自我损耗造成的自我控制失败：心理机制及缓解途径

Self-control refers to the mental processes that allow people to override their thoughts, emotions, and behaviors to achieve long-term desirable goals. Successful and unsuccessful self-control have immense individual and societal implications. However, prior exertion of self-control will lead to the state of reduced self-regulatory capacity, named ego depletion. Although abundant studies confirmed the ego depletion pattern, the mechanisms of ego depletion remain largely a controversy. A thorough understanding of how and why self-control wanes after previous efforts at control can teach us about how to eliminate ego depletion and improve self-control. Base on previous theories and studies, we propose that one of the underlying mechanisms of ego depletion is reduced conflict monitoring. Three studies are designed to examine the conflict monitoring mechanism of ego depletion, using established manipulation tasks and self-control outcome tasks. Study 1 measures conflict monitoring after depletion manipulation, and tests whether or not it mediates the effect ego depletion on self-control outcome. Study 2 adopts an individual difference approach, and examines the moderating role of self-monitoring on ego depletion effect. Study 3a and 3b directly manipulate conflict monitoring, and test whether or not the ego depletion effect is reduced after improving conflict monitoring. These studies are aimed at understanding the mechanisms of ego depletion. The results can help to develop ways of improving self-control, especially after previous effortful control of thoughts or behaviors.

自我控制是指对自身的思想、情绪和行为进行控制以达成长远目标的过程。它对人们在健康、学业、工作等各个领域的成功非常重要。然而，一段时间的自我控制活动之后，其表现会下降，称作自我损耗。自我控制为何会随着使用而削弱，存在争议。本课题结合已有理论及研究发现，提出冲突监控削弱作为自我损耗的机制解释。为检验这一机制及其普遍适用性，本课题结合多种考察心理机制的方法，并采用多种操纵自我损耗的方法和多种自我控制结果变量。研究1采用中介效应分析，对冲突监控进行测量，检验其在自我损耗对自我控制结果的影响中所起的中介作用。研究2采用个体差异视角，测量与冲突监控有关的人格变量，考察它对自我损耗效应的调节作用。研究3通过两种方法直接操纵冲突监控，检验加强冲突监控能否缓解自我损耗效应。综上，本课题试图确立自我损耗效应的机制；同时，基于内在机制确定缓解自我损耗的途径，为如何减少现实中的自我控制失败提供科学依据。

自我控制是人类重要的心理功能，成功自我控制有众多的个人和社会益处，失败则与消极后果相关联。自我控制随使用而削弱，称为自我损耗效应。对于该效应的机制，传统的资源有限模型未能得到充分支持，本项目提出冲突监控这一机制，并提供了与之一致的证据。. 本项目的研究内容包括：（1）通过情绪压制或习惯改变操纵自我损耗，检验对道德困境中不道德行为影响；（2）通过认知控制任务操纵自我损耗，考察对反应性攻击行为的影响；（3）操纵目标启动，考察对损耗后不道德行为的削弱作用；（4）操纵自然与城市环境暴露，考察对损耗后攻击行为的缓解作用。. 研究结果显示：（1）无论采用何种方法操纵自我损耗，在随后均出现了追求个人利益的不道德行为；（2）自我损耗条件下，反应性攻击行为上升；（3）道德动机和自然环境均可以缓解自我损耗所带来的消极效应，为冲突监控机制提供了支持。. 本项目丰富了自我损耗在不同领域的研究证据，并在理论层面推动了自我损耗心理机制研究的发展。从实践层面，关于缓解自我损耗效应的途径研究，为减少现实生活中的自我控制失败及其负面后果，提供了可行的手段和科学依据。