Four
studies tested and confirmed the hypothesis that having used self-control
reduces subsequent emotion regulation.
Participants first completed a task that either did or did not require self-
control (attention control, overriding one’s accustomed writing style, or
breaking a habit). They later encountered situations designed to activate
emotions that typically are downregulated. Participants either met someone new
(anxiety), anticipated speaking publicly (anxiety), or recalled times when they
felt sad or romantically jealous. Compared to participants who had not
completed a self-control task, those who had used self-control task reported
feeling of the target emotion to a greater extent. The results from a final study
supported the idea that having used self-control reduces emotion regulation
rather than increasing the strength of emotion generally.
Cite this paper
Gailliot, M. T. , Zell, A. and Baumeister, R. F. (2014). Having Used Self-Control Reduces Emotion Regulation—Emotion Regulation as Relying on Interchangeably Used “Self-Control Energy”. Open Access Library Journal, 1, e1017. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/oalib.1101017.
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