Can our sense of smell influence our ability to self-regulate? The following thesis examined whether or not olfactory cues could influence a cognitive measure of self-regulation, and whether this effect would be moderated by goals. Further, it was proposed that emotion would mediate the relationship between scents and self-regulation. A total of 127 participants took part in the study. Magazine covers were used to prime either health or indulgence goals and participants were exposed to either an appetitive scent (baking cookies) or a non-appetitive scent (lavender) with the aim of creating emotional conflict. Self-regulation was measured by performance on a Stroop task. Goals were found to interact with scent type in order to yield differing impacts on self-regulation, however, the predicted mediating effects of emotion were unsupported. / None

A wide range of measures have been used to assess self-control including executive function tasks, delay of gratification tasks, and persistence and willpower tasks. The current study sought to examine the convergent and predictive validity of these measures, provide theoretical backing for why we might or might not expect high correlations between different indicators of the construct, and question whether such measures are assessing construct-level variance. The results largely replicated prior research, with the majority of correlations being small in magnitude and non-significant. Possible interpretations include indicators assessing distinct and unrelated subdomains of self-control, the inappropriate use of measures that maximize within person variance, indicators being plagued by large sources of error variance, or some combination of these.

Experimental studies on willpower confirm the Strength Model of Self-Control, which claims that willpower depends on limited physiological resources. Exercising willpower depletes these resources, which impairs further exercises of willpower. This phenomenon is called “ego-depletion.” As a result, depleting these resources impairs further exercises of executive control. My thesis argues that this phenomenon has two important philosophical consequences: First, ego-depletion provides evidence against the Humean approach to motivation, according to which people always act according to their strongest desires. Second, people suffering from ego-depletion are not fully responsible for failures of self-control.

The reasons why people may periodically resort to binge eating behavior have long been a focus of study, and the reasons are elusive and varied. For people troubled by poor sleep and living with chronic stress, binge eating may be an attempt by the brain's glucose-depleted executive processing center to both regulate (i.e., increase) glucose levels and induce restorative sleep. Recovery resulting from restorative sleep may lead to a reduction in perceived stress, improved mood, and increased willpower, reducing the likelihood of another binge episode in close temporal proximity to the sleep-induced recovery. A repetitive cycle may ensue when stress inevitably again disturbs sleep, lowering mood, reducing willpower, and heightening sensitivity to stigma and stress. The purpose of the research described here is to synthesize recent findings from three diverse fields of scientific inquiry to predict factors that influence episodes of binge eating. Combining studies of sleep and sleep disorders, stress and stigma research, and recent work on self-regulatory capacity, I attempt to show how poor sleep ultimately leads to binge eating. A seven-day study consisted of three parts: an initial set of baseline questionnaire and physiological measures; collection of objective sleep quality data using an electronic motion logger; and an online daily diary in which participants completed measures of self-regulatory capacity and reported details about their sleep, stress levels, experiences with stigma, mood, and eating events. The data partially supported a path model where sleep quality, stress, mood, and self-regulation affected binge eating behavior.

Recent research suggests we have a limited supply of willpower, termed the “ego”, which becomes depleted by undergoing cognitively demanding tasks. Any acts of volition, including decision-making, self-control, and taking responsibility, reduce this supply of “ego” (Baumeister, 1998), which impedes our ability to further perform these tasks. Decision fatigue, a specific form of ego depletion, is prevalent everywhere from judicial court cases (Danzinger, Levav, & Avnaim-Pesso, 2010) to our daily lives. There is now significant mainstream media exposure and literature on decision fatigue and the activities to which it applies. However, it remains contested how to best handle its negative consequences. The purpose of this paper is to examine methods of addressing the adverse effects of ego depletion, particularly related to motivation.

