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Individual differences and self-regulatory fatigue: optimism, conscientiousness, and self-consciousness
Lise Solberg Nes1, Charles R Carlson2, Leslie J Crofford3
1Department of Psychology, University of Kentucky, United States ; Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, Mayo Clinic, United States.
Personality and Individual Differences
|January 11, 2014
Summary
Optimism and conscientiousness may not always boost persistence when self-regulation is taxed. This study found that these traits' benefits can diminish or reverse under self-regulatory fatigue, especially in patients.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Health Psychology
- Clinical Psychology
Background:
- Self-regulation is a finite resource prone to depletion and fatigue.
- Individual differences in personality may influence self-regulatory capacity and resilience.
- Research on personality's buffering effects against self-regulatory fatigue is limited.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how dispositional optimism and conscientiousness impact self-regulatory fatigue.
- To examine if personality traits can buffer against decrements in persistence due to self-regulatory effort.
- To compare these effects in patients with chronic multi-symptom illnesses and healthy controls.
Main Methods:
- A study involving 100 participants (50 patients with chronic multi-symptom illnesses, 50 pain-free controls).
- Random assignment to high or low self-regulation tasks.
- Assessment of persistence on a subsequent task and correlation with personality traits (optimism, conscientiousness, self-consciousness).
Main Results:
- Higher optimism was linked to longer persistence (p = .04).
- A significant interaction showed optimists persisted longer only when not experiencing self-regulatory fatigue (p = .01).
- These optimism effects were more pronounced in controls than patients; similar trends were observed for conscientiousness.
Conclusions:
- The positive influence of optimism and conscientiousness on persistence may be attenuated or reversed under conditions of self-regulatory fatigue.
- Personality's role in self-regulation is complex and context-dependent, particularly in clinical populations.
- Findings contribute to understanding self-regulation, personality, and chronic illness.
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