title: Hypo-egoic self-regulation: exercising self-control by diminishing the influence of the self.
abstract: Theory and research dealing with self-regulation have focused primarily on instances of self-regulation that involve high levels of self-reflection and effortful self-control. However, intentionally trying to control one's behavior sometimes reduces the likelihood of achieving one's goals. This article examines the process of hypo-egoic self-regulation in which people relinquish deliberate, conscious control over their own behavior so that they will respond more naturally, spontaneously, or automatically. An examination of spontaneously occurring hypo-egoic states (such as flow, deindividuation, and transcendence) suggests that hypo-egoic states are characterized by lowered self-awareness and/or an increase in concrete and present-focused self-thoughts. In light of this, people may intentionally foster hypo-egoism via two pathways-(a) taking steps to reduce the proportion of time that they are self-aware (such as repeating a behavior until it is automatic or practicing meditation) or (b) increasing the concreteness of their self-thoughts (such as inducing a concrete mindset or practicing mindfulness). In this way, people may deliberately choose to regulate hypo-egoically when effortful control might be detrimental to their performance.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA. leary@duke.edu
authors.forename: Mark R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Leary
authors.forename: Claire E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Adams
authors.forename: Eleanor B
authors.initials: EB
authors.lastname: Tate
mesh_terms: D001007:Anxiety / Q000523:psychology; D004532:Ego; D006801:Humans; D007062:Identification, Psychological; D007389:Internal-External Control; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008960:Models, Psychological; D026684:Personal Autonomy; D012107:Research Design; D020377:Self Efficacy; D012927:Social Control, Informal; D013694:Temperament