Moving beyond deliberative control of impulses: the effect of construal levels on evaluative associations in self-control conflicts.
Many prominent models propose that self-control requires deliberative control of impulses. We propose that people's subjective mental construals of events can alter temptation impulses without requiring conscious deliberation. Research has indicated that high-level construals (subjective mental representations that capture the core, essential, and abstract features of events) lead to greater self-control than low-level construals (representations that capture secondary, incidental, and concrete features). We demonstrate that higher-level construals make it easier for people to associate temptations with negativity, as measured by the Implicit Association Test, and that, in turn, these construal-dependent changes in evaluative associations promote self-control. These findings indicate that subjective construals can influence self-control without conscious deliberation.
Fujita
Kentaro
K
Department of Psychology, The Ohio State University, 1827 Neil Ave. Mall, Columbus, OH 43210, USA. fujita.5@osu.edu
Han
H Anna
HA
D001244:Association; D001519:Behavior / Q000502:physiology; D002755:Choice Behavior / Q000502:physiology; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology; D003220:Conflict, Psychological; D003243:Consciousness / Q000502:physiology; D003657:Decision Making / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007175:Impulsive Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D007389:Internal-External Control; D009820:Ohio; D018187:Personal Construct Theory; D012649:Self Concept; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis