A neglected spot in self-control - the influence of attitudes towards impulses on self-control

Abstract

Previous self-control research has neglected how individuals view temptations. We present a novel approach by taking a closer look at how individuals value impulses. To this end, we validated a measure to assess individuals’ attitudes towards impulses. We hypothesized that more favorable attitudes are associated with less negative self-conscious emotions after self-control failure. In Study 1 (N = 143) we carved out the influence of overeating on feelings of shame and guilt and how individuals’ attitudes moderate this link. Attitudes towards impulses were assessed in the cafeteria before participants had lunch and their self-conscious emotions were assessed after having lunch. As expected, we found a significant interaction (p = .002) showing that overeating is only associated with feelings of shame/guilt for participants having low attitudes towards impulses. For participants having more favorable attitudes this association was absent. In a second online study (N = 172), we show that more favorable views of impulses is positively associated with body satisfaction (p = .003). Most importantly, we find as expected, a significant interaction between BMI and attitude towards impulses (p = .022) showing that BMI is negatively associated with body satisfaction only for participants scoring low on our measure but not for participants having more favorable attitudes towards impulses. Future studies will investigate the motivational and volitional consequences of attitudes towards impulses. Understanding how individuals’ value impulses helps to disentangle the underlying mechanisms of self-control and impulsive behavior. Interventions need to address and modify individuals’ attitudes towards impulses to boost self-control success.