Unit 9 and Unit 10: Self-Regulation

What is self-regulation?

- The self’s ability to alter its own responses based on standards

- Includes regulation of:

+ Thoughts

+ Emotions

+ Impulses

+ Behaviours

- Standards: Ideas about how something should or shouldn’t be

- “Self-regulation” is often used interchangeably with “self-control”

What is a self-control dilemma?

- Conflict between:

+ An immediate urge/desire

+ A higher-order standard/goal

- Example: Temptation

- Research suggests people spend about 5–6 hours per day resisting desires and urges

- Good self-regulation often involves:

+ Successfully resolving self-control dilemmas

+ Over-riding the immediate urge in favour of the standard/goal

What was Mischel's Marshmallow Test?

- One of the first measures of self-regulation

- Specifically tested: Children’s ability to delay gratification

- Delay gratification: Ability to resist immediate reward for a longer-term preferred reward

What did Mischel's Marshmallow Test demonstrate about self-regulation?

- Delaying gratification is difficult

- Successful delay of gratification depended on self-regulation strategies:

+ Cognitive strategies

+ Imagining the marshmallow as something else instead of focusing on how yummy it is

+ Distraction

+ Not looking at the marshmallow

What did follow-up studies on the Marshmallow Test find?

- Children’s ability to delay gratification at age 4 predicted outcomes at age 14–15

- Children better at delaying gratification:

+ Did better academically

+ Had higher SAT scores

+ Showed better social skills

- Delay of gratification predicted SAT scores better than intelligence at age 4

- Suggests: Better self-regulation is associated with better adolescent outcomes

- Criticism: Small non-diverse sample

What was the New Zealand Study on self-control (Moffitt et al., 2011)?

- Longitudinal study following:

+ 1000 children

+ From birth to age 32

- Measured: Self-control at ages 5–6 using observational measures

- Assessed at age 32:

+ Physical health

+ Finances

+ Criminal records

What were the findings of the New Zealand Study regarding health and finances?

- Controlling for:

+ Intelligence

+ SES background

- Children with poorer self-control had:

+ Worse health

+ More financial problems

What were the findings of the New Zealand Study regarding social and criminal outcomes?

- Controlling for:

+ Intelligence

+ SES background

- Children with poorer self-control were:

+ More likely to be single parents

+ More likely to be convicted of a crime

What are the overall implications of research on self-regulation?

- Self-regulation is difficult

- Research suggests it leads to many positive outcomes

- Good self-regulation may be: One of the keys to a successful life

- Possible target for: Innovative public policies

What is the TOTE model of self-regulation (Carver & Scheier, 1981)?

- Feedback loop model of self-regulation

- Steps:

1. Standard: Identify desired end state

2. Test: Monitor discrepancy between current state and standard

3. Operate: Adjust behaviour toward desired direction

4. Test: Result of "operate" becomes input for another test

5. Exit: Occurs when current state matches desired standard

What are the 3 major components of good self-regulation according to the TOTE model?

- 3 main components:

1. Standards

2. Monitoring (test)

3. Willpower/capacity for change (operate)

- Good self-regulation requires efficient functioning of all 3

- Difficulties in any component lead to self-regulation difficulties

What is Expectancy-Value Theory?

- Achievement of goals depends on:

+ Expectancy

+ Value

- Expectancy: Belief that the goal can be accomplished if attempted

- Value: How worthwhile or important the goal feels

- Highest motivation occurs when goals are:

+ High expectancy

+ High value

What are the 4 factors influencing value?

1. Importance

2. Intrinsic value

3. Utility

4. Cost

What is expectancy in Expectancy-Value Theory?

- People are more likely to accomplish a goal if they believe it is achievable

- Highlights importance of setting realistic goals

What is the "importance" factor of value in Expectancy-Value Theory?

- Refers to: How important it is to do well on a goal

- Influenced by: How central the goal is to self-concept

- Example: Improving grades is more motivating if being a “good student” is central to identity

What is intrinsic value in Expectancy-Value Theory?

- Extent to which a person wants to pursue a goal for inherent satisfaction

- Example: Practicing an instrument because it is fun and challenging rather than out of obligation

What is utility in Expectancy-Value Theory?

- Refers to: How useful the goal is perceived to be

- Often connected to: Higher-order goals

- Example: Going to bed earlier to improve mood and productivity the next day

What is cost in Expectancy-Value Theory?

- Refers to what the goal costs:

+ Time

+ Money

+ Boredom

+ Missed alternative activities

- Procrastination often occurs because: Goals feel costly

How are expectancy and value related?

