Previous research has shown that exerting self-control on a demanding task can impair performance on a subsequent demanding self-control task. This phenomenon is known as ego-depletion; however, its underlying mechanisms are not well understood. Notable gaps in the literature exist regarding whether participants’ motivation levels can attenuate the depletion effect, and whether trait self-control is related. Drawing from the process model of depletion and the self-determination theory, the goal of the study was to examine whether motivational incentives in the form of autonomy can impact performance on tasks in an ego-depleted state, and the potential relationship of trait self-control. Amazon Mechanical Turk was utilized to conduct this experimental quantitative study with a 2 (ego-depletion: yes or no) x 2 (autonomous reward motivation: incentivized or nonincentivized) between-subjects factorial design. The effects of an autonomous motivational incentive were compared with the effects of no incentive on a convenience sample of online participants (N = 211), half of whom performed a task designed to be depleting of self-control resources, and half of whom performed a non-depleting task instead. Multivariate ANCOVAs showed no significant differences for performance on a subsequent self-control task for any of the experimental groups, and no co-variance of trait self-control was found (as measured by the Brief Self-Control Scale). This study will contribute to social change by increasing understanding of the factors contributing to self-control. This knowledge will be useful to anyone intending to strengthen their own willpower and achieve their goals, and may enable practitioners to better assist clients struggling with addictions and other maladaptive behaviors.

Professional School Counselors (PSCs) are to serve as advocates for all students and promote systemic change (American School Counselor Association, 2008) while navigating complex work environments. The primary purpose of this study was to investigate the contribution of PSCs‟ social-cognitive development to their levels of ethical and legal knowledge and locus of control orientation. The three constructs and instruments investigated in this study were: (a) social-cognitive development (ego development; the Washington University Sentence Completion Test [WUSCT]; Hy & Loevinger 1996), (b) Ethical and Legal Knowledge (the Ethical and Legal Knowledge in Counseling Questionnaire-Revised [ELICQ-R]; Lambie, Ieva, Gill, & Hagedorn, 2010), and (c) Locus of Control (the Adult Nowicki-Strickland Internal External Scale- College [ANSIE-C]; Nowicki & Duke, 1974; the Work Locus of Control Scale [WLCS]; Spector, 1988). The findings from this investigation contribute to the school counseling and counselor education literature. The sample size for this study was 301 certified, practicing school counselors (elementary school, middle school, high school, and multi-level) in five states (Colorado, Florida, Maine, Maryland, and New Mexico) across the country. The participants completed data collection packets including a general demographic questionnaire, the WUSCT (Hy & Loevinger 1996), the ANSIE-C (Nowicki & Duke, 1974), the WLCS (Spector, 1988), and the ELICQ-R (Lambie, et al., 2010). The statistical procedures used to analyze the data included (a) structural equation modeling (path Analysis), (b) simultaneous multiple regression, (c) Pearson productmoment (2-tailed), and (d) Analysis of variance (ANOVA). The primary research hypothesis was that practicing school counselors‟ social-cognitive development scores would contribute to their locus of control orientation and their levels of iv ethical and legal knowledge. The statistical analyses identified several significant findings. First, the path analysis model testing the contribution of school counselors‟ social-cognitive development to locus of control and ethical and legal knowledge did fit for these data. Specifically, the results indicated that school counselors‟ social-cognitive development contributed to their ethical and legal knowledge (less than 1% of the variance explained) and to locus of control (14% of the variance explained) in the model fit for these data. In addition, locus of control contributed to school counselors‟ ethical and legal knowledge (2% of the variance explained). Implications for professional school counseling and counselor education are presented, along with areas for future investigation.

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The strength model of self-control suggests that self-regulation and self-control processes are governed by finite internal energy resources. However, this perspective has recently come under scrutiny suggesting that self-control processes are not solely constrained to limited resources and may also be guided by motivational-cognitive processing. Self-efficacy theory and control theory are two theoretical views of self-regulation that also suggest self-regulation failures are dependent on motivational-cognitive processes; however the potential role of limited resources has not been evaluated in the context of these theoretical views. This dissertation sought to advance our understanding of self-regulation and self-control of exercise behaviour by integrating the three theoretical perspectives discussed above. Study 1 showed that self-control depletion leads to reductions in task self-efficacy mediating the self-control depletion – negative performance change relationship. Overall, findings are consistent with self-efficacy theory. However the results are limited as the mechanism(s) leading to reduced self-efficacy following self-control depletion remain unclear. Study 2 explored a sequential (serial) mediation model investigating the idea that exerting self-control leads to an altered psychophysiological state increasing subjective fatigue, which in turn, leads to reduced self-efficacy to exert self-control and reductions in physical self-control performance. Findings supported the proposed sequential mediation model. However, it remains unclear to what extent that self-efficacy plays a passive or active role guiding self-controlled behaviour following self-control depletion. Study 3 explored the independent and interactive effects of self-control depletion and normative performance feedback on self-efficacy and physical self-control. Findings showed an interaction between self-control depletion and feedback. Findings support predictions of control theory when self-control resources are intact, but suggest feedback information is processed differently when self-control strength is depleted. Overall, results show that when self-efficacy is manipulated by feedback the effects of self-control depletion on performance are no longer evident supporting self-efficacy’s role as an active causal mechanism determining behaviour. / Dissertation / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / Self-control failures are at the heart of many societal problems. A dominant theoretical view suggests self-control is governed by a limited internal resource. However, this perspective has recently been opposed by theorizing and evidence suggesting that people experience self-control failures due to shifts in motivational-cognitive processes. This thesis integrated three theories of self-control (i.e., strength model of self-control, control theory, and self-efficacy theory) in an attempt to provide a more complete understanding of why self-control failures occur for people performing demanding physical exercise. Findings suggest that each theoretical perspective provides complementary explanations for why self-control failures occur and how they can be overcome through shifts in cognitive processing. Specifically, self-control exertion leads to subjective fatigue, which decreases self-efficacy to exert self-control, and in turn reduces self-control performance. Furthermore, after self-control exertion, positive normative performance feedback increases self-efficacy and subsequent self-control performance whereas negative feedback drastically reduces self-efficacy and performance.

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