No Pain, No Gain: How Distress Underlies Effective Self-control (and Unites Diverse Social Psychological Phenomena)
03 Apr 2014-pp 133-150
About: The article was published on 2014-04-03. It has received 32 citations till now. The article focuses on the topics: No pain, no gain & Distress.
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TL;DR: Monitor and Acceptance Theory (MAT) posits that by enhancing awareness of one's experiences, the skill of attention monitoring explains how mindfulness improves cognitive functioning outcomes, yet this same skill can increase affective reactivity.
390 citations
Cites background from "No Pain, No Gain: How Distress Unde..."
...Affect is critically involved in this process, as conflicts in attention create a momentary state of distress that can either be utilized to refocus on the intended task or can build into a distracting condition of frustration, failure, and rumination (Inzlicht & Legault, 2014)....
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...Still, it is likely that certain attentional skills are further strengthened with the practice and development of acceptance, given that affect plays an important role in executive control processes (Inzlicht & Legault, 2014)....
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TL;DR: An integrative model of self-control is formulated, in which desire and an at least partly incompatible higher order goal generate desire–goal conflict, which activates control motivation and control capacity interactively determine potential control effort.
Abstract: As the science of self-control matures, the organization and integration of its key concepts becomes increasingly important. In response, we identified seven major components or "nodes" in current theories and research bearing on self-control: desire, higher order goal, desire-goal conflict, control motivation, control capacity, control effort, and enactment constraints. To unify these diverse and interdisciplinary areas of research, we formulated the interplay of these components in an integrative model of self-control. In this model, desire and an at least partly incompatible higher order goal generate desire-goal conflict, which activates control motivation. Control motivation and control capacity interactively determine potential control effort. The actual control effort invested is determined by several moderators, including desire strength, perceived skill, and competing goals. Actual control effort and desire strength compete to determine a prevailing force, which ultimately determines behavior, provided that enactment constraints do not impede it. The proposed theoretical framework is useful for highlighting several new directions for research on self-control and for classifying self-control failures and self-control interventions.
288 citations
Cites background or methods from "No Pain, No Gain: How Distress Unde..."
...Such equilibrial “ties” between desire strength and control effort may be unstable and accompanied by aversive feelings and the experience of conflict (Inzlicht & Legault, 2014; Lewin, 1935)....
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...Further, like some other recent self-control models, we assume that conflict detection is the primary trigger for effortful self-control (e.g., Inzlicht & Legault, 2014; Myrseth & Fishbach, 2009)....
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...Relatedly, a recent self-control model centered on affect suggests that D-G conflict is a particularly distressing form of response conflict that signals that there is a potential for things to go wrong (Inzlicht & Legault, 2014)....
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...…and motivational literatures on intrapsychic conflict resolution (Botvinick et al., 2001; Carter et al., 1998; Hofmann, Baumeister, et al., 2012; Inzlicht & Legault, 2014; Myrseth & Fishbach, 2009; Yeung et al., 2004), we propose that D-G conflict— the output of the activation…...
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...Recently, models of self-control have included the monitoring for and detection of response conflicts as key processes in the activation of effortful selfcontrol (e.g., Inzlicht & Legault, 2014; Milkman, Rogers, & Bazerman, 2008; Myrseth & Fishbach, 2009)....
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TL;DR: In this paper, a process model of self-control is proposed to organize these strategies into five families corresponding to sequential phases in the process by which undesired and desired impulses lose or gather force over time.
Abstract: Conflicts between immediately rewarding activities and more enduringly valued goals abound in the lives of school-age children. Such conflicts call upon children to exercise self-control, a competence that depends in part on the mastery of metacognitive, prospective strategies. The process model of self-control organizes these strategies into five families corresponding to sequential phases in the process by which undesired and desired impulses lose or gather force over time. Situation selection and situation modification strategies involve choosing or changing physical or social circumstances. Attentional deployment and cognitive change strategies involve altering whether and how objective features of the situation are mentally represented. Finally, response modulation strategies involve the direct suppression or enhancement of impulses. The process model of self-control predicts that strategies deployed earlier in the process of impulse generation and regulation generally will be more effective than tho...
178 citations
Cites background from "No Pain, No Gain: How Distress Unde..."
...Moreover, taking action at earlier phases reduces the phenomenological experience of self-control—the aversive feeling familiar to us all who have struggled internally to do what we ought to do instead of what in the moment would be more gratifying (Inzlicht & Legault, 2014; Kurzban et al., 2013)....
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...In particular, it has been suggested that resisting temptation precipitates feelings of distress that alert individuals to the conflict between mutually exclusive goals (Inzlicht & Legault, 2014) and the foregone value of the “road not taken” (Kurzban et al., 2013)....
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TL;DR: In this paper, the cybernetic model suggests that self-control relies on three separate processes: setting goals, monitoring when behavior diverges from goals, and implementing behavior aligned with goals.
Abstract: Good self-control is central to success across life domains, from school to work to relationships. In this article, we provide a framework to better understand how self-control can be improved. Using cybernetic principles, we identify and integrate important mechanisms for self-control improvement that have previously been overlooked. The cybernetic model suggests that control relies on three separate processes: setting goals, monitoring when behavior diverges from goals, and implementing behavior aligned with goals. Within each of these stages, we incorporate recent research identifying key features of good self-control, including setting the “right kind” of goals; the role of conflict detection, attention, and emotional acceptance in goal monitoring; and the effects of fatigue, shifting priorities, and intentions on implementing behavioral changes. Self-control is not easy, but by revealing it as reliant on these diverse processes, we offer a more comprehensive perspective on self-control, as well as routes through which it can be improved.
