Perceived Self-Control Effort, Subjective Vitality, and General Affect in an Associative Structure

Abstract

A crucial assumption of the recently developed schema model of self-control is that people’s perceived self-control efforts are related to the experience of lowered subjective vitality. In the present study, this assumption was tested. It was also examined whether perceived self-control effort is related to a diffuse affective experience (i.e., subjective vitality, general positive affect, and general negative affect as a combined factor) or is discretely related to subjective vitality, general positive affect, and general negative affect. Based on the previous literature, it was expected that the latter would better fit the data. In a survey study, university students (N = 501) completed standardized measures of their perceived self-control effort, subjective vitality, general positive affect, and general negative affect with regard to a specific frame of reference (i.e., during the current day and the last 2 days). Bivariate correlations and confirmatory factor analyses revealed the expected relationships, meaning that perceived self-control effort was negatively related to subjective vitality and that the statistical model with three distinct affective variables fit the data better than the model with subjective vitality, positive affect, and negative affect incorporated into one common factor. It was concluded that the findings are in line with the schema model of self-control.

Influence of positive and negative affect on self-management among patients with early chronic kidney disease during the COVID-19 pandemic: The mediating and suppressing effect of ego depletion

“…That is, positive affect not only had a direct positive predictive effect on self-management but also used ego depletion as a mediating variable to indirectly predict self-management, which was in line with the results of previous studies. Positive affect can help people achieve better self-control ( 40 ). Zhu ( 41 ) believes that positive affect can help patients perform better in medical decision-making, problem solving and other tasks and can also supplement psychological resources and alleviate ego depletion.…”

The Cognitive Association Between Effortful Self-Control and Decreased Vitality

“…At several positions within the model, moderators are postulated that can affect the process (Figure 1, white boxes). While the process depicted in Figure 1 can be preconscious, Bertrams (2020Bertrams ( , 2021 assumed that some parts can come to consciousness, particularly when the intensity of the self-control demand involved is high. In the logic of the schema model, it is not primarily important whether a limited self-control resource exists (although its existence is considered possible).…”