Implicit Versus Explicit Measures of Self-Concept of Self-Control and Their Differential Predictive Power for Spontaneous Trait-Relevant Behaviors

• NCJ Number: 244843
• Journal: Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry Volume: 45 Issue: 1 Dated: March 2014 Pages: 1-7
• Author(s): Rafaele J.C. Huntjens; Marleen M. Rijkeboer; Andrej Krakau; Peter J. de Jong
• Date Published: March 2014
• Length: 7 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical); Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: Netherlands

Annotation

This study assessed the unique predictive validity of an implicit measure of the "self-concept of self-control" ("perceiving the self as lacking control over cognitions, emotion, and behavior") for relatively spontaneous dysfunctional behavior.

Abstract

The findings show the unique predictive validity of an implicit measure of behavior indexes of frustration tolerance and short-term reward sensitivity. The implicit self-control measure correlated significantly with two out of six of the behavioral measures; whereas, the two explicit self-control measures did not correlate significantly with the indexes of spontaneous self-control behaviors. Participants with self-associations of low self-control, as indexed by the implicit task, scored high on verbal and non-verbal irritation and non-verbal indicators of giving up on the nerve spiral task. These participants were also slower in deciding to choose an advantageous deck (i.e., a deck that provides a relatively low gain on the short term but a positive gain in the long run) on the Iowa Gambling Task. As a measure of implicit trait self-control, the authors used an irrelevant feature task, i.e., a speeded-reaction-time task composed of a task-relevant stimulus feature and a task-relevant feature (high vs. low self-control word type). The irrelevant feature had to be ignored while participants (n=34) responded to the relevant stimulus feature; however, their response was either congruent or incongruent with the irrelevant stimulus feature, resulting in facilitated or deteriorated task performance. As indicators of trait-related spontaneous dysfunctional behaviors, the testing included indexes of frustration tolerance and the preference for short-term reward over meeting long-term goals. The study also included two explicit measures of trait self-control: a self-report questionnaire and an explicit self-relevance rating of the implicit task stimuli. The authors recommend further study with larger, non-student samples. 2 tables