Abstract
People repeatedly encounter response conflicts (i.e., self-control dilemmas between long-term and short-term goals). A longitudinal study was conducted to investigate how resolution of response conflict develops over time. Participants pursued a long-term goal. The design entailed pre- and post-measurements, as well as daily/weekly measures using a mobile application over a range of 10–110 days. Of the 180 people participating in the pre-measurement, 90 also completed the post-measurement. Over time, people became faster at successfully resolving response conflicts. The same response conflicts became bigger over time. Repeatedly being confronted with response conflicts facilitates resolution of these conflicts, by improving the identification of these conflicts, resulting in faster resolution.
Highlights
Many everyday situations are characterized by the presence of competing tendencies, or self-control dilemmas in which we have to decide between an option that serves our short-term goals and is immediately satisfying and an option that serves our long-term goal, but lacks the immediate satisfaction
Area under the curve and maximum deviation illustrate the spatial attraction of the alternative response, making it a proxy for strength of the conflict
The time it takes to reach this point of maximum deviation was recorded
Summary
Many everyday situations are characterized by the presence of competing tendencies, or self-control dilemmas in which we have to decide between an option that serves our short-term goals and is immediately satisfying (e.g., sweets with our coffee, staying in on a rainy night) and an option that serves our long-term goal, but lacks the immediate satisfaction (e.g., some raw veggies as a snack, going to the gym despite the rain). People with higher levels of trait self-control are known to be better at resolving response conflicts (Friese, Hofmann, & Wiers, 2011; Gillebaart, Schneider, & De Ridder, 2016; Stillman, Medvedev, & Ferguson, 2017). Overcoming these so-called response conflicts by choosing the long-term option leads to positive outcomes, as is illustrated abundantly by self-control research: People who are better at overcoming response conflict are happier, healthier, do better at work and school, and have more satisfying interpersonal relationships (Cheung, Gillebaart, Kroese, & De Ridder, 2014; De Ridder, Lensvelt-Mulders, Finkenauer, Stok, & Baumeister, 2012; Moffitt et al, 2011; Tangney, Baumeister, & Boone, 2004). The size and speed of resolution of conflicts over time was investigated in a longitudinal study on goal pursuit
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