- In theory, expectancy and value are separate dimensions:

+ High value + low expectancy = hopeless goal

+ Low value + high expectancy = easy but boring goal

- In reality:

+ Highly positively correlated

+ Negatively correlated with cost

- Suggests: Expectancy and value track one another

How do expectancy and value reinforce one another?

Expect to do well --> Value task more --> Do task more --> Improve at task --> Expect to do well more in future

What are the implications of Expectancy-Value Theory for goal setting?

- Good goals are:

+ Achievable

+ Realistic

+ Valuable (or find a way to frame goals as valuable to yourself)

- Consider letting go of goals that are costly and don't feel valuable (important, intrinsic, or useful) to you

What factors interfere with setting good goals?

1. Lack of self-knowledge:

- Interferes with realistic standards (expectancy)

- Reduces clarity about what standards/goals are important and intrinsically motivating (value)

2. Perfectionism: Leads to unrealistic goals

3. Self-control dilemmas: Increase cost of goals (issue with value)

--> All increase likelihood of goal failure

What is self-awareness?

Capacity to direct attention toward oneself (self-focused attention) and engaging in thoughts about oneself

How does self-awareness influence behaviour?

- Unlike directing attention to other objects/people, self-awareness automatically leads to a state of comparing the self against salient standards

--> Self-awareness automatically triggers self-evaluation

- As a result, increasing self-awareness often leads to behaving in a way consistent with salient standards

How does a mirror increase self-awareness?

- Presence of a mirror stimulates self-awareness

- Evidence: People use more first-person pronouns when sitting in front of a mirror

What was the Halloween Study on self-awareness (Beaman et al., 1979)?

- Question: Does self-awareness increase moral behaviour?

- Method:

+ Trick-or-treating children told to take one candy

+ Left alone with opportunity to take more

- Conditions:

+ Mirror present

+ No mirror present

- Results: Children in mirror condition obeyed instructions more often

What evidence suggests self-awareness leads to better behaviour?

- Mirrors increase self-awareness

- Presence of mirrors leads people to:

+ Behave more morally

+ Work faster and harder

+ Behave less aggressively

+ Behave more consistently with previously stated personal values

- Suggests: Failure to meet standards may result from low self-awareness

How does alcohol reduce self-awareness and behaviour regulation (Hull et al., 1981)?

- Alcohol reduces self-awareness

- Evidence: Participants given alcohol use fewer first-person pronouns

- Compared to non-alcohol conditions, alcohol leads to:

+ More reckless behaviour

+ More spending

+ Greater aggression

- Suggests: Poor behaviour may stem from lack of self-awareness

Why is self-awareness important for self-regulation?

- Comparing self against standards enables behaviour change

- Difficult to regulate behaviour without monitoring it closely

- To achieve goals:

+ Monitor progress

+ Foster self-awareness

What is Ego Depletion Theory?

- Self-control/willpower is a limited and general mental resource

- Willpower is like a muscle

- After exerting self-control on one task:

+ Performance on later self-control tasks declines

+ Applies even if tasks are unrelated

What is the general methodology used in ego depletion studies?

- Participants perform two separate tasks

- Both tasks require self-control/willpower

- Tasks are completed one after another

What was the emotion suppression ego depletion study (Muraven et al., 1998)?

- Question: Does altering emotional state reduce physical stamina?

- Method:

+ Participants completed handgrip endurance baseline

+ Watched a sad movie

- Conditions:

+ Increase emotion: Let me movie affect you and express your emotions on your face as much as possible

+ Decrease emotion: Avoid letting the movie affect you and express as little emotion on your face as possible

+ No emotion control

- Handgrip endurance measured again afterward

What were the results of the emotion suppression ego depletion study?

- Participants who alter their emotional state showed reduced handgrip endurance (Increase and Decrease conditions)

- Compared to: Participants with no emotional control instructions

- Supports: Ego depletion effect

What evidence supports ego depletion theory?

- Ego depletion reduces performance on second self-control task:

+ Looking for and crossing out a particular letter in a text leads to reductions in handgrip endurance

+ Writing an essay about attitudes one doesn’t believe in (cognitive dissonance) reduces persistence on a follow-up task

+ Suppressing forbidden thoughts leads to giving up more quickly on unsolvable anagrams

- Ego depletion increases impulsive, disinhibited behaviour:

+ Spend more money on impulsive purchases

+ Eating more junk food

+ Drink more alcohol

+ Fewer sexual inhibitions

+ More aggressive responses to being provoked

- Meta-analysis of 600 studies suggests that these findings are robust and well replicated

How does automaticity moderate ego depletion?

