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Related Experiment Video

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Experimental Paradigm for Measuring the Effects of Self-distancing in Young Children

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Published on: March 1, 2019

Regulatory accessibility and social influences on state self-control.

Michelle R vanDellen¹, Rick H Hoyle

¹University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA. mvd@uga.edu

Personality & Social Psychology Bulletin

|December 17, 2009

Summary

Social factors significantly impact self-control. Thinking about others with good or bad self-control influences one's own regulatory capacity and accessibility, affecting overall self-control.

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Area of Science:

Social Psychology
Cognitive Psychology
Self-Regulation

Background:

Traditional views define state self-control primarily as a function of internal regulatory capacity.
This research explores the under-examined role of social influences on self-control.
The concept of regulatory accessibility is introduced as a mediating factor.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate how social factors influence an individual's state self-control.
To examine the role of regulatory accessibility in social influences on self-control.
To determine the mechanisms through which social factors affect self-control.

Main Methods:

Five studies were conducted to test the hypotheses.
Methods involved manipulating the salience of others' trait and state self-control.
Regulatory accessibility and state self-control were measured.

Main Results:

Thinking about individuals with high self-control enhanced participants' state self-control.
Thinking about individuals with low self-control decreased participants' state self-control.
The salience of significant others influenced both regulatory accessibility and state self-control.

Conclusions:

Social influences, mediated by regulatory accessibility, significantly impact state self-control.
The effects of social factors on self-control operate through multiple mechanisms.
This work broadens the understanding of self-control beyond individual regulatory capacity.