Laboratory research shows that when people believe that willpower is an abundant (rather than highly limited) resource they exhibit better self-control after demanding tasks. However, some have questioned whether this "nonlimited" theory leads to squandering of resources and worse outcomes in everyday life when demands on self-regulation are high. To examine this, we conducted a longitudinal study, assessing students' theories about willpower and tracking their self-regulation and academic performance. As hypothesized, a nonlimited theory predicted better self-regulation (better time management and less procrastination, unhealthy eating, and impulsive spending) for students who faced high self-regulatory demands. Moreover, among students taking a heavy course load, those with a nonlimited theory earned higher grades, which was mediated by less procrastination. These findings contradict the idea that a limited theory helps people allocate their resources more effectively; instead, it is people with the nonlimited theory who self-regulate well in the face of high demands.

Past research found that the ingestion of glucose can enhance selfcontrol. It has been widely assumed that basic physiological processes underlie this effect. We hypothesized that the effect of glucose also depends on people's theories about willpower. Three experiments, both measuring (experiment 1) and manipulating (experiments 2 and 3) theories about willpower, showed that, following a demanding task, only people who view willpower as limited and easily depleted (a limited resource theory) exhibited improved self-control after sugar consumption. In contrast, people who view willpower as plentiful (a nonlimited resource theory) showed no benefits from glucose-they exhibited high levels of self-control performance with or without sugar boosts. Additionally, creating beliefs about glucose ingestion (experiment 3) did not have the same effect as ingesting glucose for those with a limited resource theory. We suggest that the belief that willpower is limited sensitizes people to cues about their available resources including physiological cues, making them dependent on glucose boosts for high self-control performance.self theories | implicit theories | ego depletion | cognitive performance "Ideas set free beliefs, and the beliefs set free our wills." -William James, The Energies of Man (1907, p. 14) (1) A n intriguing finding in recent years is that the short-term ingestion of glucose can improve a variety of basic cognitive and self-regulatory functions including episodic memory, information processing, attention, and self-control (2-5). For instance, studies show that the ingestion of glucose can prevent the drop in self-control performance that can otherwise follow the exertion of self-control (6-8), improving such things as persistence and the inhibition of impulses.In suggesting a close relationship between glucose and cognitive and self-regulatory outcomes, these findings raise fundamental questions about how physiological and psychological processes intersect. Popular theories suggest that glucose directly fuels brain functions, which would otherwise suffer from a lack of glucose (9-11). These theories can be taken to suggest that optimal performance on everyday cognitive and self-regulatory tasks requires frequent glucose boosts.Given the centrality of cognitive performance and self-regulation for human functioning and welfare in general, it would be striking if these functions were so fragile as to depend to a significant extent on the short-term ingestion of glucose (12, 13). Research shows that various processes in the body (such as glucose release from the liver) assure that under normal conditions the brain has ample energy supplies for neuronal functioning (14). Moreover, numerous studies show that self-control performance can be restored by various psychological manipulations (e.g., positive mood, mindfulness meditation) without glucose ingestion (15)(16)(17)(18). Taken together, these findings imply that brain functions are unlikely to depend on the short-term intake of glucose (14,19). Why then do...

Past research indicates that peoples' implicit theories about the nature of willpower moderate the ego-depletion effect. Only people who believe or were led to believe that willpower is a limited resource (limited-resource theory) showed lower self-control performance after an initial demanding task. As of yet, the underlying processes explaining this moderating effect by theories about willpower remain unknown. Here, we propose that the exertion of self-control activates the goal to preserve and replenish mental resources (rest goal) in people with a limited-resource theory. Five studies tested this hypothesis. In Study 1, individual differences in implicit theories about willpower predicted increased accessibility of a rest goal after self-control exertion. Furthermore, measured (Study 2) and manipulated (Study 3) willpower theories predicted an increased preference for rest-conducive objects. Finally, Studies 4 and 5 provide evidence that theories about willpower predict actual resting behavior: In Study 4, participants who held a limited-resource theory took a longer break following self-control exertion than participants with a nonlimited-resource theory. Longer resting time predicted decreased rest goal accessibility afterward. In Study 5, participants with an induced limited-resource theory sat longer on chairs in an ostensible product-testing task when they had engaged in a task requiring self-control beforehand. This research provides consistent support for a motivational shift toward rest after self-control exertion in people holding a limited-resource theory about willpower.