- Mental processes can be:

+ Automatic

+ Controlled

- Automatic processes:

+ Require few cognitive resources

+ Occur outside conscious awareness

+ Common in familiar/highly practiced tasks

+ Examples:

• Tying shoes

• Driving familiar routes

- Controlled processes:

+ Require conscious attention and effort

+ Common in new or complex tasks

+ Examples:

• Learning an instrument

• Solving complex math

- Ego depletion impairs controlled processes, but not automatic processes

- Example: after ego depletion

+ Logical reasoning (controlled) impaired

+ Vocabulary performance (automatic) intact

How does motivation moderate ego depletion?

- Ego depletion can be overcome if people are given a strong incentive to do well on the second task

- Examples:

+ Helping others

+ Monetary rewards

- However: Greater depletion after this second task

- Suggests:

+ Ego depletion reflects conservation of willpower

+ Not total absence of willpower

--> People are managing a limited energy supply by holding back in the present

What are the implications of ego depletion theory?

- Self-control is costly in the short term

- Willpower is a general and limited supply:

+ All forms of self-control draw from same supply

+ People conserve willpower unless highly motivated in the moment to expend it

- Ego depletion may explain why people may sometimes fail to achieve their standards/goals

What controversies exist regarding ego depletion theory?

- Some researchers argue:

+ Ego depletion effect does not exist

+ Or effect is very small

- 2014 meta-analysis:

+ 198 studies

+ Effect size small and not significantly different from 0

- 2021 multi-lab replication:

+ 3531 participants

+ No reliable effect found

- BUT, another 2021 multi-site replication:

+ 1775 participants

+ Small but significant effect found

- Over 600 studies support ego depletion

How might publication bias explain ego depletion findings?

- Publication bias: Studies with null results often not published

- Leads to:

+ Inflation of effects

+ Overrepresentation of “successful” findings

- Raises possibility: Ego depletion may not exist

What alternative explanation exists for mixed ego depletion findings?

- Ego depletion may exist only under certain circumstances

- Many studies assume both tasks require self-control

- Researchers need to determine which tasks truly rely on self-control

- Possible role of:

+ Individual differences: effect is stronger for some people

+ Situational differences: effect is stronger in some situations

How does reliance on lab studies contribute to controversy around ego depletion?

- Lab studies prioritize internal validity

- But may not reflect real-world behaviour (external validity)

- Field research may help determine under what circumstances ego depletion exists in everyday life

What was the "Sweet Delusion" controversy?

- Early theory: Self-control relies on glucose

- Findings originally suggested:

+ Self-control reduces blood glucose

+ Low glucose predicts poorer self-control

+ Sugary drinks restore self-control

- Later criticisms:

+ Findings considered “incredible”

+ Replication attempts failed: Follow-up research did not support sugary drinks counteracting ego depletion

What are the major summary points from the lecture on self-regulation?

- Good self-regulation provides many lifelong benefits

- According to the TOTE model, self-regulation involves:

+ Identifying standards

+ Monitoring discrepancies

+ Using willpower to adjust behaviour in line with standards

- Standards are more likely to be achieved when:

+ Realistic

+ Valuable

--> More valuable than costly

- Self-awareness:

+ Is inherently self-evaluative

+ Helps monitor discrepancies

- Ego depletion research suggests:

+ Willpower is a limited and general source

+ Explains why we sometimes struggle with tasks that require self-control

+ However, ego depletion findings remain controversial

What is trait self-control?

- People vary in trait self-control.

- People high in trait self-control are:

+ Consistently better able to successfully deal with self-control dilemmas.

What are the positive effects of trait self-control?

Meta-analysis of 93 studies shows that 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 is the paradox of trait self-control?

- We tend to think that people high on trait self-control are good at effortfully resisting temptation/have more willpower.

--> When they encounter a self-control dilemma:

exert willpower to inhibit undesirable urge

choose to act in accordance with goal

- BUT, in everyday life, people high on trait self-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 people high in trait self-control experience less temptation?

1. Better at setting goals that are intrinsically rewarding

--> e.g., actually enjoy activities that many struggle with like: eating healthy, exercising. studying

2. Set-up and follow routines and habits

--> e.g., consistent exercise routine, consistent study schedule

3. 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

What was the method used in Gillebaart et al. (2016) to study self-control dilemmas?

- Participants presented with pictures of food on a computer.

- Instructed to:

+ Click “positive” when presented with healthy food

+ Click “negative” when presented with unhealthy food

- Measured:

1. Trait self-control

2. Reaction time (RT) to select an answer

3. Implicit self-control dilemma: Mouse trajectory from the bottom of the screen to select an answer

4. Explicit self-control dilemma: “How conflicted do you feel about your answer?”

How was implicit self-control dilemma measured in Gillebaart et al. (2016)?

