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Trait self‐control and beliefs about the utility of emotions for initiatory and inhibitory self‐control
Author(s) -
Tornquist Michelle,
Miles Eleanor
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
european journal of social psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.609
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1099-0992
pISSN - 0046-2772
DOI - 10.1002/ejsp.2581
Subject(s) - psychology , trait , situational ethics , self control , social psychology , control (management) , mechanism (biology) , self , inhibitory control , self enhancement , negative emotion , developmental psychology , cognitive psychology , cognition , philosophy , management , epistemology , computer science , economics , programming language , neuroscience
How do people with high trait self‐control achieve their success? This research aimed to investigate beliefs about emotion utility as a potential mechanism. Specifically, because beliefs about the utility of emotions predict emotion regulation and successful performance, we investigate the hypothesis that trait self‐control influences beliefs about the utility of emotions for self‐control. Two preregistered studies examined whether beliefs about the utility of emotions in everyday self‐control situations varied depending on the person (trait self‐control) and the situation (initiatory or inhibitory self‐control). Our key finding was that people considered positive emotions more useful for self‐control than negative emotions. This effect was also moderated by situational and individual factors, such that positive emotions were considered especially useful by participants with high trait self‐control and in situations requiring initiatory self‐control (with the opposite effect for negative emotions). This research suggests a potential role for instrumental emotion regulation in self‐control success.