The restraint bias: how the illusion of self-restraint promotes impulsive behavior.
Four studies examined how impulse-control beliefs--beliefs regarding one's ability to regulate visceral impulses, such as hunger, drug craving, and sexual arousal-influence the self-control process. The findings provide evidence for a restraint bias: a tendency for people to overestimate their capacity for impulse control. This biased perception of restraint had important consequences for people's self-control strategies. Inflated impulse-control beliefs led people to overexpose themselves to temptation, thereby promoting impulsive behavior. In Study 4, for example, the impulse-control beliefs of recovering smokers predicted their exposure to situations in which they would be tempted to smoke. Recovering smokers with more inflated impulse-control beliefs exposed themselves to more temptation, which led to higher rates of relapse 4 months later. The restraint bias offers unique insight into how erroneous beliefs about self-restraint promote impulsive behavior.
Nordgren
Loran F
LF
Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA. nordgren@kellogg.northwestern.edu
van Harreveld
Frenk
F
van der Pligt
Joop
J
D005221:Fatigue / Q000523:psychology; D030141:Feedback, Psychological; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D006815:Hunger; D007175:Impulsive Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D007266:Inhibition, Psychological; D008568:Memory; D011581:Psychological Tests; D020377:Self Efficacy; D012907:Smoking / Q000523:psychology