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Objective: Self-control is a meaningful predictor of crucial life outcomes. Knowingly, genes contribute substantially to differences in self-control, but behavioral genetic findings are often misinterpreted regarding environmental influences. Therefore, we reinvestigate the heritability of self-control as well as potential environmental influences, namely parenting and a chaotic home environment., Method: We used cross-sectional and longitudinal data from the German twin family study TwinLife (N = 3354 individuals), structured in a multicohort design in which 13-, 19-, and 25-year-old twins rated their self-control, parents' behavior, and home environment., Results: Results showed increasing mean levels and 1-year stabilities for self-control accompanied by substantial genetic influences, increasing particularly from ages 19 to 25 (53% to 76%). While chaotic home environments and negative parenting were phenotypically associated with lower self-control, twin difference models revealed that differences in these individually perceived "environments" directly predicted self-control differences (β = -0.16 to -0.28) within families when controlling for genetic and environmental similarities., Conclusions: In addition to the genetic anchoring of self-control, results indicate that environmental factors such as negative family environments are meaningful and depend on individual perceptions within families. Interventions for enhancing self-control should, therefore, rely on individual perspectives rather than objective characteristics of home environments., (© 2022 The Authors. Journal of Personality published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

Exerting effort in a first task can impair self-control performance in a subsequent task. Hundreds of studies have examined this ego depletion effect, but the underlying mechanisms are still unknown. By contrasting the two most prominent models, the strength model and the process model, the following question takes centre stage: Do participants fail to exert self-control because they run short of an unspecified resource or because they lack the motivation to engage in the subsequent task? We contrasted competing predictions (N = 560) from these two models by manipulating monetary incentives to be donated to charity in the first of two tasks. We found evidence of the standard ego depletion effect-self-control performance was impaired after a high- versus a low-demand task in the no-incentive conditions. Incentives had an unexpected effect: Whereas participants in the incentive conditions showed higher intrinsic, autonomous motivation, they did not exert greater effort. This unexpected finding limited the applicability of our registered predictions; thus, we opted to test updated predictions. We discuss the theoretical implications of our understanding of the processes underlying ego depletion effects and their meaning for the ongoing debate about replicability and robustness., (© 2022 The Authors. British Journal of Social Psychology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Psychological Society.)

We conducted a preregistered multilaboratory project ( k = 36; N = 3,531) to assess the size and robustness of ego-depletion effects using a novel replication method, termed the paradigmatic replication approach . Each laboratory implemented one of two procedures that was intended to manipulate self-control and tested performance on a subsequent measure of self-control. Confirmatory tests found a nonsignificant result ( d = 0.06). Confirmatory Bayesian meta-analyses using an informed-prior hypothesis (δ = 0.30, SD = 0.15) found that the data were 4 times more likely under the null than the alternative hypothesis. Hence, preregistered analyses did not find evidence for a depletion effect. Exploratory analyses on the full sample (i.e., ignoring exclusion criteria) found a statistically significant effect ( d = 0.08); Bayesian analyses showed that the data were about equally likely under the null and informed-prior hypotheses. Exploratory moderator tests suggested that the depletion effect was larger for participants who reported more fatigue but was not moderated by trait self-control, willpower beliefs, or action orientation.

People feel tired or depleted after exerting mental effort. But even preregistered studies often fail to find effects of exerting effort on behavioral performance in the laboratory or elucidate the underlying psychology. We tested a new paradigm in four preregistered within-subjects studies ( N = 686). An initial high-demand task reliably elicited very strong effort phenomenology compared with a low-demand task. Afterward, participants completed a Stroop task. We used drift-diffusion modeling to obtain the boundary (response caution) and drift-rate (information-processing speed) parameters. Bayesian analyses indicated that the high-demand manipulation reduced boundary but not drift rate. Increased effort sensations further predicted reduced boundary. However, our demand manipulation did not affect subsequent inhibition, as assessed with traditional Stroop behavioral measures and additional diffusion-model analyses for conflict tasks. Thus, effort exertion reduced response caution rather than inhibitory control, suggesting that after exerting effort, people disengage and become uninterested in exerting further effort.

An influential line of research suggests that initial bouts of self-control increase the susceptibility to self-control failure (ego depletion effect). Despite seemingly abundant evidence, some researchers have suggested that evidence for ego depletion was the sole result of publication bias and p-hacking, with the true effect being indistinguishable from zero. Here, we examine (a) whether the evidence brought forward against ego depletion will convince a proponent that ego depletion does not exist and (b) whether arguments that could be brought forward in defense of ego depletion will convince a skeptic that ego depletion does exist. We conclude that despite several hundred published studies, the available evidence is inconclusive. Both additional empirical and theoretical works are needed to make a compelling case for either side of the debate. We discuss necessary steps for future work toward this aim.

Self-control is positively associated with a host of beneficial outcomes. Therefore, psychological interventions that reliably improve self-control are of great societal value. A prominent idea suggests that training self-control by repeatedly overriding dominant responses should lead to broad improvements in self-control over time. Here, we conducted a random-effects meta-analysis based on robust variance estimation of the published and unpublished literature on self-control training effects. Results based on 33 studies and 158 effect sizes revealed a small-to-medium effect of g = 0.30, confidence interval (CI 95 ) [0.17, 0.42]. Moderator analyses found that training effects tended to be larger for (a) self-control stamina rather than strength, (b) studies with inactive compared to active control groups, (c) males than females, and (d) when proponents of the strength model of self-control were (co)authors of a study. Bias-correction techniques suggested the presence of small-study effects and/or publication bias and arrived at smaller effect size estimates (range: g corrected = .13 to .24). The mechanisms underlying the effect are poorly understood. There is not enough evidence to conclude that the repeated control of dominant responses is the critical element driving training effects.

Self-control is key to success in life. Initial acts of self-control temporarily impair subsequent self-control performance. Why such self-control failures occur is unclear, with prominent models postulating a loss of a limited resource vs a loss of motivation, respectively. Here, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging to identify the neural correlates of motivation-induced benefits on self-control. Participants initially exerted or did not exert self-control. In a subsequent Stroop task, participants performed worse after exerting self-control, but not if they were motivated to perform well by monetary incentives. On the neural level, having exerted self-control resulted in decreased activation in the left inferior frontal gyrus. Increasing motivation resulted in a particularly strong activation of this area specifically after exerting self-control. Thus, after self-control exertion participants showed more prefrontal neural activity without improving performance beyond baseline level. These findings suggest that impaired performance after self-control exertion may not exclusively be due to a loss of motivation., (© The Author (2016). Published by Oxford University Press. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Past research indicates that peoples' implicit theories about the nature of willpower moderate the ego-depletion effect. Only people who believe or were led to believe that willpower is a limited resource (limited-resource theory) showed lower self-control performance after an initial demanding task. As of yet, the underlying processes explaining this moderating effect by theories about willpower remain unknown. Here, we propose that the exertion of self-control activates the goal to preserve and replenish mental resources (rest goal) in people with a limited-resource theory. Five studies tested this hypothesis. In Study 1, individual differences in implicit theories about willpower predicted increased accessibility of a rest goal after self-control exertion. Furthermore, measured (Study 2) and manipulated (Study 3) willpower theories predicted an increased preference for rest-conducive objects. Finally, Studies 4 and 5 provide evidence that theories about willpower predict actual resting behavior: In Study 4, participants who held a limited-resource theory took a longer break following self-control exertion than participants with a nonlimited-resource theory. Longer resting time predicted decreased rest goal accessibility afterward. In Study 5, participants with an induced limited-resource theory sat longer on chairs in an ostensible product-testing task when they had engaged in a task requiring self-control beforehand. This research provides consistent support for a motivational shift toward rest after self-control exertion in people holding a limited-resource theory about willpower., ((c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).)

