Sean M. McCrea

Construal Level and Procrastination

According to construal-level theory, events that are distant in time tend to be represented more abstractly than are events that are close in time. This mental association between level of abstractness and temporal distance is proposed to be a bidirectional relationship, such that level of representation of an event should also have effects on the time when the activity is performed. In the present studies, participants were asked to respond to a questionnaire via e-mail within 3 weeks. The questionnaire was designed to induce either an abstract or a concrete construal. Using a variety of manipulations of construal level, the studies supported the predictions of construal-level theory. Individuals were less likely to procrastinate performing the task when the questionnaire induced a more concrete construal. Furthermore, this effect did not depend on the attractiveness, importance, or perceived difficulty of the task.

The Role of Ability Judgments in Self-Handicapping

This research investigated whether self-handicapping preserves specific conceptions of ability in a particular domain despite poor performance. Reports of preparatory behaviors and stress among introductory psychology students were measured prior to an exam and subsequent performance, attributions for the performance, and measures of global self-esteem and specific self-conceptions were measured after the exam. Results indicated that high self-handicappers reported reduced effort and more stress prior to the exam, performed worse on the exam, and made different attributions following the exam than did low self-handicappers. Although reported self-handicapping was detrimental to performance, male HSH individuals maintained positive conceptions of specific ability in psychology in spite of poorer performance. Moreover, the results of path analyses indicated that it was these changes in specific ability beliefs that mediated changes in global self-esteem. These findings suggest that the primary motivation underlying self-handicapping may be to protect conceptions of ability in a specific domain, which thereby serves to protect global self-esteem.

Public Self-Focus and Sex Differences in Behavioral Self-Handicapping: Does Increasing Self-Threat Still Make it “Just a Man’s Game?”

The present study examined the effects of public self-focus and participants’ sex on self-handicapping behavior. Research in the area of self-handicapping has consistently shown that men alone tend to self-handicap behaviorally. Because conditions of public self-focus tend to make the evaluative implications of per formance more salient, the authors hypothesized that people would self-handicap more when they are self-focused (as opposed to other-focused). Men and women were presented with an important intellectual evaluation and were allowed to practice for the upcoming test as much as they wanted. Results showed that men self-handicap more when they are self-focused but women do not behaviorally self-handicap under self-or other-focused conditions. Heightened concern over possible failure in self-focused conditions appeared to be the critical mediator in encouraging self-handicapping behavior among men.

Self-Handicapping, Excuse Making, and Counterfactual Thinking: Consequences for Self-Esteem and Future Motivation

Researchers interested in counterfactual thinking have often found that upward counterfactual thoughts lead to increased motivation to improve in the future, although at the cost of increased negative affect. The present studies suggest that because upward counterfactual thoughts indicate reasons for a poor performance, they can also serve as excuses. In this case, upward counterfactual thoughts should result in more positive self-esteem and reduced future motivation. Five studies demonstrated these effects in the context of self-handicapping. First, upward counterfactual thinking was increased in the presence of a self-handicap. Second, upward counterfactual thoughts indicating the presence of a self-handicap protected self-esteem following failure. Finally, upward counterfactual thoughts that protect self-esteem reduced preparation for a subsequent performance as well as performance itself. These findings suggest that the consequences of upward counterfactuals for affect and motivation are moderated by the goals of the individual as well as the content of the thoughts.

Construal level mind-sets moderate self- and social stereotyping

Construal level theory suggests that events and objects can be represented at either a higher, more abstract level involving consideration of superordinate goals, desirability, global processing, and broad categorizations or a lower, more concrete level involving consideration of subordinate goals, feasibility, local processing, and narrow categorizations. Analogously, social targets (including the self) can be represented more broadly, as members of a group, or more narrowly, as individuals. Because abstract construals induce a similarity focus, they were predicted to increase the perceived fit between social targets and a salient social category. Accordingly, placing individuals into a more abstract construal mind-set via an unrelated task increased the activation and use of stereotypes of salient social groups, stereotype-consistent trait ratings of the self, group identification, and stereotype-consistent performance relative to more concrete construal mind-sets. Thus, nonsocial contextual influences (construal level mind-sets) affect stereotyping of self and others.

