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Alone, Unhappy, and Demotivated: The Impact of an Alone Mind-Set on Neurotic Individuals' Willpower

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This study explored how a mindset associated with being alone affects self-regulation among individuals varying in neuroticism. Neuroticism is associated with a dualistic approach to the social world—evaluation apprehension alongside need for approval. Consequently, in public contexts, neuroticism leads individuals to experience low pleasantness alongside high motivation. The impact of neuroticism on behavior alone is rarely studied. However, the absence of a social motivator (i.e., potential for approval) should bring neuroticism to be associated with low pleasantness alongside low motivation. Three studies supported these predictions using an alone/public social context mindset manipulation. Higher neuroticism was associated with lower declared willingness to exert effort (Study 1) and with lower actual effort expenditure (Studies 2a, 2b) in an alone mindset than in a public mindset. Additionally, across conditions, neuroticism was associated with low pleasantness. Thus, neuroticism reduces individuals’ willpower in the context of merely thinking about being alone.
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Article
Alone, Unhappy, and Demotivated: The
Impact of an Alone Mind-Set on Neurotic
Individuals’ Willpower
Liad Uziel
1
Abstract
This study explored how a mind-set associated with being alone affects self-regulation among individuals varying in neuroticism.
Neuroticism is associated with a dualistic approach to the social world—evaluation apprehension alongside need for approval.
Consequently, in public contexts, neuroticism leads individuals to experience low pleasantness alongside high motivation. The
impact of neuroticism on behavior alone is rarely studied. However, the absence of a social motivator (i.e., potential for approval)
should bring neuroticism to be associated with low pleasantness alongside low motivation. Three studies supported these pre-
dictions using an alone/public social context mind-set manipulation. Higher neuroticism was associated with lower declared
willingness to exert effort (Study 1) and with lower actual effort expenditure (Studies 2a, 2b) in an alone mind-set than in a public
mind-set. Additionally, across conditions, neuroticism was associated with low pleasantness. Thus, neuroticism reduces indi-
viduals’ willpower in the context of merely thinking about being alone.
Keywords
neuroticism, aloneness, public social context, self-control, motivation, willpower
Being alone could be experienced as pleasurable and rejuvenat-
ing or as unpleasant and demotivating. Although many factors
could potentially affect one’s alone experience, the present
research focused on the role of the trait neuroticism. In partic-
ular, the present study asked—and explored with three
experiments—how neuroticism affects individuals’ willingness
and ability to self-regulate as a function of the mere thought of
being alone (vs. in public).
Neuroticism refers to individual differences in the extent to
which people experience the world as threatening, problematic,
and distressing (Watson, Clark, & Harkness, 1994). High neu-
roticism is characterized by self-criticism, a sense of inability
to cope with challenging events, a feeling of uncontrollability,
and frequent intense negative emotions such as anxiety, depres-
sion, and guilt (Barlow, Ellard, Sauer-Zavala, Bullis, & Carl,
2014; Watson et al., 1994; Widiger, 2009).
Neuroticism is a highly influential trait. Its influence is read-
ily apparent across many life domains. It has been associated
with increased risk for psychopathology (Watson & Naragon-
Gainey, 2014), poor well-being (Steel, Schmidt, & Shultz,
2008), impaired job performance (Judge,Locke, Durham, &
Kluger, 1998), an increased risk for physical illnesses (Smith
& MacKenzie, 2006), and low life expectancy (Roberts, Kun-
cel, Shiner, Caspi, & Goldberg, 2007). That is, neuroticism is a
core personality dimension that negatively affects all major
aspects of functioning (Lahey, 2009).
Neuroticism and Social Behavior
In spite of its widespread influence, the bulk of research on
neuroticism has not explored its impact on social behavior. The
studies that have been conducted document undesired out-
comes. Neuroticism has been associated with unsatisfying
romantic relations and marital life (Karney & Bradbury,
1995; McNulty, 2008), conflicted interpersonal relationships
(Suls, Martin, & David, 1998), lack of social support (Kendler,
Gardner, & Prescott, 2002), difficulty in social integration
(Anderson, John, Keltner, & Kring, 2001), and diminished
leadership skills (Judge, Bono, Ilies, & Gerhardt, 2002).
However, little is known about the dynamics that lead high
neuroticism (high-N) individuals to end up having unsatisfying
relationships. One possible route resides with the duality that
characterizes their approach to interpersonal relationships. On
the one hand, dependency and a strong need to belong (Born-
stein, & Cecero, 2000; Leary, Kelly, Cottrell, & Schreindorfer,
2013) make high-N individuals motivated to maintain social
1
Psychology Department, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel
Corresponding Author:
Liad Uziel, Psychology Department, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, 52900,
Israel.
Emails: liaduziel@gmail.com; liad.uziel@biu.ac.il
Social Psychological and
Personality Science
2016, Vol. 7(8) 818-827
ªThe Author(s) 2016
Reprints and permission:
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DOI: 10.1177/1948550616657597
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connections. On the other hand, rejection sensitivity, negativity
bias, and anxiousness (Barlow et al., 2014; Downey & Feld-
man, 1996) make social interactions stressing, threatening, and
often frustrating for them (Gunthert, Cohen, & Armeli, 1999).