Avoidance goals heighten the salience of negative social experiences, and in intimate relationships such an orientation may contribute to communication difficulties and the perpetuation of avoidance. We therefore hypothesized that individuals with stronger avoidance goals would be particularly prone to engage in escalating levels of negative communication with their intimate partner, and we tested this prediction by conducting sequential analyses on videotaped observational data (28,470 observations) collected from 365 heterosexual couples engaging in a relationship-related conflict. While less avoidanceoriented spouses showed a decline in their likelihood of negative communication over the course of the 8-min conflict discussion, the likelihood that more avoidance-oriented spouses would display negative communication behaviors remained at a high level. The likelihood of negative communication even increased when avoidance-oriented spouses were confronted with negative communication behavior of their partners. The effects of avoidance orientation were independent of relationship satisfaction and neuroticism. These findings demonstrate that avoidance goals underlie individuals' heightened reactivity to the partner's negative behavior, while also clarifying 1 possible reason why some individuals engage in communication behaviors that may prove maladaptive to their relationship. (

Lay theories about willpower-the belief that willpower is a limited versus nonlimited resource-affect self-control and goal striving in everyday life (Job, Dweck, & Walton, 2010). Three studies examined whether willpower theories also relate to people's subjective well-being by shaping the progress they make toward their personal goals. A cross-sectional (Study 1) and two longitudinal studies (Studies 2 and 3) measured individuals' willpower theories and different indicators of subjective well-being. Additionally, Study 3 measured goal striving and personal goal progress. A limited theory about willpower was associated with lower subjective well-being in a sample of working adults (Study 1, N = 258). Further, a limited theory predicted lower levels of well-being at a time when students faced high self-regulatory demands (Study 2, N = 196). Study 3 (N = 157) replicated the finding that students with a limited theory experienced lower well-being in phases of high self-regulatory demands and found that personal goal progress mediated this relationship. Results suggest that the belief that willpower is based on a limited resource has negative implications not only for self-control but also for personal goal striving and subjective well-being.

Persistence in and timely disengagement from personal goals are core components of successful self-regulation and therefore relevant to well-being and performance. In the history of motivation psychology, there has been a clear emphasis on persistence. Only recently have researchers become interested in goal disengagement, as mirrored by the amount of pertinent research. In this review, we present an overview of the most influential motivational theories on persistence and disengagement that address situational and personal determinants, cognitive and affective mechanisms, and consequences for well-being, health, and performance. Some of these theories use a general approach, whereas others focus on individual differences. The theories presented incorporate classical expectancy-value constructs as well as contemporary volitional concepts of self-regulation. Many of the theoretical approaches have spread to applied fields (e.g., education, work, health). Despite numerous important insights into persistence and disengagement, we also identify several unresolved research questions. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Psychology, Volume 73 is January 2022. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

Research suggests that self-control, the ability to forego immediate needs for the sake of future rewards, promotes health behavior. The present study examined the role of beliefs about willpower as predictor of self-control in the context of diabetes. Seventy-nine type 2 diabetes patients reported their beliefs about willpower, therapy adherence (i.e., self-care activities, diet, exercise), and psychological adjustment (i.e., emotional distress, well-being, life quality). Endorsing the belief that willpower is a lim-ited versus nonlimited resource was associated with lower therapy adherence and lower psychological adjustment. How people think about their willpower might be crucial for therapy success in diabetes patients. The authors agree to comply with the data-sharing standard of the APA (Ethical Standard 8.14) and provide public access to their data. This research was funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (grant number PZ00P1_131858). WILLPOWER THEORIES AND DIABETES 2 AbstractResearch suggests that self-control, the ability to forego immediate needs for the sake of

To date, it is not well understood how individuals disengage from goals. A recent approach suggests that disengagement is often preceded by an action crisis, a motivational conflict in which the individual is torn between holding on to and letting go of a personal goal. We postulate that a dynamic interplay between the experience of action crisis and appraisals of goal desirability and attainability shapes the disengagement process from personal goals. In two longitudinal studies ( N = 364), an action crisis in the goal to complete a university degree predicted devaluations of its desirability and attainability, and reversely, low goal attainability (but not desirability) predicted an increase in action crisis. Moreover, studies provided first evidence that devaluing goal desirability might be functional for well-being in an action crisis. Studies strengthen the view that disengagement is shaped by reciprocal processes between the experience of action crisis and changes in goal appraisal.