Weight loss and maintenance goals are highly prevalent in many affluent societies, but many weight regulators are not successful in the long term. Research started to reveal psychological mechanisms that help successful weight regulators in being successful. In the present study, we tested the assumption that these mechanisms facilitate successful self-regulation particularly under conditions of self-regulatory depletion. Participants exerted or did not exert self-control in a first task before engaging in a taste test of a tempting but unhealthy food. Participants who had initially exerted self-control ate more than participants in the control condition. This effect was reduced in self-perceived successful weight regulators as compared to perceived unsuccessful self-regulators. A reduced susceptibility to self-regulatory depletion may be an important contributor to long-term weight regulation success in successful weight regulators., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Several theoretical models describe two pathways linking self-control demands with subsequent goal violations. The volitional pathway suggests that these goal violations should be interpreted as failures, while the motivational pathway suggests an interpretation as decisions. In this article, we examined (a) which psychological processes may explain the relationship between self-control demands and subsequent intention violations and (b) to what extent these violations reflect self-control failures rather than deliberate decisions. Results of two experience sampling studies showed that facing demands can trigger two opposing processes: fatigue, which leads to more subsequent violations of intentions, and the feeling that one deserves a reward, which leads to fewer subsequent violations of intentions due to boosts in self-efficacy. The actor may attribute intention violations to either an inability to act otherwise (indicating an actual failure) or a deliberate decision (indicating no failure). The different attributions have marked implications for the cognitive and affective downstream consequences of violating one's goals, pointing to the importance of distinguishing between actual and apparent failures in self-control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Self-control has predominantly been characterized as a domain-general individual difference, assuming that highly self-controlled individuals are generally, that is, irrespective of domain, better at resisting their desires. However, qualitative differences in the domains in which these desires emerge and how individuals interact with these domains have rarely been examined. We re-analyzed three experience sampling datasets (N participants = 431, N observations = 15,962) and found that person × domain interactions predicted significant additional variance in momentary self-control above and beyond person differences, ranging from additional 6.2% of variance in desire strength to 17.0% of variance in conflict strength. Moreover, person × domain interactions in resistance strength predicted significantly more variance in resistance success than person or domain differences. Nevertheless, the number of individual resistance profiles was too diverse to be meaningfully reduced to a core set of latent resistance profiles. Thus, our results demonstrate the importance of considering person × domain interactions in future investigations of self-control and show that there is great diversity in how and how successfully different people interact with their self-control conflicts in different domains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aging Cell, 16 (4), 644 - 7. https://doi.org/10.1111/acel.12591 2 Daly, M., Delaney, L., Egan, M., & Baumeister, R. F. (2015). Psychological Science, 26 (6), 709 - 723. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797615569001 3 Daly, M., Egan, M., Quigley, J., Delaney, L., & Baumeister, R. F. (2016). Footnotes 1 This guide accompanies the following article: Wennerhold, L., & Friese, M. (2022). I Perspectives on Psychological Science i , I 10 i , 618-638. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691615593382 Milyavskaya, M., & Inzlicht, M. (2018). [Extracted from the article]

Self‐control is widely believed to be a valuable characteristic that contributes to leading a healthy, happy, and successful life through the effective pursuit of long‐term goals. Yet, despite a prolific literature spanning decades, essential questions about the conceptual nature of trait self‐control remain unanswered. Substantially different perspectives on the theoretical nature of (trait) self‐control coexist side by side. We briefly review prominent views informing what trait self‐control as a psychological construct is. On this basis, we identify four conceptual challenges that we think the field should address moving forward: (a) integrating theoretical notions, (b) addressing variability in individual goals, (c) acknowledging variability in dominant responses, and (d) anchoring trait self‐control in a nomological network. We highlight why addressing these challenges is crucial for gaining a deeper understanding of trait self‐control. We also suggest how theoretical conceptualizations of trait self‐control might do so and the implications this would bear for measurement and interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At the center of social psychology just a few years ago, ego depletion is now widely seen as a controversial topic, one of the chief victims of the replication crisis. Despite over 600 studies of apparent support, many are now asking if ego depletion is even real. Here, we