title: Being Active and Impulsive: The Role of Goals for Action and Inaction in Self-Control.
abstract: Although self-control often requires behavioral inaction (i.e.,not eatinga piece of cake), the process of inhibiting impulsive behavior is commonly characterized as cognitively active (i.e.,actively exertingself-control). Two experiments examined whether motivation for action or inaction facilitates self-control behavior in the presence of tempting stimuli. Experiment 1 used a delay discounting task to assess the ability to delay gratification with respect to money. Experiment 2 used a Go/No-Go task to assess the ability to inhibit a dominant but incorrect motor response to the words "condom" and "sex". The results demonstrate that goals for inaction promote self-control, whereas goals for action promote impulsive behavior. These findings are discussed in light of recent evidence suggesting that goals for action and inaction modulate physiological resources that promote behavioral execution.
authors.affiliation: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
authors.forename: Justin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hepler
authors.forename: Dolores
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Albarracin
authors.forename: Kathleen C
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: McCulloch
authors.forename: Kenji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Noguchi