A test of positive affect induction for countering self-control depletion in cigarette smokers.

The self-control strength model posits that exerting self-control on one task, such as resisting temptations, will deplete self-control and impair subsequent self-regulatory performance, such as controlling smoking. The current study examined interventions designed to replenish depleted self-control strength to prevent tobacco use by inducing positive affect. In a 2 × 2 design, 200 participants were randomized to either (1) resist eating from a plate of desserts (high temptation) or from a plate of raw vegetables (low temptation) and then (2) undergo a positive or neutral affect induction. Two inductions were compared (video vs. writing technique). Participants were then given a 10-min recess. Whether or not participants smoked during the recess, assessed by self-report and biochemical verification, served as the primary dependent variable. The interaction between depletion and exposure group was significant, Wald's χ² = 9.66, df = 3, p < .05. Among those assigned to resist desserts, 65.5% to 85% smoked if they were in the neutral video or writing conditions versus 10.5% in the positive affect video group. Positive affect elicited with a video was able to counteract the detrimental effects of self-control depletion on smoking behavior, while writing exercises were associated with smoking. Implications for tobacco cessation intervention are discussed.

Rude and inappropriate: the role of self-control in following social norms.

Following social norms to avoid deviant or socially inappropriate behavior may require self-control. This was tested in two experiments that experimentally manipulated individuals' level of self-control strength. In the first experiment, individuals whose self-control capacity was depleted were more likely to misrepresent how many problems they solved and work after being told to stop while working on a timed test. These same results were found in individuals low in trait self-control. This was especially true when the certainty of getting caught was low. In the second experiment, depleted individuals were ruder to the experimenter than nondepleted participants. The results have implications for understanding how self-control contributes to normative behavior.

Effect of smoking scenes in films on immediate smoking: a randomized controlled study.

BACKGROUND: The National Cancer Institute has concluded that exposure to smoking in movies causes adolescent smoking and there are similar results for young adults. PURPOSE: This study investigated whether exposure of young adult smokers to images of smoking in films stimulated smoking behavior. METHODS: 100 cigarette smokers aged 18-25 years were randomly assigned to watch a movie montage composed with or without smoking scenes and paraphernalia followed by a 10-minute recess. The outcome was whether or not participants smoked during the recess. Data were collected and analyzed in 2008 and 2009. RESULTS: Smokers who watched the smoking scenes were more likely to smoke during the break (OR=3.06, 95% CI=1.01, 9.29). In addition to this acute effect of exposure, smokers who had seen more smoking in movies before the day of the experiment were more likely to smoke during the break (OR=6.73, 95% CI=1.00, 45.25, comparing the top to bottom 5th percentiles of exposure). Level of nicotine dependence (OR=1.71, 95% CI=1.27, 2.32 per point on the Fagerström Test for Nicotine Dependence scale); contemplation (OR=9.07, 95% CI=1.71, 47.99) and precontemplation (OR=7.30, 95% CI=1.39, 38.36) stages of change; and impulsivity (OR=1.21, 95% CI=1.03, 1.43) were also associated with smoking during the break. Participants who watched the montage with smoking scenes and those with a higher level of nicotine dependence were also more likely to have smoked within 30 minutes after the study. CONCLUSIONS: There is a direct link between viewing smoking scenes and immediate subsequent smoking behavior. This finding suggests that individuals attempting to limit or quit smoking should be advised to refrain from or reduce their exposure to movies that contain smoking.

Resisting tempting foods and smoking behavior: implications from a self-control theory perspective.

OBJECTIVE: Individuals may desire to diet or restrain from eating certain foods while attempting to quit smoking out of concern for weight gain. However, previous research and clinical tobacco treatment guidelines suggest that concurrent dieting may undermine attempts to quit smoking. The current study applied the self-control strength model, which posits that self-regulation relies on a limited strength that is consumed with use, to test whether resisting tempting sweets would lead to a greater likelihood of subsequent smoking. DESIGN: Participants were 101 cigarette smokers randomly assigned to resist eating either from a tempting plate of sweets or from a plate of less tempting vegetables. All participants were then given a 10-min recess. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Whether participants smoked during the break, measured with a breath carbon monoxide sample, served as the primary dependent variable. RESULTS: As predicted, participants who resisted sweets were more likely to smoke during the break (53.2%) than those who resisted vegetables (34.0%), chi2(1, N = 101) = 3.65 p < .05. CONCLUSIONS: The findings support the tenets of the self-control strength model and suggest the mechanism by which dietary restraint may harm efforts at quitting smoking.

Changes in psychiatric patients' thoughts about quitting smoking during a smoke-free hospitalization.

Though exempted from national bans of tobacco smoking in hospitals, some psychiatric facilities have voluntarily gone 100% smoke free with little reported difficulty in clinical management. The impact of smoking restrictions on psychiatric patients' thoughts about quitting smoking, however, is not known. This study investigates changes in thoughts about quitting smoking for patients hospitalized in a smoke-free psychiatric inpatient facility. Participants were 100 smokers recruited from a university-based adult inpatient psychiatry unit. The present study focused on participants' reported desire to quit smoking, their expectancy of success and anticipated difficulty with quitting, and their smoking abstinence goal. Assessments were conducted at hospital intake and shortly before hospital discharge. Follow-up assessments were conducted by phone at 1 week, 1 month, and 3 months post-hospitalization to measure smoking behavior. Although no cessation treatment was provided in this observational study, from admission to discharge, participants reported an increased expectancy of success with quitting and a decreased expectancy of difficulty with staying quit. They also were more likely to endorse a smoking-related goal. Psychiatric diagnosis was not related to thoughts about abstinence. Furthermore, participants' thoughts about abstinence at discharge were significantly related to their subsequent smoking behavior. Hospitalization in a smoke-free environment is associated with increases in patients' expectancies about quitting and staying smoke free.

Conserving self-control strength.

Individuals may be motivated to limit their use of self-control resources, especially when they have depleted some of that resource. Expecting to need self-control strength in the future should heighten the motivation to conserve strength. In 4 experiments, it was found that depleted participants who anticipated exerting self-control in the future performed more poorly in an intervening test of self-control than participants who were not depleted, and more poorly than those who did not expect to exert self-control in the future. Conversely, those who conserved strength performed better on tasks that they conserved the strength for as compared with those who did not conserve. The underlying economic or conservation of resource model sheds some light on the operation of self-control strength.

The self-control costs of fighting the temptation to drink.

Being exposed to the sight and smell of an alcoholic beverage and not drinking it should require self-control. On the basis of the self-control strength model (M. Muraven & R. F. Baumeister, 2000), exerting self-control should lead to poorer performance on subsequent self-control tasks. Using a cue exposure paradigm, the authors had 160 social drinkers alternately sniff water and alcohol. After each trial, the drinkers engaged in 2 self-control tasks: squeezing a handgrip and a self-stopping task. Performance on these tasks was worse after sniffing alcohol than after sniffing water. Mood and arousal did not mediate the effects; urge to drink was negatively related to outcomes. The effects were stronger for individuals high in trait temptation to drink. Resisting the temptation of drinking appears to undermine self-control capacity.