MEANINGFULNESS AND ACTION ORIENTATION AS PREDICTORS OF SELF-CONTROL AND WILLPOWER TRAITS

Moscow University Psychology Bulletin ◽

10.11621/vsp.2020.02.01 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 3-25

Author(s):

Vyacheslav A. Ivannikov ◽

Alexey N. Gusev ◽

Daniil D. Barabanov ◽

Evgeniy V. Eidman

Keyword(s):

Emotional Regulation ◽

Predictive Power ◽

Self Control ◽

Sense Making ◽

Cognitive Resources ◽

Life Test ◽

Action Orientation ◽

State Orientation ◽

Purpose In Life Test

Background. This study examined a set of personality traits related to selfcontrol or willpower, (WP), and how self-ratings of these self-control traits are influenced by the cognitive constructs of action (versus state) orientation and meaningfulness. Design. The subjects were 943 university students, aged 17–29 (M = 19.5 years), who volunteered to complete J. Kuhl’s (1996) Action-State Orientation (ASO) scale, a Russian adaptation of the Purpose In Life test (PIL) as a measure of meaningfulness and sense-making capacity, and self-ratings of self-control traits, such as “persistence”, “decisiveness”, and “self-discipline” that produced an aggregate measure of WP and four willpower factors reflecting (1) emotional regulation, (2) commitment to action, (3) energy, and (4) execution. Results. State-oriented ineffective sense-makers (those who scored low on both ASO and PIL) rated themselves the lowest on WP. Conversely, action-oriented effective sense-makers (high scorers on both ASO and PIL) produced the highest WP self-ratings. Mediator-modelling regression analyses showed ASO and PIL to be predictive of self-rated WP — both independently, and by mediating each other’s influence on aggregate WP ratings. However, the predictive power of PIL was substantially higher than that of ASO, and the overall pattern of prediction varied across the four willpower sub-factors. Conclusion. Our results confirm the role of sense-making as a key mechanism of volitional regulaiton, and its interactions with cognitive resources such as action-orientation dispositions captured by ASO.

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Relationship between Volitional Regulation and Academic Achievements in University Students

Psychological Science and Education ◽

10.17759/pse.2021260104 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 26 (1) ◽

pp. 66-75

Author(s):

V.N. Shlyapnikov

Keyword(s):

Academic Performance ◽

University Students ◽

Purpose In Life ◽

Action Control ◽

Self Control ◽

Life Test ◽

Control Scale ◽

Academic Achievements ◽

And Behavior ◽

Purpose In Life Test

The paper presents results of a study on the relationship between the features of volitional regulation and academic performance in university students of different years and areas of training.The study compared students (year 1 to 4) of ‘Psychology’ (n=133) and ‘State and Municipal Administration’ (n=201) programmes.The following methods were used: the Action Control Scale by J.Kuhl; the questionnaire for revealing the expression of self-control in the emotional sphere, activity and behavior (developed by G.S.Nikiforov, V.K.Vasilyev and S.V.Virsov); the Dembo-Rubinstein self-esteem scale (modified by V.A.Ivannikov and E.V. Eidman, 1990); the Purpose in Life Test (by D.A.Leontiev).The arithmetic mean of all examination marks received by the student during the current academic year was used as an indicator of academic performance.It is shown that in junior students of the management programme the indicator of academic performance positively correlates with the indicators of the Action Control Scale (p <0.01), the Purpose in Life Test (p <0.01) and behavioral self-control (p <0.01), whereas in students of the psychology programme it positively correlates with indicators of the Purpose in Life Test (p <0.01) and social self-control (p <0.01).No significant correlations were found in senior students.The results obtained in the study allow us to draw some conclusions about the contribution of volitional regulation to the level of academic achievements in students.

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Dysfunction of Self-Control in Facebook Addiction: Impulsivity Is the Key

Psychiatric Quarterly ◽

10.1007/s11126-019-09683-8 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 91 (1) ◽

pp. 91-101 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Andrzej Cudo ◽

Małgorzata Torój ◽

Marcin Demczuk ◽

Piotr Francuz

Keyword(s):

Female Gender ◽

Action Control ◽

Self Control ◽

Control Scale ◽

Positive Elements ◽

State Orientation ◽

Facebook Addiction ◽

And Gender ◽

High Level

AbstractFacebook is one of the most popular social network sites and communication platforms. However, besides many positive elements related to the use of this network site, in some cases it may lead to addiction. Therefore, the main aim of our study was to identify Facebook addiction predictors, in particular, to verify whether impulsivity, as a dimension of self-control, is an important predictor of this type of addiction. We also examined whether Facebook addiction predictors such as time spent using Facebook, use of Facebook smartphone apps, state orientation and female gender would be significant in our model of Facebook addiction. The 234 participants in the study were assessed using the Facebook Intrusion Questionnaire, the Brief Self-Control Scale and the Action Control Scale. Impulsivity as a dimension of self-control, action control, amount of time spent on Facebook, Facebook app use and gender were found to be related to Facebook addiction. Specifically, a high level of impulsivity, more time spent using Facebook, female gender and Facebook smartphone app use are predictors of Facebook addiction. However, the relation between state orientation, restraint as a dimension of self-control and Facebook addiction was insignificant. Our results may indicate the role of impulsivity as a dimension of self-control in Facebook addiction. In addition, they may suggest that self-control should be taken into account not only as a one-dimensional but also as a multidimensional construct in Facebook addiction research. Our findings may also contribute to the better preparation of prevention and therapeutic programmes for people at risk of Facebook addiction.

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The Relationship between Emotion Regulation and Emotion Knowledge in Preschoolers: A Longitudinal Study

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph17165726 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 17 (16) ◽

pp. 5726

Author(s):

Beatriz Lucas-Molina ◽

Laura Quintanilla ◽

Renata Sarmento-Henrique ◽

Javier Martín Babarro ◽

Marta Giménez-Dasí

Keyword(s):

Emotion Regulation ◽

Longitudinal Study ◽

Emotional Regulation ◽

Predictive Power ◽

Emotion Knowledge ◽

Time Points ◽

Developmental Relationship ◽

The Relationship ◽

Practical Implications

Numerous studies have shown the important role of both emotion regulation (ER) and emotion knowledge (EK) in child development. Despite the number of studies carried out on both variables, there is practically no research on the developmental relationship between these two constructs. We present a longitudinal study to explore the relationship between EK and ER in preschoolers in which we measured these variables over 3 academic years in a cohort of 108 preschool children using the Test of Emotion Comprehension (TEC) and the Emotion Regulation Checklist (ERC). The ERC is divided into 2 subscales: Emotional Regulation (ER) and Lability/Negativity (L/N). Two cross-lagged models were constructed in order to examine the predictive power of ER and L/N on EK across the three time points. The results suggest that ER is an ability that precedes and predicts EK during preschool years. We also discuss the theoretical and practical implications of these findings.

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