Chapter 1 - Universiteit Twente

General Discussion
general sense, the present studies add to our understanding of the inner workings
of self-control. As recently discussed by Baumeister and Vohs (2007), a state of selfregulatory
resource depletion renders the self temporarily less able, but also less willing
to function normally or optimally. Depletion is not solely a loss of resources since a
reduction in self-control resources can be temporarily overcome and compensated by
motivation. On the other hand, depletion is not solely a loss of motivation either, since
recent studies by Gailliot, Baumeister et al. (2007) have shown that regulatory resources
are rooted in physical energy stores. The present research underscores the notion that
the ability and motivation to self-regulate are strongly related, and pertain to the idea
that self-regulation involves a constant (likely unconscious) trade-off between multiple
self-control demands.
Second, the present findings point to a previously unexplored ‘theatre of operations’ of
principles involved in effortful self-regulation: that of dyadic social influence. Although
the realm of interpersonal functioning has recently been addressed by self-regulatory
resource depletion research (e.g., Vohs et al. 2005; Vohs & Finkel 2006), instrumental
dyadic interactions in which one party (the agent) tries to tempt or persuade the other
party (the target) into behaving in a specific manner (e.g., donating to charity, acting as
a volunteer) have been neglected as a manifestation of self-regulation. This omission is
striking when considering that effortful self-presentation (cf. Vohs et al. 2005), a process
known to rely on self-regulatory resources, has been stressed as an important topic in
dyadic influence settings. However, a close examination of this research reveals a focus
on regulation processes related to the influence agent, rather than the target (e.g.,
Forgas 2007; McFarland, Challagalla, & Shervani, 2006; Payan & McFarland, 2005). Hence,
the current work forges new ground by illuminating the role of self-regulation on the
target’s part of a potential influence interaction.
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