156 citations
TL;DR: Boredom is mild in negative valence, low in arousal, is associated with low perceived challenge and low perceived meaningfulness, and has low relevance to moral judgment and behavior.
Abstract: Boredom research is booming. Nonetheless, a comprehensive understanding of boredom in relation to other negative emotions is lacking. This ambiguity impedes accurate interpretation of boredom's causes and consequences. To gain more insights into boredom, we examined in detail how it differs from a range of other negative experiences, namely sadness, anger, frustration, fear, disgust, depression, guilt, shame, regret, and disappointment. Our research indicates that the appraisals associated with boredom distinguish it clearly from other negative emotions; conceptually (Study 1), in terms of state experiences (Study 2), and in terms of individual differences in these experiences (Study 3). Our findings suggest that boredom is mild in negative valence, low in arousal, is associated with low perceived challenge and low perceived meaningfulness, and has low relevance to moral judgment and behavior. Boredom also involves low attention given to situations and tasks, and the lack of perceived meaningfulness and attention associated with boredom emerged as particularly distinctive characteristics. The findings underscore the importance of carefully discriminating boredom from other emotions in experimental induction, psychometric assessment, and conceptual discussion. (PsycINFO Database Record
106 citations
References
More filters
TL;DR: Monitor and Acceptance Theory (MAT) posits that by enhancing awareness of one's experiences, the skill of attention monitoring explains how mindfulness improves cognitive functioning outcomes, yet this same skill can increase affective reactivity.
390 citations
TL;DR: An integrative model of self-control is formulated, in which desire and an at least partly incompatible higher order goal generate desire–goal conflict, which activates control motivation and control capacity interactively determine potential control effort.
Abstract: As the science of self-control matures, the organization and integration of its key concepts becomes increasingly important. In response, we identified seven major components or "nodes" in current theories and research bearing on self-control: desire, higher order goal, desire-goal conflict, control motivation, control capacity, control effort, and enactment constraints. To unify these diverse and interdisciplinary areas of research, we formulated the interplay of these components in an integrative model of self-control. In this model, desire and an at least partly incompatible higher order goal generate desire-goal conflict, which activates control motivation. Control motivation and control capacity interactively determine potential control effort. The actual control effort invested is determined by several moderators, including desire strength, perceived skill, and competing goals. Actual control effort and desire strength compete to determine a prevailing force, which ultimately determines behavior, provided that enactment constraints do not impede it. The proposed theoretical framework is useful for highlighting several new directions for research on self-control and for classifying self-control failures and self-control interventions.
288 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a process model of self-control is proposed to organize these strategies into five families corresponding to sequential phases in the process by which undesired and desired impulses lose or gather force over time.
Abstract: Conflicts between immediately rewarding activities and more enduringly valued goals abound in the lives of school-age children. Such conflicts call upon children to exercise self-control, a competence that depends in part on the mastery of metacognitive, prospective strategies. The process model of self-control organizes these strategies into five families corresponding to sequential phases in the process by which undesired and desired impulses lose or gather force over time. Situation selection and situation modification strategies involve choosing or changing physical or social circumstances. Attentional deployment and cognitive change strategies involve altering whether and how objective features of the situation are mentally represented. Finally, response modulation strategies involve the direct suppression or enhancement of impulses. The process model of self-control predicts that strategies deployed earlier in the process of impulse generation and regulation generally will be more effective than tho...
178 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the cybernetic model suggests that self-control relies on three separate processes: setting goals, monitoring when behavior diverges from goals, and implementing behavior aligned with goals.
Abstract: Good self-control is central to success across life domains, from school to work to relationships. In this article, we provide a framework to better understand how self-control can be improved. Using cybernetic principles, we identify and integrate important mechanisms for self-control improvement that have previously been overlooked. The cybernetic model suggests that control relies on three separate processes: setting goals, monitoring when behavior diverges from goals, and implementing behavior aligned with goals. Within each of these stages, we incorporate recent research identifying key features of good self-control, including setting the “right kind” of goals; the role of conflict detection, attention, and emotional acceptance in goal monitoring; and the effects of fatigue, shifting priorities, and intentions on implementing behavioral changes. Self-control is not easy, but by revealing it as reliant on these diverse processes, we offer a more comprehensive perspective on self-control, as well as routes through which it can be improved.
156 citations
TL;DR: Boredom is mild in negative valence, low in arousal, is associated with low perceived challenge and low perceived meaningfulness, and has low relevance to moral judgment and behavior.
Abstract: Boredom research is booming. Nonetheless, a comprehensive understanding of boredom in relation to other negative emotions is lacking. This ambiguity impedes accurate interpretation of boredom's causes and consequences. To gain more insights into boredom, we examined in detail how it differs from a range of other negative experiences, namely sadness, anger, frustration, fear, disgust, depression, guilt, shame, regret, and disappointment. Our research indicates that the appraisals associated with boredom distinguish it clearly from other negative emotions; conceptually (Study 1), in terms of state experiences (Study 2), and in terms of individual differences in these experiences (Study 3). Our findings suggest that boredom is mild in negative valence, low in arousal, is associated with low perceived challenge and low perceived meaningfulness, and has low relevance to moral judgment and behavior. Boredom also involves low attention given to situations and tasks, and the lack of perceived meaningfulness and attention associated with boredom emerged as particularly distinctive characteristics. The findings underscore the importance of carefully discriminating boredom from other emotions in experimental induction, psychometric assessment, and conceptual discussion. (PsycINFO Database Record
106 citations