Messung dispositioneller Selbstkontroll-Kapazität: Eine deutsche Adaptation der Kurzform der Self-Control Scale (SCS-K-D)

Self-control is defined as the overriding or modification of one’s own response tendencies. Dispositional self control capacity is positively linked to various kinds of adaptive behavior. In order to economically measure self-control capacity in German-speaking samples, the brief version of the Self-Control Scale by Tangney, Baumeister and Boone (2004) was adapted into German. The translated entire Self-Control Scale consisting of 36 items was administered to university students (N = 316, study 1) and secondary school students (N = 335, study 2). The brief version consisting of 13 items, which were included in the entire scale, proved to be one-dimensional, reliable, and valid in terms of expected correlations with criteria. The comparison between the brief and the entire scale showed that the costs of the more economical brief measure with regard to reliability and validity are low.

High-school students' need for cognition, self-control capacity, and school achievement: testing a mediation hypothesis

In the present article, we examine the hypothesis that high-school students' motivation to engage in cognitive endeavors (i.e., their need for cognition; NFC) is positively related to their dispositional self-control capacity. Furthermore, we test the prediction that the relation between NFC and school achievement is mediated by self-control capacity. A questionnaire study with grade ten high-school students (N = 604) revealed the expected relations between NFC, self-control capacity, and school achievement. Sobel tests showed that self-control capacity mediated the relation between NFC and school grades as well as grade retention.

Self-control strength in the relation between trait test anxiety and state anxiety

The present research examined whether in a test situation, the relation between trait test anxiety and state anxiety depends on the momentary availability of self-control strength. Since self-control strength is crucial for emotion regulation, we assume that trait test anxiety is more closely related to state anxiety if self-control strength is depleted than if it is not depleted. We conducted an experiment with 119 undergraduates in which we measured trait test anxiety, manipulated availability of self-control strength, and assessed state anxiety after a test announcement. Consistent with the assumption, multiple regression analyses revealed that trait test anxiety and state anxiety were positively related if self-control strength was depleted, but were not related if self-control strength was intact.

Dispositional self-control capacity and trait anxiety as relates to coping styles

In the present article, we analyzed the relationship between dispositional self-control capacity, trait anxiety, and coping styles. Since self-control is often crucial for adapting one’s behavior to be positive, we predicted that dispositional differences in the capacity to exert self-control play a role in determining individuals coping styles. To test this assumption, we assessed participants’ (N = 163) dispositional self-control capacity using the Self-Control Scale, and their dispositional coping styles by using the short version of the German Coping Questionnaire SVF78 (German: Stressverarbeitungsfragebogen). A path analysis supported our hypothesis; higher levels of dispositional self-control capacity were positively associated with positive coping style and negatively associated with negative coping style. Basing on attentional control theory, we further assumed that this relationship was mediated by trait anxiety. In a second study based on a sample of N = 98 participants, we additionally applied the trait version of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. The results of a path analysis revealed that trait anxiety mediated the relationship between dispositional self-control capacity and coping styles. The results suggest that it may be useful to take a closer look at the role of self-control in the anxiety-coping relationship.

Passionate thinkers feel better: Self-control capacity as mediator of the relationship between need for cognition and affective adjustment

The present study tested a possible explanation for the positive relationship between the motivation to engage in cognitive endeavors (need for cognition, NFC) and indicators of affective adjustment (e.g., higher self-esteem, lower depression) that has been demonstrated in previous studies. We suggest that dispositional self-control capacity mediates this relationship, since NFC has been found to be related to self-control capacity, and self-control capacity is crucial for adjustment. NFC, dispositional self-control capacity, self-esteem, habitual depressive mood, and tendency to respond in a socially desirable manner were measured among 150 university students via self-report. Regression analyses and Sobel tests revealed that self-control capacity was a potential mediator of the positive relationship between NFC and affective adjustment. The findings were robust in terms of social desirability.

On the relationship between need for cognition and self-control capacity

In the present study, we examined the hypothesis that individuals’ motivational tendency to engage in effortful information processing (i.e., their need for cognition; NFC) is positively related to their self-control capacity. This hypothesis was based on previous findings that effortful information processing and self-control both depend on a joint strength resource, and that this resource is boosted by frequent use. NFC was assessed via questionnaire. One week later, the participants (N = 46) completed a test of self-control capacity (Stroop Task). As expected, NFC was positively related to self-control capacity but unrelated to general processing speed.

How minimal grade goals and self-control capacity interact in predicting test grades

The present research examined the prediction of school students' grades in an upcoming math test via their minimal grade goals (i.e., the minimum grade in an upcoming test one would be satisfied with). Due to its significance for initiating and maintaining goal-directed behavior, self-control capacity was expected to moderate the relation between students' minimal grade goals and their actual grades. Self-control capacity was defined as the dispositional capacity to override or alter one's dominant response tendencies. Prior to a scheduled math test, 172 vocational track students indicated their minimal grade goal for the test and completed a measure of self-control capacity. The test grade was assessed at a second time of measurement. As expected, minimal grade goals more strongly predicted the actual test grades the higher the students' self-control capacity. Implications can be seen in terms of optimizing the prediction and advancement of academic performance.

