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Self‐Control of Smoking: When Does Narrowed Attention Help? 1
Author(s) -
Westling Erika,
Mann Traci,
Ward Andrew
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
journal of applied social psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.822
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1559-1816
pISSN - 0021-9029
DOI - 10.1111/j.0021-9029.2006.00097.x
Subject(s) - psychology , cognitive load , smoke , cognition , salient , situational ethics , smoking cessation , control (management) , social psychology , developmental psychology , clinical psychology , cognitive psychology , psychiatry , medicine , chemistry , management , organic chemistry , economics , pathology , artificial intelligence , computer science
Two studies examined the capacity of cognitive load to enhance or disrupt the self‐control of smoking in the presence of situational pressures that either promote or discourage the behavior. In Study 1, participants who were exposed to cues encouraging smoking smoked more under high cognitive load than under low cognitive load. In Study 2, participants who were exposed to cues discouraging smoking smoked less under high load than under low load. Cognitive load appears to narrow attention, resulting in a state of attentional myopia, which leads to disinhibited smoking behavior when pressures to smoke are disproportionately salient and enhanced control of smoking when pressures not to smoke are disproportionately salient. Implications for smoking cessation are discussed.