comment on the articles included in this Special Issue: Ego Depletion and Self-Control: Conceptual and Empirical Advances. Specifically, we delineate the contributions and limitations of these articles by embedding them in a brief history of ego depletion, describing the current state of uncertainty about ego depletion’s scientific status, and outlining necessary steps for the study of ego depletion to have a healthy future. To us, the most troubling aspect of this controversy is not what it suggests about ego depletion, but what it suggests about social psychology more broadly. If the mere existence of ego depletion is seriously doubted by many, what can be confidently regarded as real in social psychology? By increasing the precision of our theories, continuously validating our manipulations and measures, and practicing the full suite of open science practices, we have the potential to identify legitimate and robust effects and build a cumulative and trustworthy psychological science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Praying over longer time spans can foster self-control. Less is known about the immediate, short-term consequences of praying. Here we investigated the possibility that praying may counteract self-control depletion. Participants suppressed or did not suppress thoughts about a white bear before engaging in a brief period of either personal prayer or free thought. Then, all participants completed a Stroop task. As expected, thought suppression led to poorer Stroop performance in the free thought, but not in the prayer condition. This effect emerged on a dependent variable devoid of any religious or moral associations (Stroop task). Possible mediating mechanisms and directions for future research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In contrast to prevailing beliefs, recent research suggests that trait self-control promotes health behavior not because those high in self-control are more successful at resisting single temptations, but rather because they develop adaptive habits. The present paper presents a first empirical test of this novel suggestion by investigating the mediating role of habit in explaining the relation between self-control and unhealthy snacking behavior. Results showed that self-control was negatively associated with unhealthy snack consumption and unhealthy snacking habits. As hypothesized, the relation between selfcontrol and unhealthy snack intake was mediated by habit strength. Self-control was not associated with fruit consumption or fruit consumption habits. These results provide the first evidence for the notion that high self-control may influence the formation of habits and in turn affect behavior. Moreover, results imply that self-control may be particularly influential in case of inhibiting unhealthy food intake rather than promoting healthy food intake. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The strength model of self-control has inspired large amounts of research and contributed to a deeper understanding of the temporal dynamics underlying self-control. Several studies have identified factors that can counteract self-control depletion, but relatively little is known about factors that can prevent depletion effects. Here we tested the hypothesis that a brief period of personal prayer would buffer self-control depletion effects. Participants either briefly prayed or thought freely before engaging (or not engaging) in an emotion suppression task. All participants completed a Stroop task subsequently. Individuals who had thought freely before suppressing emotions showed impaired Stroop performance compared to those who had not suppressed emotions. This effect did not occur in individuals who had prayed at the beginning of the study. These results are consistent with and contribute to a growing body of work attesting to the beneficial effects of praying on self-control. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Any analysis of self-regulation that focuses solely on willpower in conflict-laden situations is insufficient. Research makes clear that the best way to reach one's goal is not to resist temptations but to avoid temptations before they arrive; it further suggests that willpower is fragile and not to be relied on; and that the best self-regulators engage in willpower remarkably seldom. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Mindfulness meditation describes a set of different mental techniques to train attention and awareness. Trait mindfulness and extended mindfulness interventions can benefit self-control. The present study investigated the short-term consequences of mindfulness meditation under conditions of limited self-control resources. Specifically, we hypothesized that a brief period of mindfulness meditation would counteract the deleterious effect that the exertion of self-control has on subsequent self-control performance. Participants who had been depleted of self-control resources by an emotion suppression task showed decrements in self-control performance as compared to participants who had not suppressed emotions. However, participants who had meditated after emotion suppression performed equally well on the subsequent self-control task as participants who had not exerted self-control previously. This finding suggests that a brief period of mindfulness meditation may serve as a quick and efficient strategy to foster self-control under conditions of low resources. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

