State-oriented Individuals Research Articles

Mindfully missing myself: Induced mindfulness causes alienation among poor self-regulators.

Mindfulness is a popular technique that helps people to get closer to their self. However, recent findings indicate that mindfulness may not benefit everybody. In the present research, we hypothesized that mindfulness promotes alienation from the self among individuals with low abilities to self-regulate affect (state-oriented individuals) but not among individuals with high abilities to self-regulate affect (action-oriented individuals). In two studies with participants who were mostly naïve to mindfulness practices (70% indicated no experience; N1 = 126, 42 men, 84 women, 0 diverse, aged 17-86 years, Mage = 31.87; N2 = 108, 30 men, 75 women, 3 diverse, aged 17-69 years, Mage = 28.00), we tested a mindfulness group (five-minute mindfulness exercise) against a control group (five-minute text reading). We operationalized alienation as lower consistency in repeated preference judgments and a lower tendency to adopt intrinsic over extrinsic goal recommendations. Results showed that, among state-oriented participants, mindfulness led to significantly lower consistency of preference judgments (Study 1) and lower adoption of intrinsic over extrinsic goals (Study 2) compared to text reading. The alienating effect was absent among action-oriented participants. Thus, mindfulness practice may alienate psychologically vulnerable people from their self and hamper access to preferences and intrinsic goals. We discuss our findings within Personality-Systems-Interactions (PSI) theory.

Action-orientation shields against primed cognitive conflict effects on effort-related cardiac response.

This article presents a quasi-experiment (N = 79 university students) testing whether individual differences in action-state orientation moderate primed cognitive conflict's effects on sympathetically mediated cardiac response during task performance reflecting effort. Action control theory posits that action-oriented individuals are less receptive to distracting affective stimuli during goal pursuit than state-oriented individuals because action-orientation is related to higher volitional skills. Therefore, we expected that action-oriented individuals should be shielded against conflict primes' effect on effort-related responses in the cardiovascular system. By contrast, state-oriented individuals should be more sensitive to irrelevant negative affective stimulation and therefore mobilize higher resources under such conditions. Responses of the cardiac pre-ejection period (PEP) during a moderately difficult short-term memory task corroborated these predictions. The present findings provide the first evidence that individual differences in action-state orientation indeed moderate previously demonstrated cognitive conflict priming effects on effort-related cardiac response and extend recent findings on action shielding.

(Un)Locking self-motivation: Action versus state orientation moderates the effect of demanding conditions on self-regulatory performance

The present research examined whether individual differences in self-regulatory ability (action-state orientation) moderate the effect of demands on self-regulatory performance. Whereas state-oriented individuals consistently show a locking effect (impaired self-regulatory performance under demands), it is empirically less clear whether action-oriented individuals need at least some demands to unlock their self-motivation potential. We examined the impact of demanding conditions (Study 1: low positive affect; Studies 2 and 3: uncompleted intention) on action-state orientation in established self-regulatory tasks. Across all studies, action-state orientation moderated the effect of demands on self-regulatory performance. Specifically, action-oriented participants showed better self-regulatory performance under moderate compared to low demands. This shows that action-oriented individuals do not unlock their self-motivation potential unless there is some kind of demand.

The effects of pricing strategy on upgrade intentions

PurposeTaking a mental accounting theory perspective, this study explores how pricing strategy (all-inclusive vs partitioned) influences consumers' perceived residual value of a product and their subsequent intentions to upgrade to a newer model.Design/methodology/approachA pilot study and two formal experiments were conducted to test the hypotheses.FindingsA partitioned (vs all-inclusive) price causes consumers to later recall a lower total cost and perceive lower residual value for the existing product, thereby increasing upgrade intentions. This finding holds for both utilitarian and hedonic products. Perceived residual value mediates the impact of the pricing strategy on upgrade intentions. The pricing strategy effect is stronger for state-oriented individuals than for action-oriented individuals.Originality/valueThis study extends understanding of the impact of pricing strategies from consumers' short-term immediate demand to long-term upgrade intentions. It also identifies a previously uninvestigated moderator (action-state orientation), clarifying the boundary conditions of pricing strategy effects. The study's conceptual framework links pricing strategy, sunk costs, perceived residual value and upgrade intentions, providing rich insights and potential research paths. These findings further enhance understanding of upgrade intentions.

When tough gets you going: Action orientation unfolds with difficult intentions and can be fostered by mental contrasting

Action orientation is a volitional mode that supports successful intention enactment under demands. We expected that priming difficulties evokes action-oriented individuals to self-regulate positive affect for effective intention enactment and causes state-oriented individuals to struggle. However, we predicted that mental contrasting increases intention enactment among state-oriented individuals. In two studies (N1 = 132, 46.21% male, Mage = 16.53; N2 = 128, 61.72% male, Mage = 11.53), intention enactment was assessed non-reactively by Stroop interference. As a crucial test for self-regulatory ability, we used intention-forming primes (“setting high goals”) which call for self-generating positive affect and presumably facilitate intention enactment only among action-oriented individuals. In Study 2, we aimed to improve state-oriented participants' intention enactment through mental contrasting. Consistent with expectations, action-oriented individuals showed a complete removal of Stroop interference after intention-forming primes (Studies 1 and 2). Furthermore, a short mental contrasting intervention promoted intention enactment among state-oriented participants (Study 2). Findings support the understanding that action-oriented individuals excel under demanding conditions whereas state-oriented individuals have to practice self-regulating positive affect to successfully enact under demands.

Action versus state orientation moderates the relation between executive function task performance and resting heart rate variability

Despite a considerable rationale for a relationship between executive functions (EFs) and resting heart rate variability based on the neurovisceral integration model, meta-analyses reveal relatively small effect sizes. This study aims to evaluate this relationship in three EF tasks by taking task characteristics and implicit affect and attention regulation measured by action-state orientation into account. Analyzing 154 participants (M = 23.56 years; SD = 3.14) indicated that the relationship was moderated by action-state orientation. However, the Johnson-Neyman test only found a relationship for state-oriented individuals, which also differed in the direction between demanding and low-demanding tasks. Therefore, this study cannot fully confirm the neurovisceral integration model. Implications for future research are discussed.

The hare and the tortoise: The impact of action- versus state-orientation on entrepreneurial progress and persistence

Action-orientation is portrayed as key for entrepreneurship. To understand the conditions under which action-orientation is indeed favourable for entrepreneurs, we introduce the personality-systems-interaction (PSI) theory to entrepreneurship research. PSI theory distinguishes action- versus state-orientation and explains how both dispositions influence an entrepreneur’s cognition (including goals), emotional reactions and the resulting behaviour. It provides a novel basis for understanding individual differences in persistence and progression through the venture creation process. Based on the tenets of PSI theory, we develop propositions to explain how action-oriented versus state-oriented individuals respond differently to the demands of the entrepreneurial process.

Individual Difference in Goal Motives and Goal Content: The Role of Action and State Orientation

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether hesitant or preoccupied people (state-oriented) have different goal content and motives compared to initiative or disengaged people (action-oriented). People rated the degree of autonomous versus controlled feelings for extrinsic or intrinsic types of goals. Results showed that action-oriented people had a higher autonomous motive than state-oriented people for intrinsic goals, but not for extrinsic goals. Moreover, action-oriented individuals were related to a more internalised goal content (intrinsic goal) than state-oriented individuals. Implications for goal internalisation are discussed.

Feeling Better When Someone Is Alike: Poor Emotion Regulators Profit From Pro-Social Values and Priming for Similarities With Close Others.

The dispositional inability to self-regulate one's own emotions intuitively is described as state orientation and has been associated with numerous psychological impairments. The necessity to search for buffering effects against negative outcomes of state orientation is evident. Research suggests that state-oriented individuals can benefit from feeling close to others. Yet, there are individual differences in the extent to which supportive relationships are valued. The objective of the present article was to examine whether high importance of relatedness increases the utilization of its situational activation among state-oriented individuals. In two studies, we examined whether situational activation of relatedness (by priming for similarities with a close other) is particularly advantageous for state-oriented individuals who attach high importance to relatedness (i.e., benevolence values). The sample consisted of 170 psychology undergraduates in Study 1 and 177 in Study 2. In both studies, state-oriented participants high in benevolence had reduced negative mood after thinking about similarities (vs. differences). State-oriented participants low in benevolence did not benefit from priming for similarities. In Study 2, physical presence of a close other did not boost priming effects for state-oriented participants but stimulated action-oriented participants to attune their self-regulatory efforts to the context. The results show that state-oriented individuals who value benevolence do benefit from a situational activation of relatedness.

Who suffers from stress? Action-state orientation moderates the effect of external stress on relationship satisfaction

Growing evidence implicates stress as a reliable correlate of relationship satisfaction; yet, existing models fail to address why some relationships are more vulnerable than others to this effect. We draw from the literature on individual differences in self-regulation to predict that individuals who are more action oriented when confronted with aversive demands will buffer themselves and their partners against the detrimental effect of external stress. Using actor–partner interdependence modeling on self-report data from 368 couples, we show that the relationship satisfaction of highly stressed but action-oriented individuals and their partners is compromised less by external stress than that of state-oriented individuals and their partners. These results held after controlling for symptoms of depression and were not moderated by gender or by age, despite sampling couples varying widely in relationship duration. Results support the view that individual differences in self-regulation, and action orientation in particular, might benefit relationships confronted by stress, thus clarifying how dyads might be affected by demands outside their relationship.

Action orientation overcomes the ego depletion effect.

It has been consistently demonstrated that initial exertion of self-control had negative influence on people's performance on subsequent self-control tasks. This phenomenon is referred to as the ego depletion effect. Based on action control theory, the current research investigated whether the ego depletion effect could be moderated by individuals' action versus state orientation. Our results showed that only state-oriented individuals exhibited ego depletion. For individuals with action orientation, however, their performance was not influenced by initial exertion of self-control. The beneficial effect of action orientation against ego depletion in our experiment results from its facilitation for adapting to the depleting task.

Individual Differences in the Context-Dependent Recruitment of Cognitive Control: Evidence From Action Versus State Orientation.

The ability to flexibly adapt to deviations from optimal performance is an important aspect of self-control. In the present study, the authors present first evidence that the personality trait action versus state orientation (Kuhl, 2000) modulates the ability of adaptive control adjustments in response to experienced conflicts. Sixty-two German individuals with extreme scores on the action-state dimension performed a response interference task, that is, 31 extreme action-oriented individuals (30 females; Mage = 20.35 years) and 31 extreme state-oriented individuals (20 females; Mage = 23.23 years), respectively. Action-oriented individuals displayed a stronger conflict adaptation effect as evidenced by a stronger reduction of interference on trials following conflict. These results were further corroborated by a correlational analysis including a sample of 105 participants: the higher the score on the action-state dimension, the lower the interference effect following conflict (i.e., stronger conflict adaptation). The results provide evidence that even low-level, bottom-up-driven processes of self-control such as conflict adaptation are systematically moderated by individual differences in control modes and provide insights into the cognitive mechanisms underlying action versus state orientation.

When you have to climb downhill to reach the top: the effect of action versus state orientation on solvinga goal-subgoal conflict in the Tower of Hanoi task.

Complex problems often include a response conflict between a subgoal and a final goal. The present experiment investigated the roles of situational demands and individual differences in self-regulation on solving goal-subgoal conflicts in a computerized Tower of Hanoi task. Action-oriented versus state-oriented individuals were randomly assigned to a demanding condition in which they deliberated about a personal decision problem, or to a nondemanding control condition. In line with expectations state-oriented individuals had greater difficulties to solve goal-subgoal conflicts in the demanding compared to the nondemanding condition. Action-oriented individuals performed well in both conditions. In line with Personality Systems Interactions theory (Kuhl, 2000) the findings show that complex problem solving depends on how well people are able to deal with situational demands.

You Are Not Alone: Relatedness Reduces Adverse Effects of State Orientation on Well-Being Under Stress

A low ability to self-regulate emotions (state orientation) is associated with reduced well-being--especially under stress. Until now, research has approached this topic from an asocial perspective that views the self as devoid from relatedness concerns. However, people are social creatures who benefit from their relationships with others. As such, we expected that personally valuing (Study 1) and experimentally priming (Study 2) a sense of relatedness with others would act as a buffer against stress-related impairments in state-oriented individuals. In Study 1, high (vs. low) benevolence values removed the adverse effect of state orientation on well-being found under stressful life circumstances. In Study 2, focusing on similarities (vs. differences) while comparing oneself with a friend removed the adverse effect of state orientation on recovery from a negative mood induction. Our findings suggest that individuals with low self-regulatory competencies may profit from valuing and directing their attention toward their relatedness with others.

An induced emotional stressor differentially decreases subjective sleep quality in state-oriented but not in action-oriented individuals

Uncontrollable thoughts are considered to be one of the major factors leading to insomnia. One major source of uncontrollable thoughts may be emotional stress induced by deliberating personal problems and their consequences. If that is the case, a deliberating mindset should affect sleep quality mainly in state-oriented but not in action-oriented individuals, as action-oriented individuals are supposed to be more readily able to change their mindsets. After an adaptation and a baseline session, 37 healthy sleepers where exposed to a mindset induction before going to bed intended to stimulate them to deliberate on an unresolved personal problem. After this emotional stressor, state-oriented individuals showed a decrease in subjective but not in objective sleep quality, whereas sleep was not impaired in action-oriented individuals. Findings indicate a potential beneficial influence of an action-oriented mindset during the pre-sleep period.

