When Having a Trick Up Your Sleeve Is a Bad Thing: Highly Effective Self-Control Strategies Can Be Demotivating

This abstract discusses the potential negative effects of highly effective self-control strategies on individuals low in trait self-control. The researchers propose that greater perceived strategy effectiveness can ironically undermine the motivation to exercise self-control among those low in trait self-control. This is because greater perceived strategy effectiveness reduces anticipated guilt associated with indulgence, thereby increasing their susceptibility to temptations. The researchers conducted four studies to test this hypothesis. The results from these studies provide converging support for their hypothesis. The findings show that greater perceived strategy effectiveness reduces self-control and increases interest in unhealthy food among individuals low in trait self-control, while having the opposite effect among those high in trait self-control. The researchers also found that the anticipated guilt associated with choosing immediate smaller rewards mediated the effect observed among those low in trait self-control. Overall, this research suggests that providing highly effective self-control strategies to individuals low in self-control may have unintended adverse consequences.