For many individuals, watching erotic material constitutes a self-control conflict in which reflective tendencies compete with impulsive urges for the control of behavior. Boundary conditions such as the ability to control attention determine which influence will prevail over the other. Here, we tested this framework in the context of viewing erotic videos. Reflective tendencies, as indicated by self-reported attitudes, predicted viewing time of erotic videos for individuals high, but not low, in attention control. By contrast, impulsive tendencies, as indicated by automatic associations toward sex, predicted viewing time for individuals low, but not high, in attention control. This effect was particularly pronounced for single individuals. The adoption of a self-control framework to research on viewing erotic material has several advantages, including a better understanding of the psychological processes involved in watching erotic material, an illustration of these processes' interactive dynamic, and a more fine-grained prediction of viewing time behavior. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reviews recent developments in the design of interventions to improve health behavior. Based on dual-system models we classify intervention strategies according to whether they aim at: (i) changing impulsive structures; (ii) improving the ability to self-control; or (iii) changing reflective structures. We review recent work on re-training of automatic associations, attentional biases, and automatic approach-avoidance tendencies, training of self-control and executive functioning, and taxonomic work on health behavior intervention techniques. The theoretical framework as well as the empirical evidence suggest that a combination of both established and newly developed intervention techniques may prove fruitful for future intervention programs. However, several techniques are still in their infancy and more research is needed before clear recommendations can be given. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interpersonal provocation is a common and robust antecedent to aggression. Four studies identified angry rumination and reduced self-control as mechanisms underlying the provocation—aggression relationship. Following provocation, participants demonstrated decreased self-control on an unpleasant task relative to a control condition (Study 1). When provoked, rumination reduced self-control and increased aggression. This effect was mediated by reduced self-control capacity (Study 2). State rumination following provocation, but not anger per se, mediated the effect of trait rumination on aggression (Study 3). Bolstering self-regulatory resources by consuming a glucose beverage improved performance on a measure of inhibitory control following rumination (Study 4). These findings suggest that rumination following an anger-inducing provocation reduces self-control and increases aggression. Bolstering self-regulatory resources may reduce this adverse effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article comments on the papers "Misguided effort with elusive implications" by R. F. Baumeister and K. D. Vohs and "Sifting signal from noise with replication science" by C. Sripada and colleagues. Topics discussed include the the depletion of self-control, the role of task duration on the failure of a registered replication report (RRR) to evoke ego-depletion effect, and a Bayesian analysis of replication success.

Abstract: A central assumption in research on self-control is that impulses more strongly influence the self-regulatory behavior of individuals who are low as compared to high in trait self-control. The present research addresses this central assumption directly by assessing individual differences in trait self-control as well as in impulsive precursors of behavior. As expected, impulsive precursors translated into behavior for individuals who were low, but not high in trait self-control. This pattern emerged for the consumption of potato chips (Study 1), and self-reported alcohol consumption (Studies 2a and 2b). The findings persisted when controlling for the related construct of trait impulsivity. The results illustrate the dynamic interplay between impulses and trait self-control in the determination of self-regulatory behavior. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Though human beings embody a unique ability for planned behavior, they also often act impulsively. This insight may be important for the study of self-control situations in which people are torn between their long-term goals to restrain behavior and their immediate impulses that promise hedonic fulfillment. In the present article, we outline a dual-systems perspective of impulse and self-control and suggest a framework for the prediction of self-control outcomes. This framework combines three elements that, considered jointly, may enable a more precise prediction of self-control outcomes than they do when studied in isolation: impulsive precursors of behavior, reflective precursors, and situational or dispositional boundary conditions. The theoretical and practical utility of such an approach is demonstrated by drawing on recent evidence from several domains of self-control such as eating, drinking, and sexual behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: It is generally assumed that impulse control plays a major role in many areas of self-regulation such as eating behavior. However, the exact mechanisms that enable the control of impulsive determinants such as automatic affective reactions toward tempting stimuli are not well understood. “The present research investigated the separate moderator effects of three factors of impulse control, executive attention, inhibitory control, and affect regulation on