- 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:

+ Early "peak pull"

+ Later "peak pull"

What does "pull" represent in the mouse trajectory task?

- “Pull” = temptation.

- Greater pull toward the non-selected answer reflects stronger implicit self-control dilemma.

What were the results of Gillebaart et al. (2016)?

- Higher trait self-control:

+ Predicted weaker feelings of conflict (explicit self-control dilemma)

+ BUT not related to average degree of “pull” (implicit self-control dilemma)

--> Suggests that high and low trait self-control people experience same amount of temptation on an unconscious level

- Predicted earlier “peak pull”

--> Suggests that high trait self-control people detected self-control dilemma earlier

- Predicted faster RT for correctly classifying food

+ healthy = positive

+ unhealthy = negative

--> Suggests that resolved self-control dilemma faster

What is meant by effortless self-control?

- High trait self-control people detect self-control dilemmas earlier.

- This allows them to deal with them:

+ faster

+ more efficiently

+ at an unconscious level

- They are so good at this that they don’t consciously experience the temptation.

What are the implications of trait self-control research?

- People that have good self-control are exercising this ability effortlessly by relying on automatic processes.

- Includes:

+ 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 the "intention-behavior" gap?

- People often fail to act on their goals even when they intend to achieve them.

- Implementation intentions were proposed to help bridge this gap.

What are implementation intentions?

- Develop very specific plan about how you will achieve a goal in a particular situation.

- Link a situation with a specific goal-directed action.

--> “When situation X arises, I will perform response Y.”

- Help:

+ Solve problem of goals being too vague.

+ Increase commitment by focusing on one method of achieving a goal.

- Example (image): goal is vague, but have specific behaviour tied to specific situation

What is meant by "Don't Put Your Eggs in More than One Basket"?

Having too many ways to complete a goal:

- Reduces commitment to any one particular option

- Makes you less likely to complete the goal

How did Gollwitzer & Brandstatter (1997) examine whether implementation intentions help people achieve goals?

- Participants instructed to write a report about how they spent Christmas Eve.

- Report due December 26th.

- Experimental manipulation:

+ Implementation intentions: Think about when and where you will write report

+ Control: Simply asked to write report

--> Outcome: Who completed report?

- Result: Implementation intentions group was more likely to complete goal.

How does goal difficulty moderate the effects of implementation intentions according to Gollwitzer & Brandstatter (1997)?

- Participants identified personal projects intended to achieve during Christmas break.

- Experimental manipulation:

+ Easy goal

+ Difficult goal

- Assessed implementation intentions.

- Results:

+ Implementation intentions useful for completing difficult goals

+ Less relevant for completing easy goals

How did Milne et al. (2002) compare implementation intentions to a motivation boost?

- Participants wanted to exercise more.

- Tracked exercise for 2 weeks.

- Three experimental groups:

+ Control: Track how often you exercise

+ Motivation: Track exercise + read benefits of exercise --> Target value

+ Implementation intention: Track exercise + read benefits + set implementation intention

- Example implementation intention:

+ “During the next week, I will partake in at least 20-mins of vigorous exercise on [DAY] at [TIME] in [PLACE].”

+ Implementation intentions set at T2 after one week.

--> Outcome: Who exercised at least once per week?

What were the results of the implementation intentions vs. motivation study by Milne et al. (2002)?

- No benefit of increased motivation intervention.

--> No difference in rate of exercise between T1 and T2

- Implementation intentions doubled the rate of exercise.

- Suggests that when we don’t reach goals:

+ Not because of lack of motivation

+ Not because of lack of monitoring

+ But because lack of specific plan

What goals can implementation intentions help facilitate?

- 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 rates

How can implementation intentions reduce implicit bias?

- Study examined whether implementation intentions help achieve goal of avoiding unwanted biases.

- Key finding:

+ Setting intention to think specific counterstereotypical thoughts whenever encountering Black individual reduced implicit racial bias.

- Follow-up: Extended to implicit weight bias.

Why are implementation intentions helpful according to theory?

1. Heightened accessibility of situational cues (“when”)

--> Improves ability to detect situational cue relevant to goal

2. Formation of a strong mental link between situation cue and planned response

--> Automates action initiation

- Example:

+ Goal: Eat healthy

+ Situational cue: Meal

+ Action: Eat vegetable

--> “Every time I eat a meal, I’ll eat a veggie.”

What are the implications of implementation intentions?

- Conscious planning can make goal pursuit more automatic over time.

- Removes need for conscious decision to pursue goal at relevant time.

- Intended action executed more effortlessly rather than relying on effortful self-control.

