Self – Regulation / Self – Control / Willpower3 ingredients of self-regulation1. Capacity (strength) – mental resources2. Monitoring – self-awareness3. Standards – goalsBenefits of Self-Regulation- Walter “marshmallow” mischel- Study:o Gave 4 year olds marshmallowso Delay of gratificationo Self-control = get 2 latero Self-control failure = only 1 nowo On average, the “one marshmallow” kids scored 210 pts lower on the SATA High Capacity for Self-Control..- Predictso Stable relationships (happier, less breakups, stronger platonic relationships)o More success (more money, education, promotions, etc) Academic success is better predicted by self-control capacity than IQo Less criminalityo Better mental health and longer lifeSelf-Regulation Failure is a Common Problem- Limited resource model- All types of control rely on ONE limited energy sourceo Behavior controlo Thought controlo Emotion controlo Impulse controlDoing this…- Suppressing thoughts about a topic ex: “don’t think of a white bear”Makes it difficult to…- Squeeze a handgrip for a long amount of timeDoing this…- Suppressing emotional reactions to a movie (cute sea turtles being hatched and then birds comeand eat them) (one group told to watch it and let the emotions pour out, and then another group told to watch it and not feel any emotion)Makes it difficult to…- Solve difficult word problemsDoing this…- Resisting chocolate and eating radishesMakes it difficult to…- Persist in attempting unsolvable puzzlesLimited Resource Model1. Self-regulation is a fight between the automatic and the controlleda. Automatic – I want that damn COOKIE!b. Controlled – I have to stick to my diet2. Fight between impulse and controla. This is often a losing battleb. Winning the battle drains us of an important resource necessary to keep fighting3. Self-regulation is like a musclea. Depletionb. Strengthc. Only have a limited resource/amount of it4. Note an Important Distinction Herea. Automatic behaviors do not require ANY self-controlb. Conscious/controlled behaviors require self-control5. Depletion will only affect controlled behaviors!6. Implications for how we might pursue goals that require lots of self-regulationa. Ex: dieting and quitting smoking at the same timePeople have limited attention- People can only actively regulate one thing at a time- Wouldn’t necessarily be a problem, except for the fact that we are very very easily distractedBecoming Distracted from Goals- People automatically attend to the stimuli in their environments- And these stimuli can distract from self-regulation and goal pursuito Talking on the phone with the TV ono Study for an exam when you have a paper due in a different classUnfulfilled Motivations Distract- The Zeigarnik Effecto Servers’ tables- Like songs on the radio- Mind wandering and ruminationo People automatically think about things that they need to do- Zeigarnik Effect is generally helpful, it reminds you that you need to .. write that paper, study forthat exam.. etc.- Can interfere when working with multiple goalsMultiple Goals can be Distracting- Had participants work on 2 tasks sequentiallyo Some P’s reminded of 1st tak (subliminally) while working on the 2nd tasko Other P’s shown unrelated cues- P’s reminded of 1st task did worseWavering CommitmentPeople Often Give up Too Easily- Commitment can easily waiver- What the heck effect- Eating among dieterso Two groups of participants (Ps) : Dieter or noto Three Conditions 1) eat nothing (hungry) 2) drink a milkshake (full) 3) 2 milkshakes (stuffed)o DV: Taste Test (w/ ice cream or cookies)Results of Taste TestNon-dieters ate the most if they were hungry, then second most if full, and third most if stuffedDieters ate the most if they were stuffed, second most if full, and third most if hungryPeople who have been self-regulating and working toward this diet for a really long time, who get stuffed, feel like they have failed already and just ate cookies til it hurt“What the heck Effect”Alcohol is the worst! (for self-regulation)Alcohol contributes to losing control - Affects self-reg in three ways:o Lowers cognitive functioningo Lowers inhibitory systemo Decreased self-awarenesso Depletes blood glucose levels (physiological aspect)Obstacles to Successful Self-Regulation- Relies on limited resources- Rlies on limited attentional focus- Often, commitment waversImproving Self-RegulationGoal Setting- Be realistic- Be specifico Intentions alone are not enougho Implementation intentions (Gollwitzer) When, where, and howo Twice as likely to engage the desired behavioro Eliminates the Zeigarnik Effect “consider it done” effectGood Environment!- Remove distractions- Eliminate reminders of other goals- Other people can help!o Or hurt, depending on expectationsWays to Regulate Better1. Strive for Delayed Gratification – build self-control over time2. Avoid alcohol when you want to regulate – lowers blood glucose (some self-reg capacity is built on blood glucose levels)3. Make behavior automatic! – self regulation is only required for the things that aren’t automatic- The more you perform a behavior the more automatic it becomes. So set a schedule and stick to it (e.g. studying, exercising)Social Cognition- The processes by which people think about and make sense of their.. environment?Tradition of Humans as Rational- “reason is man’s basic means of survival.”-Ayn Rand- E.g. advancements in science, tefhnology- Behavioral economics – based on self-interest, what’s in their best interestWe are not rational, unbiased information consumers- Reason is costly (in cog terms).. it depletes our self-controlo Making simple day to day decisions depletes our self-control- We have limited cognitive resources to…o Solve problemso Direct attention and behavior- People are cognitive miserso Conserve cog resources as much as possibleo People want to conserve mental resources Heuristics – mental shortcuts- Efficient strategy for solving problems or answering questions- Provides a “good enough” answer most of the time- Prone to certain types of errors Biases – use certain types of information- Attend to particular kinds of info- Too effortful to try to process all info“We respond not to reality as it is but to reality as we construe it”.- Our reality is constructed by our BIASEDo Perceptionso Judgmentso Explanationso Expectations- Our mind will often fill in the gaps
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