055815:Young Adult
self-control desire for self-control performance motivation self-efficacy self-regulation