title: Avoidance goal pursuit depletes self-regulatory resources.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Research on the strength model of self-regulation is burgeoning, but little empirical work has focused on the link between distinct types of daily goal pursuit and the depletion of self-regulatory resources. The authors conducted two studies on the link between avoidance goals and resource depletion.
  
  
  METHODS
  Study 1 (283 [228 female] Caucasians, ages 18-51) investigated the concurrent and longitudinal relations between avoidance goals and resource depletion over a 1-month period. Study 2 (132 [93 female] Caucasians, ages 18-49) investigated the concurrent and longitudinal relations between avoidance goals and resource depletion over a 1-month period and explored resource depletion as a mediator of the avoidance goal to subjective well-being relation.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Studies 1 and 2 documented both a concurrent and a longitudinal negative relationship between avoidance goals and self-regulatory resources, and Study 2 additionally showed that self-regulatory resources mediate the negative link between avoidance goals and subjective well-being. Ancillary analyses demonstrated that the results observed in the two studies were independent of neuroticism.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings advance knowledge in both the resource depletion and avoidance goal literatures, and bolster the view that avoidance goal pursuit over time represents a self-regulatory vulnerability.
authors.affiliation: University of Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Daniela
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Oertig
authors.forename: Julia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Schüler
authors.forename: Jessica
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Schnelle
authors.forename: Veronika
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Brandstätter
authors.forename: Marieke
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Roskes
authors.forename: Andrew J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Elliot
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006040:Goals; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009042:Motivation; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D010551:Personality; D012927:Social Control, Informal
keywords: avoidance goal; resource depletion; self-regulation; subjective well-being