Research Area: Learning

Motor-function encoding action phrases, facilitates recollection more than verbal encoding (enactment effect, c.f. Nilsson, 2000). Further, if the phrases are intended to be recalled via motor-function encoding it also leads to higher memory accessibility, referred to as the intention-superiority effect (Goschke & Kuhl, 1993) or the intended enactment effect (Freeman & Ellis, 2003), depending on whether the same process or different processes are assumed to underlie both effects. In three experiments, both effects were studied as a function of list length (18, 30, 60, or 90 items), retrieval measures (free recall, cued recall and recognition). Additionally, different moderator variables for these effects were investigated (familiarity, degree of motor involvement of the action phrases, individual differences in action orientation). Similar effects of intended and actual enactment were found for memory accuracy and accessibility (i.e., response latencies), but the effects were moderated by the nature of the action phrase and action orientation. State-oriented individuals and highly motoric action phrases showed a pronounced (intended) enactment effect. The results, at least partially, support a common explanation for both effects.

Implicit emotion regulation under demanding conditions: The moderating role of action versus state orientation

Action orientation is a volitional mode that promotes flexible self-regulation of emotional and motivational states; state orientation represents the conceptually opposite volitional mode that promotes fixation on (particularly negative) emotional and motivational states (Kuhl & Beckmann, 1994a). The present research investigated the link between action versus state orientation and implicit emotion regulation under demanding conditions. After inducing a demanding context, action-oriented participants displayed reduced affective priming effects of negative primes relative to state-oriented individuals (Studies 1–3). Action versus state orientation did not moderate affective priming effects of positive prime words (Studies 1–3). Effects of action versus state orientation emerged only for a limited number of trials (Study 2) and were reversed under low-demanding conditions (Study 3). These findings support the notion that implicit emotion regulation is closely linked to volitional action control.

Implicit self and affect regulation: Effects of action orientation and subliminal self priming in an affective priming task

Two studies examined the impact of subliminal self-activation on affect regulation among action- versus state-oriented individuals. Action orientation is a regulatory mode characterized by decisiveness and initiative, whereas state orientation is a regulatory mode characterized by indecisiveness and hesitation. According to the model of intuitive affect regulation (Koole & Kuhl, in press), action-oriented individuals have stronger associations between the implicit self and affect regulation systems than state-oriented individuals. This prediction was tested in an affective priming task (Fazio, Sanbonmatsu, Powell, & Kardes, 1986). As expected, subliminal self primes triggered down-regulation of negative affect among action-oriented participants. By contrast, subliminal self primes triggered persistence of negative affect among state-oriented participants. Supraliminal self primes had no parallel effects. The implicit self may thus play a key role in affect regulation and volitional action control.

On the regulation of cognitive control: Action orientation moderates the impact of high demands in Stroop interference tasks.

Previous research has established that people vary in action orientation, a tendency toward decisiveness and initiative, versus state orientation, a tendency toward indecisiveness and hesitation (J. Kuhl & J. Beckmann, 1994b). In the present 3 studies, the authors examined whether action orientation versus state orientation regulates cognitive control under demanding conditions. Under high demands, action-oriented participants displayed better cognitive control than did state-oriented participants in a Stroop color naming task (Studies 1-3). No similar effects were found under low demands (Studies 2-3). Functional differences between action- and state-oriented participants emerged especially when the task included a high proportion of congruent Stroop trials (Study 3). These findings suggest that action-oriented individuals are better protected against goal neglect than are state-oriented individuals.

On the Waxing and Waning of Working Memory: Action Orientation Moderates the Impact of Demanding Relationship Primes on Working Memory Capacity

The present research examined how action- versus state-oriented individuals (Kuhl & Beckmann, 1994) utilize their working memory capacity under varying situational demands. Participants visualized either a demanding or an accepting person, after which their working memory capacity was assessed. Among action-oriented participants, visualizing a demanding person led to greater operation spans (Study 1) and superior memory for intention-related information (Study 2) than visualizing an accepting person. State-oriented participants displayed the opposite pattern, such that visualizing an accepting person led to greater operation spans (Study 1) and superior memory for intentions (Study 2) than visualizing a demanding person. These findings indicate that action versus state orientation moderates the impact of situational demands on working memory capacity.