Miles Eleanor, Sheeran Paschal, Baird Harriet, Macdonald Ian, Webb Thomas L, Harris Peter R
School of Psychology, University of Sussex.
Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
J Exp Psychol Gen. 2016 Aug;145(8):1075-91. doi: 10.1037/xge0000185. Epub 2016 Jun 30.
Can self-control be improved through practice? Several studies have found that repeated practice of tasks involving self-control improves performance on other tasks relevant to self-control. However, in many of these studies, improvements after training could be attributable to methodological factors (e.g., passive control conditions). Moreover, the extent to which the effects of training transfer to real-life settings is not yet clear. In the present research, participants (N = 174) completed a 6-week training program of either cognitive or behavioral self-control tasks. We then tested the effects of practice on a range of measures of self-control, including lab-based and real-world tasks. Training was compared with both active and no-contact control conditions. Despite high levels of adherence to the training tasks, there was no effect of training on any measure of self-control. Trained participants did not, for example, show reduced ego depletion effects, become better at overcoming their habits, or report exerting more self-control in everyday life. Moderation analyses found no evidence that training was effective only among particular groups of participants. Bayesian analyses suggested that the data were more consistent with a null effect of training on self-control than with previous estimates of the effect of practice. The implication is that training self-control through repeated practice does not result in generalized improvements in self-control. (PsycINFO Database Record
自我控制能力能否通过练习得到提高？多项研究发现，对涉及自我控制的任务进行反复练习，能提升在其他与自我控制相关任务上的表现。然而，在许多此类研究中，训练后的进步可能归因于方法学因素（例如，被动控制条件）。此外，训练效果在现实生活场景中的迁移程度尚不清楚。在本研究中，参与者（N = 174）完成了为期6周的认知或行为自我控制任务训练项目。然后，我们测试了练习对一系列自我控制测量指标的影响，包括基于实验室和现实世界的任务。将训练与主动控制和无接触控制条件进行了比较。尽管对训练任务的依从性很高，但训练对任何自我控制测量指标均无影响。例如，接受训练的参与者并未表现出自我损耗效应的减轻，在克服习惯方面没有变得更好，或者在日常生活中报告施加了更多的自我控制。调节分析未发现证据表明训练仅在特定参与者群体中有效。贝叶斯分析表明，数据与训练对自我控制无效应的零假设更为一致，而非与先前对练习效果的估计一致。这意味着通过反复练习来训练自我控制并不会导致自我控制能力的普遍提高。（《心理学文摘数据库记录》 ）
