The role of anticipated emotions in self-control: linking self-control and the anticipatory ability to engage emotions associated with upcoming events.

ABSTRACT: Self-control is typically attributed to "cold" cognitive control mechanisms that top-down influence "hot" affective impulses or emotions. In this study we tested an alternative view, assuming that self-control also rests on the ability to anticipate emotions directed toward future consequences. Using a behavioral within-subject design including an emotion regulation task measuring the ability to voluntarily engage anticipated emotions towards an upcoming event and a self-control task in which subjects were confronted with a variety of everyday conflict situations, we examined the relationship between self-control and anticipated emotions. We found that those individuals (n = 33 healthy individuals from the general population) who were better able to engage anticipated emotions to an

SUBMITTER: Kruschwitz JD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10802682 | biostudies-literature | 2023

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature