Emotions and self-control 1 Incidental and Integral ... - Michael Inzlicht

Emotions and self-control 32
receives negative feedback challenging one’s most cherished self-views, perhaps the conflict
between consuming fatty foods and sticking to a diet recedes in importance or fails to trigger
control because the relevant mechanisms are preoccupied with the more pressing, more intense
emotional context. This hypothesis is speculative, but experiments testing it promise to elucidate
the relationship between emotions and self-control.
And how do positive emotions alter the affect alarm bell for self-control? One possibility
is that, under the influence of positive emotional states, response conflicts cause less or weaker
negative affect. In this view, self-control is less likely to occur under positive emotional states
because the alarm bell rings too softly. As we saw, however, positive emotions sometimes
enhance self-control (particularly in children), so this view is not wholly satisfying. Much more
research is needed on the relationship between positive emotions and self-control, particularly as
this relates to the affect alarm model we have proposed. As a second possibility, perhaps high
arousing emotions of either positive or negative valence can drown out the affect alarm system,
making self-control less likely. Insofar as both positive and negative emotions can disrupt delay
of gratification, arousal may help to explain the patterns.
In conclusion, we have reviewed evidence that incidental emotional states are powerful
determinants of self-control outcomes, and we have proposed that negative affect can be seen as
an integral component of the process of self-control. Research and theory on the integral versus
incidental effects of emotions on self-control have lived largely separate lives, much like they
did in this chapter. It is high time to integrate them, as the integration promises a more complete
picture of the role of emotions in shaping self-control.