The Role of Attention in Self-Regulation.

University Of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles CA

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Abstract

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This project explores the interacting role played by situational factors and individual mental processes in the self-regulation of emotions and behavior. From binge eating to excessive anger, many sources of adverse physical and mental health outcomes revolve around a common theme: the inability of individuals to control their own behavior. The goal of this research is to explain why individuals often fail at self-regulation and how they succeed. According to the analysis presented here, self-regulation typically demands a significant expenditure of mental resources. When those resources are limited in some fashion, the result is a state of affairs we term "attentional myopia," in which individuals can focus on only the most salient internal and external cues, to the neglect of more distal stimuli. Their subsequent behavior is then likely to be under the near-exclusive motivational influence of those "central" cues. This state of attentional narrowing is predicted to lead to disinhibited behavior when salient internal or situational cues serve to promote the behavior in question, and enhanced behavioral inhibition when those cues instead suggest restraint. The specific aims include 1) demonstrating the predictions of the attentional myopia model in studies of the self-regulation of smoking, anger, aggression, and other behaviors, 2) addressing two alternative explanations for phenomena explained by the model, 3) clarifying the specific cognitive processes through which attentional narrowing affects self-regulation, 4) examining whether attentional narrowing serves as the primary mediator between mental/physical fatigue and poor behavioral regulation , and 5) exploring the implications of the model for significant self-regulatory challenges. In a series of laboratory and field studies, cognitive load manipulations are crossed with manipulations of person and/or situational factors, and relevant behaviors are assessed. An enhanced understanding of the personal and situational sources of maladaptive selfregulation will contribute to the promotion of mental health and well-being among at-risk individuals.