the relationship between automatic affective reactions toward candy and subsequent candy consumption.” Results showed that all three factors reduced the influence of automatic affective reactions on eating behavior, indicating improved impulse control. Implications for self-regulation research are discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Terror Management Theory posits that after thinking about their own deaths, people take sides with and defend their culture by either increasing their support for worldview-consistent examples, decreasing support for worldview-threatening examples, or both. We tested the hypothesis that mortality salience leads to an increased preference for products from one’s own culture as compared to products from a foreign culture in terms of evaluation and consumption. In a product test, participants sampled local and foreign soft drinks (Study 1) or local and foreign chocolates (Study 2). As expected, relative to a control condition, mortality salience led to more accentuated evaluative preferences for local as compared to foreign products. Furthermore, the preference for the local product in terms of actual consumption was greater under mortality salience. Independent from cultural worldview defense effects mortality salience led to more impulsive behavior as indicated by an increased correspondence between eating behavior and an implicit measure tapping into impulsive processes in Study 2. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Often, health behavior seems to be governed not only by reasoned attitudes and goal-directed behavior but also by impulsive influences. The notion of a conflict between reflective and impulsive processing which is incorporated in prominent dual-system accounts (e.g., Metcalfe & Mischel, 1999; Strack & Deutsch, 2004) may yield important benefits for the understanding and prediction of health-related behavior. In this article, we suggest a basic framework for the prediction of health-related behavior which combines (a) reflective influences (as measured via self-report), (b) impulsive influences (as measured via implicit measures), and (c) situational or dispositional moderators that shift the weight between reflective and impulsive influences. The practical utility of such a framework is demonstrated by drawing on recent evidence from several areas of health psychology such as eating, drinking, drug abuse, and sexual behavior. Implications for the understanding of health behavior and applied health interventions are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This study shows that alcohol consumption enhances the prediction of candy consumption by implicit attitudes and at the same time decreases the predictive validity of cognitive restraint standards. Female participants were assigned to either an alcohol or a control condition and were then given an opportunity to taste candies. For participants in the alcohol condition, candy consumption was uniquely predicted by previously assessed implicit attitudes toward the candy. In contrast, candy consumption was primarily predicted by cognitive restraint (Three Factor Eating Questionnaire) in the control condition. Moreover, participants who consumed alcohol ate significantly more candy at the group level. These results indicate that alcohol increases the behavioral impact of impulsive determinants on eating behavior while disrupting the behavioral impact of reflective determinants. They further demonstrate that measures of implicit attitudes toward tempting stimuli add incremental validity for the prediction of self-control outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present research, the authors investigated how individual differences in working memory capacity moderate the relative influence of automatic versus controlled precursors on self-regulatory behavior. In 2 studies, on sexual interest behavior (Study 1) and the consumption of tempting food (Study 2), automatic attitudes toward the temptation of interest had a stronger influence on behavior for individuals who scored low rather than high in working memory capacity. Analogous results emerged in Study 3 on anger expression in a provoking situation when a measure of the automatic personality trait of angriness was employed. Conversely, controlled dispositions such as explicit attitudes (Study 1) and self-regulatory goals (Studies 2 and 3) were more effective in guiding behavior for participants who scored high rather than low in working memory capacity. Taken together, these results demonstrate the importance of working memory capacity for everyday self-regulation and suggest an individual differences perspective on dual-process or dual-system theories of human behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ego depletion effects are usually examined in a sequential task paradigm in which exerting mental effort in a first task is thought to affect performance on a subsequent self-control task. A so-called ego depletion effect is observed if performance on the second task is impaired for the high demand relative to the low demand group. The present studies take a different approach. Instead of measuring performance in the second task that is equally difficult for all participants, the present studies investigated effects of effortful exertion on the choice to willingly exert effort on a subsequent task. Three pre-registered studies investigated if participants select less effort demanding math problems for upcoming tasks compared to a control group after exerting mental effort in an initial task. Results were mixed. Study 1 (N = 86) revealed no significant effect of mental effort