Students who are good self-regulators have higher motivation and achievement than those who are not. The beliefs students hold influence the goals they set, how they regulate learning, their motivation, and their subsequent actions. Beliefs about one’s own willpower (the capacity to exert self-control in everyday life) have been shown to affect individuals’ self-regulation. Willpower has been conceptualized as a limited resource that is easily depleted in demanding situations. However, some researchers have shown that individuals’ beliefs about willpower capacity (i.e., as finite or abundant), and not their actual willful acts, are more predictive of self-regulated behavior. Researchers have similarly shown that students’ beliefs in their personal self-regulatory capabilities predict self-regulation, and subsequently, academic achievement. This study explored the relationship between willpower beliefs, self-efficacy for self-regulation, academic self-regulation, and achievement among college students. Participants were undergraduate students (N = 536) enrolled in an introductory biology course in Fall 2017 at a southeastern U.S. university. Self-efficacy for self-regulation was significantly correlated with effort regulation, time and study environment regulation, and final course grade, while willpower mindset was not. Findings from this study suggest that efforts intended to boost students’ self-regulatory self-efficacy might be a more worthwhile endeavor than teaching them that they can improve their willpower/self-control when supporting them in developing self-regulated learning skills.

<p>This dissertation concerns methods to test whether or not self-control</p><p>is costly, the form of temptation, and the affects different assumptions</p><p>about costly self-control and temptation have on optimal borrowing</p><p>and saving mechanisms. The second chapter shows that costly self-control</p><p>and temptation can be differentiated from changing impatience in a</p><p>stochastic income consumption-savings environment. The third chapter</p><p>describes an experiment to test whether subjects have time inconsistent</p><p>preferences, whether self-control is costly, and if so, whether the</p><p>cost of self-control is time dependent. The fourth chapter describes</p><p>the affects on the optimal borrowing and savings mechanisms that assumptions</p><p>about the myopia of temptation and the strength of costly self-control</p><p>have.</p> / Dissertation

Muzikas – atlikėjas yra tarytum tarpininkas tarp kompozitoriaus ir klausytojo. Jo valioje atsiduria kūrinys, kurį jis perleidžia per savo unikalų vidinį pasaulį. Norint pasiekti profesinių aukštumų neužtenka būti gabiu ar muzikaliu. Reikia turėti tvirtą charakterį, stiprią valią ir pasitikėjimą savimi. Problema. Skiriamas per mažas dėmesys į tai, kokią įtaką muzikantui - atlikėjui daro žema savivertė, valios stoka. Nepakankamas žinių kiekis apie kovos su scenos baime būdais. Siauras saves pažinimas užkerta kelius į sau iškeltų tikslų pasiekimą, mažina galimybes panaudoti turimus talentus, išsiugdyti naujus. Tyrimo objektas. Pagrindinės psichofiziologinės savybės, reikalingos muzikos atlikėjui. Tyrimo tikslas. Siekiama išsiaiškinti kokiais būdais muzikantai - atlikėjai kovoja su scenos baimės, valios ugdymo ir savivertės kėlimo problemomis. Taip pat identifikuoti jų požiūrį į išvardintų savybių svarbą muzikanto – atlikėjo specialybėje. Tyrimo klausimas. Koks yra muzikos atlikėjų studentų požiūris į valią, savivertę ir kovą su scenos baime? / A musician – performer is an intermediate between the composer and the listener. He controls the piece which he lets through his own unique internal world. It is not enough to be gifted or musical in order to achieve professional goals. One must also have a strong character, strong will and self-confidence. The problem. Not enough attention is paid to how low self-esteem and lack of willpower influence a musician – performer. Not enough knowledge about the methods to cope with stage-fright. Narrow knowledge of self prevents the achievement of goals, reduces the potential to use one’s talents and develop new ones. Object of the analysis. The fundamental psycho-physiological qualities necessary for a musical performer. Goal of the analysis. To find what kind of methods do musicians – performers use to cope with the problems of stage-fright, education of will and improvement of self-esteem. Also, to identify their attitude towards the importance of the listed qualities in the specialty of musician – performer. Matter of the analysis. What is the attitude of musicians – performers towards the willpower, self-esteem and struggle with stage-fright?