Too exhausted for Operation? Anxiety, depleted self-control strength, and perceptual-motor performance

We tested the hypothesis that the interaction of self-control strength and state anxiety predicts perceptual–motor performance in a hand–eye coordination task. We predicted a stronger negative relation between anxiety and performance in a perceptual–motor task for participants whose self-control strength had been temporarily depleted compared to participants whose self-control strength was intact. In an experiment (N = 60), we manipulated self-control strength, measured state anxiety after an evaluative instruction, and assessed performance in the board game Operation as an indicator of perceptual–motor performance. The data supported our hypothesis: Only for participants whose self-control strength was temporarily depleted was there a statistically significant negative relation between anxiety and performance. Boosting self-control strength may help to prevent the potentially negative anxiety effects.

The role of self-control strength in the development of state anxiety in test situations

Self-control strength may affect state anxiety because emotion regulation is impaired in individuals whose self-control strength has been temporarily depleted. Increases in state anxiety were expected to be larger for participants with depleted compared to nondepleted self-control strength, and trait test anxiety should predict increases in state anxiety more strongly if self-control strength is depleted. In a sample of 76 university students, trait test anxiety was assessed, self-control strength experimentally manipulated, and state anxiety measured before and after the announcement of a test. State anxiety increased after the announcement. Trait test anxiety predicted increases in state anxiety only in students with depleted self-control strength, suggesting that increased self-control strength may be useful for coping with anxiety.

Role of self-control strength in the relation between anxiety and cognitive performance

In the present work, we examine the role of self-control resources within the relationship between anxiety and cognitive test performance. We argue that self-control is required for keeping attention away from anxiety-related worries, which would otherwise distract a person from performing on the test. In Study 1 (N = 67) and Study 2 (N = 96), we found that state anxiety was negatively related to performance of verbal learning and mental arithmetic if participants' self-control resources were depleted, but it was unrelated if participants' self-control was intact. In Study 3 (N = 99), the worry component of trait test anxiety was more strongly related to perceived distraction by worries while performing an arithmetic task for participants with depleted self-control resources than for nondepleted participants. Furthermore, distraction by worries showed to be responsible for suboptimal performance. The findings may help to clarify the anxiety-performance relationship and offer a novel approach for counteracting performance decrements associated with test anxiety.

What is self-control depleting in sports? Effects of vicarious experiences on performance

In the present study, we investigated the influence of sport specific vicarious depletion of self-control strength on performance in a Stroop task. In a betweensubject design N = 40 participants were randomly assigned to either a depletion condition in which they read a story about a soccer player who had to strongly regulate himself, or a non-depletion condition in which they read a story about a soccer player who did not have to regulate himself. Participants in both conditions were instructed to relive the soccer players' thoughts and feelings and we hypothesized that in the depletion condition participants would perform worse in a subsequent self-control task. The results were as expected as depleted participants showed longer latencies on the Stroop task. This study delivers a first indication that athletes are confronted with self-control demanding situations during sporting competitions which can lead to a depletion of self-control strength and impaired performance.

Improving self-control by practicing logical reasoning

We tested the hypothesis that practicing logical reasoning can improve self-control. In an experimental training study (N = 49 undergraduates), for one week participants engaged in daily mental exercises with or without the requirement to practice logical reasoning. Participants in the logic group showed improvements in self-control, as revealed by anagram performance after a depleting self-control task. The benefits of the intervention were short-lived; participants in the two groups performed similarly just one week after the intervention had ended. We discuss the findings with respect to the strength model of self-control and consider possible benefits of regular cognitive challenges in education.

Test anxiety, self-control, and knowledge retrieval in secondary school students

Es wurde kürzlich gezeigt, dass die Stärke des Zusammenhangs zwischen Angst und Leistung von der momentan vorhandenen Selbstkontrollkraft abhängt. Wir untersuchten an einer Stichprobe aus Wirtschaftsschülern (N = 136), ob dieser Befund auf den Abruf von Wissen generalisierbar ist. Die Leistungsängstlichkeit der Teilnehmenden wurde erfasst und deren Selbstkontrollkraft experimentell manipuliert, woraufhin sie einen standardisierten Wortschatztest bearbeiteten. Während das Wissen nicht von der Leistungsängstlichkeit oder der Selbstkontrollkraft abhing, sagte die Interaktion aus beiden Variablen das gezeigte Wissen vorher. Übereinstimmend mit früheren Studien fiel die Leistung von Schülern mit niedriger Selbstkontrollkraft umso geringer aus, je leistungsängstlicher sie waren. Bei Schülern mit hoher Selbstkontrollkraft hingen die Leistungsängstlichkeit und die Wortschatzleistung hingegen nicht zusammen. Wir interpretieren dieses Muster dergestalt, dass Leistungsängstlichkeit den Wissensabruf nur dann behindert, wenn Selbstkontrolle nicht zur Kompensierung angstbezogener Aufmerksamkeitsdefizite herangezogen werden kann. Die Befunde implizieren, dass gründliche Vorbereitung keine guten Testnoten garantiert.