Understanding and Overcoming Self-control Depletion

被引:32
作者
Masicampo, E. J. [1 ]
Martin, Stephen R. [1 ]
Anderson, Rajen A. [1 ]
机构
[1] Wake Forest Univ, Winston Salem, NC 27109 USA
来源
SOCIAL AND PERSONALITY PSYCHOLOGY COMPASS | 2014年 / 8卷 / 11期
关键词
D O I
10.1111/spc3.12139
中图分类号
B84 [心理学];
学科分类号
04 ; 0402 ;
摘要
After people exert self-control, self-control performance on subsequent tasks tends to suffer, as if the capacity for self-control was depleted by the prior exertion. The present paper discusses self-control depletion and how people may overcome it. We searched the psychology literature and found nearly 40 empirical articles documenting diverse traits and strategies that counteract depletion, thereby facilitating self-control success. The evidence points to two major strategies for overcoming depletion. The first strategy involves offsetting the high amount of effort required for self-control (e.g., introducing a brief period of rest). The second involves compensating for the low immediate rewards that most self-control tasks offer (e.g., providing an additional incentive for exerting self-control). These strategies can be interpreted neatly within the framework of recent motivational accounts of self-control depletion. This analysis may inform those aiming to improve self-control success or simply to understand and anticipate when and why self-control depletion occurs.
引用
收藏
页码:638 / 649
页数:12
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