Restoring the self: Positive affect helps improve self-regulation following ego depletion

Previous work has shown that acts of self-regulation appear to deplete a psychological resource, resulting in poorer self-regulation subsequently. Four experiments using assorted manipulations and measures found that positive mood or emotion can counteract ego depletion. After an initial act of self-regulation, participants who watched a comedy video or received a surprise gift self-regulated on various tasks as well as non-depleted participants and significantly better than participants who experienced a sad mood induction, a neutral mood stimulus, or a brief rest period.     

The modality effect of ego depletion: Auditory task modality reduces ego depletion

An initial act of self‐control that impairs subsequent acts of self‐control is called ego depletion. The ego depletion phenomenon has been observed consistently. The modality effect refers to the effect of the presentation modality on the processing of stimuli. The modality effect was also robustly found in a large body of research. However, no study to date has examined the modality effects of ego depletion. This issue was addressed in the current study. In Experiment 1, after all participants completed a handgrip task, one group's participants completed a visual attention regulation task and the other group's participants completed an auditory attention regulation task, and then all participants again completed a handgrip task. The ego depletion phenomenon was observed in both the visual and the auditory attention regulation task. Moreover, participants who completed the visual task performed worse on the handgrip task than participants who completed the auditory task, which indicated that there was high ego depletion in the visual task condition. In Experiment 2, participants completed an initial task that either did or did not deplete self‐control resources, and then they completed a second visual or auditory attention control task. The results indicated that depleted participants performed better on the auditory attention control task than the visual attention control task. These findings suggest that altering task modality may reduce ego depletion.     

Action orientation overcomes the ego depletion effect

It has been consistently demonstrated that initial exertion of self‐control had negative influence on people's performance on subsequent self‐control tasks. This phenomenon is referred to as the ego depletion effect. Based on action control theory, the current research investigated whether the ego depletion effect could be moderated by individuals' action versus state orientation. Our results showed that only state‐oriented individuals exhibited ego depletion. For individuals with action orientation, however, their performance was not influenced by initial exertion of self‐control. The beneficial effect of action orientation against ego depletion in our experiment results from its facilitation for adapting to the depleting task.     

Investigating the effects of ego depletion on physical exercise routines of athletes

Objectives

Persisting at a task can temporarily reduce one’s ability to persist at subsequent tasks. This phenomenon is known as “ego depletion”. Although ego depletion has been linked to many cognitive tasks less is known about its effect on physical tasks. Even less is known about its effect on practiced physical performance associated with athletes. In modern sport science, the question as to whether or not ego depletion can reduce athletes’ persistence at practiced behaviour should be particularly important. Two experimental studies investigated if ego depletion can reduce athletes’ persistence at a routine physical exercise.

Design

In both experiments, a repeated measures design was employed.

Method

Competitive rowers (Experiment 1) and competitive hockey and rugby players (Experiment 2) attempted to complete as many press-ups (Experiment 1) or sit-ups (Experiment 2) as possible over two separate phases. In one phase, the participants attempted the physical exercise after completing an easy cognitive task. In the other phase, they attempted the physical exercise after completing a difficult cognitive task.

Results

Experiment 1 demonstrated that the competitive rowers completed fewer press-ups after completing a difficult cognitive task than they did after completing an easy task. Experiment 2 demonstrated that the competitive hockey and rugby players completed fewer sit-ups after completing a difficult cognitive task than they did after completing an easy cognitive task.

Conclusions

These findings indicate that athletes’ exercise routines are susceptible to ego depletion and that the strength model of self-regulation is applicable to athletic performance.     

The moderating effect of passion on the relation between activity engagement and positive affect

The present diary study investigates the moderating effect of passion on the relation between activity engagement and daily positive affect. In line with past research (Vallerand et al. 2003, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 85, 756) it is suggested that people with an obsessive passion have more difficulties putting their passion aside to invest themselves in other activities, to a point where they fail to experience positive affect during these activities. A sample of 154 college students reported their daily activity engagement and positive affect over a 2-week period. HLM analyses show that the more people have an obsessive passion the more they experience accentuated decreases in positive affect during days when they do not engage in their passion compared to days when they do. In contrast, harmonious passion predicts daily positive affect on days when people engage in their activity. These results are discussed in light of previous research on passion and positive affect.

