Where There Is a Will, Is There a Way? Effects of Lay Theories of Self-Control on Setting and Keeping Resolutions
We demonstrate the effect of consumers' lay theories of self-control on goal-directed behavior as evidenced by New Year's and other resolutions. Across three studies, we find that individuals who believe that self-control is a malleable but inherently limited (vs. unlimited) resource tend to set fewer resolutions. Using respondents' own idiographic resolutions, this result is shown to hold in general as well as in consumption-specific domains regardless of whether lay theories are measured or manipulated. The effect is reversed if respondents contrast beliefs regarding their own levels of self-control with their lay theories. The final field experiment shows that "limited self-control theorists" are less likely to succeed at their resolutions if they have low (vs. high) self-efficacy. (c) 2005 by JOURNAL OF CONSUMER RESEARCH, Inc..
Year of publication: |
2005
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Authors: | Mukhopadhyay, Anirban ; Johar, Gita Venkataramani |
Published in: |
Journal of Consumer Research. - University of Chicago Press. - Vol. 31.2005, 4, p. 779-786
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Publisher: |
University of Chicago Press |
Saved in:
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