The strength model of self-control predicts that when people exert self-control, they should show performance decrements on subsequent self-control tasks. However, it is possible that this pattern of behaviour is confined to specific experimental procedures, which amplifies the effect. The aims of this thesis are to; 1) test the strength model predictions in sport; and 2) examine emotion as a mediator of self-control performance effects. Study 1 consisted of two experiments. Experiment 1 set out to demonstrate a pattern of resource depletion. Forty-three sport and exercise students performed either an incongruent (self-control depletion) or congruent (control) Stroop task before and after performing a virtual reality cycling task on an indoor cycling ergometer. Findings showed the depletion group performed worse on the second Stroop task than on their first task or than the control group. Experiment 2 sought to address some of the methodological concerns in Experiment 1, and examine emotion as a factor explaining performance. Forty-eight physically active participants followed the same experimental protocol, but with an additional iteration of both tasks. Results demonstrated that both cycling and Stroop task performance improved across time. In addition, participants reported feeling happier and more motivated during the second cycling task. Study 2 provided a conceptual replication of Study 1, using different tests of self-control. Twenty-six university-level male soccer players either performed the Loughborough Soccer Passing Test (LSPT) with (self-control depletion) or without (control) an audio file simulating crowd noise, and then performed the wall squat muscle endurance test. The self-control depletion group reported feeling more anxious during the LSPT and performed worse than the controls on the wall squat. III Next, in Study 3, nineteen well-trained competitive endurance runners performed a self-paced 1600 m running trial and then ran a second trial either self-paced or with a pacemaker. The pacemaker had no significant effect on actual performance time but participants reported feeling more anxious beforehand and adopted a fast start strategy, whereas the self-paced group had a conservative pacing pattern. Study 4 showed that, for females, consuming a sports drink—as opposed to plain water—associated with better physical (high-intensity track running) and cognitive self-control (Stroop) performance. In addition, they appeared to be happier drinking water, and more anxious drinking the sports drink—an effect that diverged over the six weeks. Study 5 examined the effects of three strategies—designed to increase or decrease the intensity of emotions—on emotion, pacing strategy and 1600 m performance. Results showed the intervention designed to decrease unpleasant emotions was associated with lower anxiety, higher calmness, a slower first 400 m, and more overall consistent pacing strategy. Study 6 examined the effects of imagery training on swimming tumble-turn performance. Findings showed no significant intervention effect, a result that goes against the proposed benefits of psychological skills training and runs counter to the predictions of the strength model. Collectively, the evidence in the thesis provides limited support for the strength model. It is concluded that self-control performance does not inevitably deteriorate across self-control tasks where the individual is well-versed with the task demands, or where tasks are not physically strenuous enough to tax mental resources. In contrast, the explanation for performance deterioration across a series of novel tasks is likely to extend beyond that of a self-control resources perspective. Future research might profitably test this proposal.

Esta dissertação constitui-se de três ensaios. O primeiro trata da impossibilidade de existência do livre arbítrio dentro e fora da Teoria Econômica Utilitarista. O segundo aborda a questão da inconsistência temporal (i.e. quando a ação empreendida presentemente pelo agente não é coerente com a decisão tomada anteriormente por ele) sem que para tanto se recorra às noções de autocontrole e força de vontade. O terceiro trata da possibilidade de responsabilidade moral na ausência de livre arbítrio e autocontrole/ força de vontade. / This dissertation contains three essays. The first one regards the impossibility of free will in and out of Economic Theory. The second one discusses the question of temporal inconsistency (i.e. when the agent’s present action isn’t coherent with his prior decision) without recur to the notions of self-control and willpower. The third one is concerned with the possibility of moral responsibility in absence of freewill and self-control/ willpower.