自我损耗对工作场所安全的影响及缓解途径

员工安全行为是工作场所安全的重要保障,而自我控制资源损耗会对安全行为产生负面影响。研究拟借鉴自我控制资源有限模型,结合行为和生理指标,探讨工作要求和辱虐管理通过损耗个体自我控制资源对安全行为的影响,并从特质自我控制和自动化安全趋近倾向两个角度探索上述效应的缓解机制。此外,研究拟采用心率变异性作为自我损耗的生理测量。研究有助于从自我控制资源的角度理解员工不安全行为的影响因素、发生机制和缓解方法。     

The effect of positive affect on conflict resolution: Modulated by approach-motivational intensity

The motivational dimensional model of affect proposes that the influence of positive affect on cognitive processing is modulated by approach-motivational intensity. The present research extended this model by examining the influence of positive affect varying in approach-motivational intensity on conflict resolution—the ability to resolve interference from task-irrelevant distractors in order to focus on the target. The global–local task (Experiment 1) and letter-Flanker task (Experiment 2) were used to measure conflict resolution. Additionally, the 4:2 mapping design that assigns two kinds of task-relevant stimuli to one response key and two more to another response key was used in these two tasks to dissociate stimulus and response conflict. Results showed that positive affect varying in approach motivation had opposite influences on conflict resolution. The opposite influences are primarily reflected in low approach-motivated positive affect impairing, while high approach-motivated positive affect facilitating the resolution of response conflict. Conversely, the stimulus conflict was slightly influenced. These findings highlight the utility of distinguishing stimulus and response conflict in future research.     

Too exhausted to remember: Ego depletion undermines subsequent event‐based prospective memory

Past research has consistently found that people are likely to do worse on high‐level cognitive tasks after exerting self‐control on previous actions. However, little has been unraveled about to what extent ego depletion affects subsequent prospective memory. Drawing upon the self‐control strength model and the relationship between self‐control resources and executive control, this study proposes that the initial actions of self‐control may undermine subsequent event‐based prospective memory (EBPM). Ego depletion was manipulated through watching a video requiring visual attention (Experiment 1) or completing an incongruent Stroop task (Experiment 2). Participants were then tested on EBPM embedded in an ongoing task. As predicted, the results showed that after ruling out possible intervening variables (e.g. mood, focal and nonfocal cues, and characteristics of ongoing task and ego depletion task), participants in the high‐depletion condition performed significantly worse on EBPM than those in the low‐depletion condition. The results suggested that the effect of ego depletion on EBPM was mainly due to an impaired prospective component rather than to a retrospective component.     

Unravelling the motivational yarn: A framework for understanding the instigation of implicitly motivated behaviour resulting from deprivation and positive affect

Research suggests that the motivation to perform specific behaviours can originate in the unconscious. This implicit motivation can generally be traced to two basic sources: Deprivation of essential resources and positive affect attached to the specific behaviour. Yet, whereas previous research has increased our understanding of the emergence of implicit motivation, there is little theoretical analysis and empirical research that addresses how these sources interact in producing motivation. This chapter presents a framework for the comprehension of implicitly motivated behaviour resulting from deprivation and positive affect. The framework consists of two essential components. First, it proposes that mental representations of behaviour direct and prepare individuals to engage in behaviour. Second, it suggests that a reward signal either emanating from deprivation or positive affect acts upon behaviour representations to produce motivated behaviour. We present several findings supporting the framework and discuss these findings in the context of non-conscious goal pursuit and needs.     

The effect of meaningfulness and integrative processing in expressive writing on positive and negative affect and life satisfaction

Meaningfulness and integrative processing of expressive writing may influence the effect of expressive writing. Participants completed measures of positive affect, negative affect and life satisfaction before and after an expressive writing intervention. Participants were randomly assigned to one of four expressive writing instruction conditions, which combined higher and lower levels of meaning and integrative processing instructions. Meaningfulness and integrative processing instructions had significant effects in increasing positive affect and there was a significant interaction between meaningfulness instructions and integrative processing instructions; participants in the high meaningfulness and high integrative processing instruction condition showed the greatest increase in positive affect. Meaningfulness had a significant effect in decreasing negative affect. The intervention did not influence life satisfaction. Both meaningfulness and integrative processing instructions led to more self-reported personal meaningfulness of the writing and more cognitive, emotional, behavioural and situational changes. More self-reported meaningfulness of the writing and more cognitive, emotional, behavioural and situational changes made as a result of the writing were in turn associated with greater increases in positive affect. The results of the study affirm the importance of meaningfulness and processing in expressive writing and potentially provide information regarding how to increase the effectiveness of expressive writing.     

