Tracking Self-Control – Task Performance and Pupil Size in a Go/No-Go Inhibition Task
- There is an ongoing debate about how to test and operationalize self-control. This limited understanding is in large part due to a variety of different tests and measures used to assess self-control, as well as the lack of empirical studies examining the temporal dynamics during the exertion of self-control. In order to track changes that occur over the course of exposure to a self-control task, we investigate and compare behavioral, subjective, and physiological indicators during the exertion of self-control. Participants completed both a task requiring inhibitory control (Go/No-Go task) and a control task (two-choice task). Behavioral performance and pupil size were measured during the tasks. Subjective vitality was measured before and after the tasks. While pupil size and subjective vitality showed similar trajectories in the two tasks, behavioral performance decreased in the inhibitory control-demanding task, but not in the control task. However, behavioral, subjective, and physiological measures were not significantly correlated.There is an ongoing debate about how to test and operationalize self-control. This limited understanding is in large part due to a variety of different tests and measures used to assess self-control, as well as the lack of empirical studies examining the temporal dynamics during the exertion of self-control. In order to track changes that occur over the course of exposure to a self-control task, we investigate and compare behavioral, subjective, and physiological indicators during the exertion of self-control. Participants completed both a task requiring inhibitory control (Go/No-Go task) and a control task (two-choice task). Behavioral performance and pupil size were measured during the tasks. Subjective vitality was measured before and after the tasks. While pupil size and subjective vitality showed similar trajectories in the two tasks, behavioral performance decreased in the inhibitory control-demanding task, but not in the control task. However, behavioral, subjective, and physiological measures were not significantly correlated. These results suggest that there is a disconnect between different measures of self-control with high intra- and interindividual variability. Theoretical and methodological implications for self-control theory and future empirical work are discussed.…
Author details: | Sinika TimmeORCiDGND, Wanja WolffORCiDGND, Chris EnglertORCiDGND, Ralf BrandORCiDGND |
---|---|
DOI: | https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.915016 |
ISSN: | 1664-1078 |
Title of parent work (English): | Frontiers in Psychology |
Publisher: | Frontiers |
Place of publishing: | Lausanne, Schweiz |
Further contributing person(s): | Fernando Barbosa, Moritz Mückschel, Maximilian Achim Friehs |
Publication type: | Article |
Language: | English |
Date of first publication: | 2022/06/07 |
Publication year: | 2022 |
Release date: | 2023/03/07 |
Tag: | behavioral and self-report measures; psychophysiological; pupil diameter; response inhibition; self-control |
Volume: | 13 |
Article number: | 915016 |
Number of pages: | 11 |
Funding number: | PA 2022_119 |
Organizational units: | Extern / Extern |
Humanwissenschaftliche Fakultät / Strukturbereich Kognitionswissenschaften | |
DDC classification: | 1 Philosophie und Psychologie / 15 Psychologie / 150 Psychologie |
Peer review: | Referiert |
Grantor: | Publikationsfonds der Universität Potsdam |
Publishing method: | Open Access / Gold Open-Access |
License (German): | CC-BY - Namensnennung 4.0 International |
External remark: | Zweitveröffentlichung in der Schriftenreihe Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Humanwissenschaftliche Reihe ; 818 |