Previous research has found that uncertainty temporarily impairs people's ability to exercise self-regulation (Alquist, Baumeister, & Tice, in prep; Milkman, 2012). The present study tested the hypothesis that uncertainty continues to impair self-regulation, even after the uncertainty is resolved. Participants were told that they'd be participating in a study where some participants would be assigned to give a speech and some participants would be assigned to rate others' speeches. Participants in two resolved uncertainty conditions were left uncertain about what they would be doing later for ten minutes, then were either told that they were giving a speech or were told that they were not giving a speech. Participants in a continued uncertainty condition were left uncertain through the whole study, and participants in two certain conditions were told at the beginning of the study that they were giving a speech or were not giving a speech. Self-regulation was measured using anagrams. Contrary to prediction, there were no significant differences between any of the conditions in the number of anagrams attempted or solved. The present study was also designed to test the hypothesis that uncertainty would increase the amount of planning, thought control, and emotion control in which participants engaged. Participants who had been left uncertain about whether they were giving a speech reported more planning to give a speech, more thinking about giving a speech, and having a harder time controlling their thoughts than participants who knew for certain that they would be giving a speech. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Psychology in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Summer Semester, 2013. / June 26, 2013. / ego depletion, self control, uncertainty / Includes bibliographical references. / Roy F. Baumeister, Professor Directing Dissertation; Pam L. Perrewé, University Representative; Jesse R. Cougle, Committee Member; Jon K. Maner, Committee Member; E. Ashby Plant, Committee Member.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_183645 |
| Contributors | Alquist, Jessica (authoraut), Baumeister, Roy F. (professor directing dissertation), Perrewé, Pam L. (university representative), Cougle, Jesse R. (committee member), Maner, Jon K. (committee member), Plant, E. Ashby (committee member), Department of Psychology (degree granting department), Florida State University (degree granting institution) |
| Publisher | Florida State University, Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, text |
| Format | 1 online resource, computer, application/pdf |
| Rights | This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s). The copyright in theses and dissertations completed at Florida State University is held by the students who author them. |
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