利他行为的自我控制过程模型:自我损耗下的道德情绪的正向作用

本研究通过3个实验验证和探讨了利他行为的自我控制过程模型。实验1采用自我损耗的双任务范式,考察了自我损耗对利他行为水平的影响。实验2考察行动控制导向在自我损耗和利他行为之间关系的调节作用。实验3通过诱发道德情绪,探讨了道德情绪对自我控制资源损耗个体的利他行为决策的作用。研究得到了以下结论:(1)自我控制资源损耗会对利他行为产生不利影响。(2)行动控制导向对自我损耗和利他行为之间的关系起调节作用。(3)道德情绪能够缓解自我损耗对利他行为的不利影响。     

But consider the alternative: The influence of positive affect on overconfidence

Three studies find evidence that positive affect reduces comparative overconfidence (overplacement). This occurs because positive affect attenuates focalism via decreasing people's tendency to overweight information regarding themselves in the light of information concerning others. Specifically, Study 1 provides evidence that positive affect leads to more realistic estimates of comparative ability and that other-focus partially mediates this effect. Then, Study 2 provides causal evidence that positive affect independently influences other-focus and that other-focus, in turn, influences overplacement. Additionally, Study 2 uses an indirect measure of focalism to better capture this attentional process. Finally, Study 3 explores the influence of negative affect on overplacement. In addition, each study finds that positive affect does not influence overconfidence regarding participant's raw performances (overestimation) as this type of overconfidence is not dependent on self-other comparisons.     

Optimism predicting employees' creativity: The mediating role of positive affect and the positivity ratio

We examine how optimism predicts creativity both directly and through the mediating role of positive affect and the positivity ratio (the ratio between the frequency of positive and negative affective states). Five hundred and ninety five employees reported their positive and negative affect, as well as their optimism. Their creativity was reported by supervisors. The main findings are the following: (1) optimism predicts creativity both directly and through the mediating role of positive affect and the positivity ratio; (2) the relationship between the positivity ratio and creativity is curvilinear, in such a way that an “excessive” ratio is detrimental to creativity. The findings stress the relevance of optimism both for individuals and organizations, and suggest that examining positivity ratios is fruitful in the creativity domain, as it has been in other domains, and that negative affect should not be viewed simply as an obstacle when studying employees' creativity.     

Positive affect and self-control: Attention to self-control demands mediates the influence of positive affect on consecutive self-control

Positive affect (PA) can either improve or impair self-control performance, depending on whether two tasks are dissimilar, and thus require flexible releasing and switching, or similar, which requires stable maintenance. The present study suggests that this effect is mediated by attentional shifts. The authors found that participants under PA, who performed on two dissimilar tasks and had to switch to a new response dimension, were less attentive to distracting information compared to neutral affect (NE), leading to better performance. In contrast, participants under PA who did not have to switch, were more attentive to distracting information compared to participants under NE. These findings highlight the opposite effects of PA on consecutive self-control.     

The independence of positive and negative affect depends on the affect measure

This study examined the degree of independence between Positive Affect (PA) and Negative Affect (NA) within a given situation. The affective state was measured before and after an experimentally induced success or failure experience in an anagram task. Two types of affect measures were used to assess PA and NA: the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) and a Pleasantness-Unpleasantness scale. Consistent with our hypotheses, results show that PA and NA are independent when measured with the PANAS but are correlated when assessed with the other scale. These PA-NA correlations differed significantly from each other before and after emotion induction, respectively. Additional analyses indicate that both PA scales are differentially sensitive to the mood induction procedure. The findings are discussed with respect to circumplex models of emotion.     

The effect of positive and negative emotions on young drivers: A simulator study

The study examined the influence of affect induction on actual risk-taking behavior in a driving simulator, as well as the links between personal variables (relevance of driving to self-esteem, sensation seeking) and the level of risky driving. Eighty young drivers aged 18–21 (M = 19.24, SD = 0.75) were randomly divided into four induction groups: relaxing positive affect; arousing positive affect; negative affect; and neutral affect. The participants drove on a simulator, with various parameters of risky driving measured before and after emotion priming.As predicted, arousing positive affect and negative affect led to increased risky driving, whereas relaxing positive affect moderated risk-taking. In addition, the results confirm previous findings regarding the personal variables, revealing that higher levels of relevance of driving to self-esteem and sensation seeking are associated with higher levels of risk-taking in the simulated driving.The findings indicate that the driver’s emotional state has a significant effect on risk-taking on the road. Moreover, they show that the conventional use of negative affect in safe driving campaigns is liable to heighten the tendency for risky driving rather than reduce it. In contrast, relaxing positive affect was found to lead to lower risk-taking. The study is unique in revealing a correlation between results previously obtained for the willingness to drive recklessly and actual risky driving behavior observed on a driving simulator. By expanding the understanding of the motivations for youngsters’ risky driving, the study may aid in designing effective, theoretically sound, interventions aimed at reducing the tendency for dangerous driving among young drivers.     

Culture,morality, and the effect of prosocial behavior motivation on positive affect

We investigated the effect of culture, moral discourse, and motivation to engage in prosocial behavior on benefactors’ positive affect. Participants from three cultures (Japan, Romania, and the United States) responded to scenarios in which they could perform small acts of kindness for different targets. A stronger relationship between agentic and obligated motivation to perform acts of kindness, as well as between obligated motivation and positive affect, was observed for participants from Japan, and for individuals with higher endorsement of the Community Ethic. Agentic motivation to engage in prosocial behavior was related to benefactors’ positive affect, regardless of relationship type.     

Normative and idiosyncratic measures of positive and negative affect in sport

Objectives: The purposes of the study were to: (a) ascertain the degree of similarity amongst normative and idiosyncratic measures of affect; (b) test the notion of reversal effects on the functional impact and the hedonic tone of emotions; (c) analyse the differences on the intensity of facilitating-positive, facilitating-negative, inhibiting-positive, and inhibiting-negative performance emotion content categories, and (d) test whether competitive trait anxiety intensity could predict pre-performance normative or idiosyncratic negative affect intensity.Design: A cross-sectional study design was employed using normative and idiosyncratic measures of affect.Methods: Experienced male soccer and volleyball players (N =124) were individually assessed. Normative scales were the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) used as a sport-specific trait measure of competitive affect, and the Sport Anxiety Scale (SAS) administered for the assessment of competitive trait anxiety. Idiosyncratic affect occurring prior to or during optimal and poor competitions was identified in the conceptual framework of the Hanin's Individual Zones of Optimal Functioning (IZOF) model (Hanin, Y.L. (1997). Emotions and athletic performance: Individual zones of optimal functioning model. European Yearbook of Sport Psychology, 1, 29–72).Results: Findings revealed low overlap amongst the PANAS items and the idiosyncratic items, reversal effects on the functional impact and the hedonic tone of emotions, higher level of positive affect associated with optimal performance when compared with all other affect categories, and lower levels of facilitating-negative category when compared with the facilitating-positive. Moreover, sport trait anxiety intensity was found to predict negative affect intensity as assessed by the PANAS normative scales and by the idiosyncratic items. For idiosyncratic affect, however, significant differences emerged only when comparing individuals with very high or very low anxiety symptoms.Conclusions: Idiosyncratic affect scales together with normative scales are recommended for research and applied purposes. The functional impact as well as the hedonic tone of emotion items need to be examined according to individual perception.     

Physical health, positive and negative affect, and personality: A longitudinal analysis

This study used structural equation modeling to examine longitudinal relations among physical health, personality and mood in a sample of 360 college students. Research focused on the longitudinal associations among physical health and mood and their systematic relations with the Big Five personality dimensions of Extraversion and Neuroticism. Longitudinal analyses over successive 1-month intervals revealed lagged reciprocal effects between physical health and negative affect. After controlling for the effect of negative affect, physical health influenced subsequent positive affect, but positive affect did not influence subsequent physical health. Implications of these findings for subsequent research on health, personality, and emotions are discussed.     

Violence restrained: Effects of self-regulation and its depletion on aggression

Aggressive impulses arise from many factors, but they are usually held in check by social norms for self-control. Thus, the proximal cause of aggression is often failure of self-restraint. In five studies, depleted capacity for self-regulation (caused by prior, even irrelevant acts of self-regulation) increased aggressive responding, especially after an insulting provocation. When participants were insulted and their self-regulatory strength was depleted (i.e., after completing previous tasks that required self-regulation), participants were more likely to aggress. When the urge to aggress was relatively weaker (i.e., when participants were not insulted), self-regulatory depletion did not increase aggressive behavior. This effect was moderated by trait self-control: Participants low in trait self-control were particularly likely to express intentions of behaving aggressively in response to provocation, whereas participants high in trait self-control did not express intentions of responding aggressively. Laboratory, autobiographical memory, and hypothetical responses confirmed the pattern.