Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 26, 2026
07:07
Errors as a Means of Reducing Impulsive Food Choice
Published on: June 5, 2016
Everyday temptations: an experience sampling study of desire, conflict, and self-control
Wilhelm Hofmann1, Roy F Baumeister, Georg Förster
1Booth School of Business, University of Chicago, 5807 South Woodlawn Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637, USA. Wilhelm.Hofmann@ChicagoBooth.edu
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
|December 14, 2011
Summary
People frequently experience desires, but these are often unproblematic. When desires conflict with goals, self-control is used with varying success, influenced by personality and situational factors.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Behavioral Science
Background:
- Understanding everyday desires and self-regulation is crucial for behavioral science.
- Previous research has not fully captured the dynamics of desire, conflict, and self-control in real-life contexts.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the frequency, strength, and conflict of desires in daily life.
- To examine the role of self-control in resisting desires and its success rate.
- To explore how personality and situational factors moderate these processes.
Main Methods:
- A large-scale experience sampling study with 205 adults over one week.
- Collected 7,827 reports of desire episodes.
- Administered personality measures including BIS/BAS sensitivity, self-control, perfectionism, and narcissistic entitlement.
Main Results:
- Desires are frequent, variable in intensity, and generally unproblematic.
- Conflicting desires trigger resistance, but success is inconsistent.
- Personality influences early desire stages (strength, conflict), while situations affect later stages (resistance, enactment).
Conclusions:
- Desires are a common aspect of daily life, with self-regulation playing a key role in managing them.
- Both individual personality traits and external factors significantly moderate desire and self-control dynamics.
- This study provides a nuanced view of everyday desires and self-regulatory outcomes.
Related Concept Videos
01:25Self-Regulation
Self-regulation, also known as self-control, encompasses a range of cognitive and behavioral processes that allow individuals to adjust their internal states and outward actions to align with socially acceptable norms and long-term goals. It plays a fundamental role in adaptive functioning, from resisting impulsive behaviors to persisting through challenging tasks. While its benefits are widely recognized, self-regulation is not limitless. Muraven and Baumeister's theory posits that...
02:45Self-Discrepancy Theory
One influential perspective on what motivates people's behavior is detailed in Tory Higgin's self-discrepancy theory (Higgins, 1987). He proposed that people hold disagreeing internal representations of themselves that lead to different emotional states.
02:05Self-Presentation: Self-Monitoring and Self-Handicapping
People can go to great lengths to protect their self-image and present themselves in ways that they want others to see them. Sociologist Erving Goffman presented the idea that a person is like an actor on a stage. Calling his theory dramaturgy, Goffman believed that we use “impression management” to present ourselves to others as we hope to be perceived. Each situation is a new scene, and individuals perform different roles depending on who is present (Goffman, 1959). Think about the way you...
01:27Protecting Self-Esteem
Self-esteem, a central component of psychological well-being, is actively maintained through various cognitive and behavioral strategies. Individuals employ specific mechanisms to preserve a positive self-concept and mitigate threats to their self-worth, particularly in contexts involving social evaluation or personal feedback. Four primary techniques are commonly used to sustain self-esteem.Manipulating AppraisalsOne prominent strategy involves manipulating appraisals from others. Individuals...
01:20Frustration and Conflict: Approach-Approach, Approach-Avoidance
Frustration occurs when people are obstructed or prevented from achieving a desired goal or fulfilling a perceived need. For example, when someone's input is ignored in a discussion, it can lead to feelings of frustration. Conflict, however, arises from opposing interests, goals, or actions. Conflicts can take various forms based on the nature of these opposing desires or goals.
One common type of conflict is the Approach–Approach Conflict. In this case, a person faces two desirable options,...
One common type of conflict is the Approach–Approach Conflict. In this case, a person faces two desirable options,...
01:29Self-Serving Bias
Self-serving bias is a cognitive phenomenon in which individuals attribute positive outcomes to internal factors such as their abilities, intelligence, or effort while attributing negative outcomes to external circumstances. This cognitive distortion helps maintain self-esteem but can also impede objective self-assessment.Theoretical Explanations of Self-Serving BiasTwo primary theories explain the self-serving bias: the cognitive explanation and the motivational explanation.The cognitive...