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Self-control in action: implicit dispositions toward goals and away from temptations.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Fishbach, A; Shah, JY
Published in: Journal of personality and social psychology
May 2006

Five studies examined whether, in self-control dilemmas, individuals develop an implicit disposition to approach goals and avoid temptations, psychologically as well as physically. Using a method developed by A. K. Solarz (1960; see also K. L. Duckworth, J. A. Bargh, M. Garcia, & S. Chaiken, 2002), the authors assessed the time for pulling and pushing a lever in response to goal- and temptation-related stimuli (e.g., studying and partying). The results show that individuals offset the influence of tempting activities by automatically avoiding these stimuli (faster pushing responses) and by approaching stimuli related to an overarching goal (faster pulling responses). These implicit self-control dispositions varied as a function of the magnitude of the self-control conflict, itself defined by how strongly individuals were attracted to temptations and held the longer term goal. These dispositions were further shown to play a role in successful self-control.

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Published In

Journal of personality and social psychology

DOI

EISSN

1939-1315

ISSN

0022-3514

Publication Date

May 2006

Volume

90

Issue

5

Start / End Page

820 / 832

Related Subject Headings

  • Social Psychology
  • Social Control, Informal
  • Reaction Time
  • Psychological Theory
  • Multivariate Analysis
  • Male
  • Intention
  • Humans
  • Goals
  • Female
 

Citation

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Fishbach, A., & Shah, J. Y. (2006). Self-control in action: implicit dispositions toward goals and away from temptations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 90(5), 820–832. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.90.5.820
Fishbach, Ayelet, and James Y. Shah. “Self-control in action: implicit dispositions toward goals and away from temptations.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 90, no. 5 (May 2006): 820–32. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.90.5.820.
Fishbach A, Shah JY. Self-control in action: implicit dispositions toward goals and away from temptations. Journal of personality and social psychology. 2006 May;90(5):820–32.
Fishbach, Ayelet, and James Y. Shah. “Self-control in action: implicit dispositions toward goals and away from temptations.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, vol. 90, no. 5, May 2006, pp. 820–32. Epmc, doi:10.1037/0022-3514.90.5.820.
Fishbach A, Shah JY. Self-control in action: implicit dispositions toward goals and away from temptations. Journal of personality and social psychology. 2006 May;90(5):820–832.

Published In

Journal of personality and social psychology

DOI

EISSN

1939-1315

ISSN

0022-3514

Publication Date

May 2006

Volume

90

Issue

5

Start / End Page

820 / 832

Related Subject Headings

  • Social Psychology
  • Social Control, Informal
  • Reaction Time
  • Psychological Theory
  • Multivariate Analysis
  • Male
  • Intention
  • Humans
  • Goals
  • Female