Exploitative and Deceptive Resource Acquisition Strategies: The Role of Life History Strategy and Life History Contingencies

Life history strategy (LHS) and life history contingencies (LHCs) should theoretically influence the use of exploitative and deceptive resource acquisition strategies. However, little research has been done in this area. The purpose of the present work was to create measures of exploitative strategies and test the predictions of life history theory. Pilot studies developed and validated a behavioral measure of cheating called the Dot Game. The role of individual LHS and LHCs (manipulated via validated story primes) on cheating was investigated in Study 1. Studies 2a through 2c were conducted to develop and validate a self-report measure called the Exploitative and Deceptive Resource Acquisition Strategy Scale (EDRASS). Finally, Study 3 investigated life history and EDRASS. Results indicated that while LHS influences exploitative strategies, life history contingences had little effect. Implications of these findings are discussed.

Environmental constraints on the functionality of inhibitory self-control: Sometimes you should eat the donut

Abstract Self-control involves the inhibition of behavior motivated by short-term reward. Self-control is generally considered to be critical to health and well-bring. However, from an evolutionary standpoint, inhibiting short-term reward may not always be functional. We suggest that the functionality of maintaining or ceasing inhibitory self-control is highly context-dependent. We have elsewhere proposed the dual component theory of inhibition regulation (DCTIR). The DCTIR proposes a functional processing mechanism that determines whether to continue or cease inhibitory self-control. According to the DCTIR, the functionality of continued application of inhibition is conditional on the availability of resources and stability of the environment. To test these predictions, we developed an online game called “Food Quest,” in which participants are asked to imagine that they are on a journey. They are faced with the decision of whether or not to engage in a behavior with a short-term reward but with a long-term cost. The game environment is manipulated by varying game lifespan as well as the distribution and prevalence of resources. Results were consistent with predictions from the DCTIR that self-control was more functional in environments characterized by longevity and plentiful resources, but not in more dangerous, highly variable environments. Implications and future directions are discussed.

Implementation intentions forge a strong cue–response link and boost prospective memory performance

Prospective memory (PM) performance (i.e., remembering to perform intentions) is often in the service of higher goals and thus could be improved through better self-regulation. We examined the effectiveness of three self-regulatory strategies in a laboratory event-based PM task: implementation intention (i.e., planning in an if/when–then format), rehearsal (i.e., planning not in an if/when–then format) and upward counterfactual (“if only…” thoughts about a past performance). The cue and response mentioned in all three strategies were held constant, such that only format and timing (past vs. future orientation) of the strategy varied. Results indicated that the implementation intention strategy strengthened the cue–response link and improved PM performance over baseline, relative to a control condition. Neither rehearsal nor counterfactual strategies had significant benefits, relative to a control condition. These findings suggest that the if/when–then plan format of implementation intentions may be a critical feature of their effectiveness in retrieving and executing intentions.

Motivated Collective Defensiveness: Group Members Prioritize Counterarguing Out-Group Criticism Over Getting Their Work Done

Group members defensively reject out-group criticism in self-reports because they perceive it as more threatening than the same criticism from the in-group (intergroup sensitivity effect). But does this effect motivate action? In five experiments, group members exhibited behavior patterns characteristic of motivated goal pursuit: They prioritized defending their group over completing their individual work (Experiments 1–5), even when work was intrinsically rewarding (Experiment 2) or incentivized (Experiment 3). Lastly, this effect disappeared when group members had attained their goal of protecting their group by other means (i.e., group affirmation; Experiments 4 and 5). Together, the experiments suggest that intergroup sensitivity motivates goal-directed action. We discuss how motivated collective defensiveness may undermine constructive debate and heighten acrimony between groups.

Beyond Motivated Reasoning: Hostile Reactions to Critical Comments From the Outgroup.

People are motivated to process threatening information in a defensive manner. For instance, in self-reports, group members consistently reject threatening outgroup criticism compared with the same criticism from the ingroup (intergroup sensitivity effect). Because self-reports are a poor proxy for actual behavior, it remains unknown whether this defensiveness motivates hostile actions. We fill this gap in the literature: Five experiments (total N = 787) show that group members pay to punish critical outgroup comments, exclude outgroup commenters from a subject pool, and reject ultimatum bargaining offers from outgroup commenters compared with ingroup commenters voicing the same criticism. These defensive behaviors represent hostile actions and are robust in a meta-analysis across our 5 studies. Intergroup sensitivity thus motivates hostile defensive actions. We discuss potential consequences for intergroup relations.