What is the auto-motive model (Bargh, 1990)?

- Goal pursuit is not always deliberate.

- Goals can be activated and pursued automatically, without conscious awareness.

What are the two main components of the auto-motive model?

1. Learned associations:

- People form associations between:

+ situations

+ goals

+ actions

- Based on repeated past experiences

2. Automatic goal activation and pursuit:

- Encountering the situation automatically triggers the goal and associated action

--> Person pursues goal outside conscious awareness

- Example involving work:

+ Situation: Get in car

+ Goal: Go to work

+ Action: Take Highway 40 East

- Example involving productivity:

+ Situation: Sit at desk

+ Goal: Be productive

+ Action: Answer emails

- Example involving bad habits (e.g., social media):

+ Situation: Alarm in the morning

+ Goal: Start day in a good mood

+ Action: Open Instagram

How does the auto-motive model differ from implementation intentions?

- Auto-Motive Model:

+ Situation-goal-action mental links created unconsciously via learned associations

+ Person not necessarily aware goal is being pursued

- Implementation Intentions:

+ Situation-goal-action mental links created consciously via forming “if-then” plans

+ Person aware they set up the goal pursuit

What are interpersonal goals?

- Goals pursued in social relationships and settings.

- Examples:

+ Goal: Want to be liked --> Action: Make jokes

+ Goal: Want to be seen as competent --> Action: Be serious and work hard

What did Fitzsimons & Bargh (2003) propose about unconscious interpersonal goals?

- Situations can include relationships with specific people.

- Thinking about a specific relationship may automatically trigger interpersonal goals.

- These goals may then be pursued unconsciously.

--> Hypothesis: Thinking about a particular person activates goals specific to that relationship, which then guide behaviour in a goal-congruent fashion.

What did Study 1 on unconscious interpersonal goals examine (Fitzsimons & Bargh, 2003)?

- What kinds of goals people pursue in different relationships.

- Findings:

+ 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

What was the method of Study 2 on automatic activation of goals (Fitzsimons & Bargh, 2003)?

- Participants randomly assigned to 1 of 3 priming conditions:

+ Mother

+ Best friend

+ Bedroom (control)

- Asked to:

+ form vivid picture in mind

+ write about prime

--> Part 2: Then read about “Mark” and formed impression.

- Info on “Mark”:

+ Mark entering second year of college.

+ First year: Did very well in some classes but not others.

+ Missed some morning classes, but overall had very good attendance.

+ Parents both doctors.

+ Registered in pre-med.

+ Hasn’t decided if that is what he wants to do.

--> Participants asked:

“How motivated is Mark to succeed in school?”

- Hypothesis: Mother prime would lead participants to see Mark as more motivated to succeed compared to friend prime.

--> Goal of wanting to make mom proud becomes more accessible and attributed to Mark.

What were the results of Study 2 on automatic activation of goals (Fitzsimons & Bargh, 2003)?

- Thinking about mother increased accessibility of participants’ own goal with mother (i.e., wanting to make mom proud)

- Participants projected this goal onto Mark.

--> Evidence that relationship-specific goals can be automatically activated simply by thinking about that person.

What was the method of Study 3 on moderation by goal importance (Fitzsimons & Bargh, 2003)?

- Pre-study questionnaire assessed presence of goals.

- Asked whether participant had goal of making mom proud.

+ “Yes” = Goal group

+ “No” = No goal group

- In lab:

+ Mom prime

+ Bedroom prime (control)

- Verbal test: Generate as many words as possible from string of letters

What were the results of Study 3 on moderation by goal importance (Fitzsimons & Bargh, 2003)?

People who had the goal of making their mom proud AND were in the mom-prime condition performed the best.

What does Study 3 suggest about goal activation (Fitzsimons & Bargh, 2003)?

- Goals need to be activated by situation to influence behaviour.

- Presence of a goal alone is not enough.

What are the implications of unconscious interpersonal goal pursuit?

- Relationship partners can unconsciously activate interpersonal goals.

- These goals are then pursued unconsciously.

- Relationships influence motivations and behaviours, even when relationship partner is not physically present

What are the major conclusions from this lecture on self-regulation?

- High trait self-control is less about lots of willpower and more about relying on automatic processes to self-regulate.

- Implementation intention:

+ Specific plan about how a goal will be achieved in a particular situation

+ Allows goals to be pursued automatically and more effortlessly

- According to auto-motive model:

+ Past experiences create learned associations between situations, goals, and actions

+ Allows goals to be activated and pursued outside conscious awareness

- Auto-motive model can be applied to relationships

--> Thinking about a specific relationship can lead pursuit of interpersonal goals outside conscious awareness