exertion on mean choice difficulty. In Study 2 (N = 269), the expected effect emerged in an exploratory analysis when controlling for math self-assessment, which was robustly associated with the choice measure. Study 3 (N = 330) descriptively, albeit non-significantly replicated this result. An internal random-effects meta-analysis revealed a small overall effect of g = 0.18 when accounting for math self-assessment, albeit with large heterogeneity. Exploratory analyses point to the importance of the subjective experience of mental effort in effort-selection paradigms. We discuss the implications of the small overall effect size for future research and the possibility to examine effort choice in everyday life. • Mixed effects of mental demand (high versus low) on subsequent math effort choice. • Accounting for self-efficacy and self-reported ability reveals small overall effect. • Exploratory analyses underline importance of subjective experience of mental effort. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We examined the mediation of anger rumination in the "trait self-control – aggression" link. • Seven cross-sectional, longitudinal, and daily diary studies were conducted. • Anger rumination partly mediated the link between trait self-control and aggression. • The mediation effect size was medium. Higher trait self-control is related to less aggression, but the psychological processes underlying this association are largely unknown. This research tested the hypothesis that reduced anger rumination in high self-control individuals may partly account for this association. In seven cross-sectional, longitudinal and daily diary studies (total N = 2689) people high in trait self-control reported less aggression of different types and this relation was partially mediated by less rumination about anger-evoking events. An internal meta-analysis estimated this indirect effect to be of medium size. These findings suggest that a lower propensity to engage in anger rumination may be a crucial working process partly explaining how high trait self-control translates into less aggression. Overcoming anger rumination is a promising avenue to reduce aggression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Poor self-control is a root cause of aggression and criminality. But people can improve their self-control through repetitive practice. Because self-control involves acting in accordance with personal values, practicing self-control can promote attainment of value-consistent goals. The present research tested the hypothesis that practicing self-control could both decrease and increase obedient aggression. In Experiment 1, relative to the active control group, participants who practiced self-control were more hesitant to engage in mock violence (e.g., “cutting” the experimenter's throat with a rubber knife), especially for participants high in dispositional empathy. In Experiment 2, practicing self-control increased obedience to kill insects, but only among participants who felt little moral responsibility for their actions. There was a trend for decreased killing among participants who felt morally responsible for their actions. Our findings suggest that when asked to behave aggressively, self-control promotes adherence to personal values, which may or may not fuel aggression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Grounded on the Reflective–Impulsive Model, a recent study by Cheval, Sarrazin, Isoard-Gautheur, Radel, and Friese (2015) found support for an interactive pattern between reflective (i.e., physical activity intentions) and impulsive (i.e., impulsive approach tendencies towards sedentary behaviors; IASB) processes to prospectively predict objective moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) — strong IASB hindered reflective intentions from being executed. As low self-control is presumed to be associated with the stronger influence of impulsive processes on behavior, the present article provides a secondary analysis testing whether the interactive pattern between reflective intentions and IASB may be moderated by different facets of self-control (i.e., restraint and impulsivity). Ninety-seven adults completed a questionnaire assessing the study's variables of interest and wore an accelerometer over one week. Results revealed a moderated moderation pattern between intentions, IASB, and trait impulsivity — the previously documented interactive effect between intentions and IASB on objective MVPA was more pronounced for individuals with high as compared to low trait impulsivity. The results underline the dynamic interplay between intentions, IASB, and self-control in the determination of physical activity behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: One common cause of aggression is self-control failure, yet research suggests that practicing self-control over time can improve subsequent self-control. This experiment tested whether self-control training over a 2-week period could decrease anger and aggression in response to provocation. Seventy undergraduates completed 2weeks of self-control training or a control task. At the end of the 2weeks, participants were insulted and given the opportunity to retaliate by delivering a blast of loud white noise. Self-control training reduced aggression among those high in trait aggression. Participants who received the training also reported less anger than those in the control condition. These results provide initial support that self-control training might prove beneficial for assisting aggressive individuals to overcome aggressive impulses. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]