Their poor self-control (Tangney, Baumeister, & Boone, 2004)
imposes constraints on high-N individuals’ ability to adjust
their responses to meet their interpersonal goals. As a result,
high (vs. low) neuroticism often leads individuals to experience
a combination of high motivation and negative feelings in
social contexts.
Neuroticism and Being Alone
Could being alone serve high-N individuals better than being in
public? Research has yet to address this question. More gener-
ally, research on the effects of (everyday, not imposed) solitude
condition is relatively limited (Long & Averill, 2003), even
though solitude occupies much of people’s waking hours (esti-
mates range between 25%and 60%; Larson, 1990; Mehl &
Pennebaker, 2003).
Most research on solitude has emphasized negative implica-
tions. Time spent alone is considered less pleasant and is asso-
ciated with loneliness, boredom, and negative mood (Larson,
1990; Larson & Csikszentmihalyi, 1980; Matias, Nicolson, &
Freire, 2011). However, studies have also discovered beneficial
effects to spending time alone. When alone, one can contem-
plate on personal issues, self-reflect, and develop oneself
intellectually, spiritually, and emotionally (Galanaki, 2004;
Goossens, & Marcoen, 1999; Larson, 1997; Storr, 1988). Accord-
ingly, some people find being alone an attractive and a sought-
after experience (Hagemeyer, Neyer, Neberich, & Asendorpf,
2013).
There are reasons to expect that being alone will not be an
attractive experience or a character-building mechanism
among high-N individuals. Theory (Winnicott, 1958) and data
(Burke, 1992; Larson & Lee, 1996) have attributed the capacity
to be alone to psychological adjustment. High-N individuals’
adjustment difficulties (Watson et al., 1994) are likely to limit
their ability to find comfort in solitude. Findings support this
rationale. High-N individuals associated aloneness with loneli-
ness (Long, Seburn, Averill, & More, 2003) and—in an expe-
rience sampling study—with increased stress (Matias et al.,
2011). Accordingly, neuroticism was negatively associated
with a desire to be alone (Hagemeyer et al.,2013; Teppers
et al.,2013).
The feeling of loneliness that high-N individuals experience
while alone (Hagemeyer et al., 2013) stems in part from the fact
that this condition thwarts their ability to gain social approval
(Leary et al., 2013). This has significant implications for their
motivation to exert self-control. Research shows that loneliness
impairs willingness to exert self-control (Baumeister, DeWall,
Ciarocco, & Twenge, 2005; Cacioppo & Hawkley,2009), and
in the absence of motivation, actual self-control ability is seri-
ously impaired (Inzlicht & Schmeichel, 2012; Muraven & Sles-
sareva, 2003). That is, without social stimuli to relate to, being
alone is likely to bring about a demotivating sense of
purposelessness the higher one scores on neuroticism, which
may be expressed in reduced willingness to exert self-control.
The Current Research
The present study’s main question concerned the impact of an
alone experience on the self-regulatory behavior of individuals
high (vs. low) in neuroticism. It was expected that neuroticism
will interact with social condition such that higher neuroticism
will be associated with less willingness (and consequently with
impaired ability) to exert self-control in an alone condition than
in a public condition. This question was explored in three
experiments. Study 1 was focused on willingness to engage
in various activities that require self-control, and Studies 2a and
2b were focused on behavioral expressions of self-control.
Participants were primed to adopt either an alone or a public
social context mind-set (cf. Uziel & Hefetz, 2014). A mind-set
manipulation overcomes objective difficulties in creating real
alone condition—true to one’s private experience—in con-
trolled laboratory settings (Griffin, 2001; Uziel, 2007). It over-
comes this limitation by extracting the essence of the
experience as it is chronically represented in participants’
minds and by that allows studying alone and public conditions
comparably in experimentally controlled settings. The mind-
set procedure also allowed addressing a secondary issue of
unobtrusively analyzing the level of pleasantness that partici-
pants attribute to being alone/in public.
Study 1
Study 1 explored the effect of alone (vs. public) condition on
willingness to exert self-control. It was expected that higher
neuroticism would be associated with reduced willingness to
exert self-control following an alone mind-set than a public
mind-set.
Method
Participants and Procedure
University students (N¼93; M
age
¼24.99; SD ¼3.34; 69
women) were recruited for an online study on personality and
daily activities. Sample size was determined based on the effect
sizes and sample sizes of recent related studies (Keller & Pfat-
theicher, 2011; Lambert et al., 2003; Uziel & Hefetz, 2014) and
by conducting a power analysis. Based on existing studies,
effect sizes were expected to be moderate (i.e., total R
2
¼
.15). A power analysis software (G*Power; Faul, Erdfelder,
Lang, & Buchner, 2007) advised þ70 participants for an
80%power, which was the goal of the data collection
procedure.
Participants started the experiment by completing a neuroti-
cism scale. Then they were randomly assigned to either the
alone or the public social context mind-set condition. After the
mind-set manipulation, participants were asked about their
willingness to engage in activities that require self-control.
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Upon completion, participants answered demographic ques-
tions, were debriefed, and thanked.
Materials
Neuroticism. Neuroticism was measured with the short version
of the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire Revised (EPQ-RS;
Eysenck, Eysenck, & Barrett, 1985; e.g., ‘Are your feelings
easily hurt?’’), using a 4-point Likert-type response format
(1 ¼definite no,2¼no,3¼yes,4¼definite yes). Reliability
was high (a¼.90).
1
Alone/public social context mind-set manipulation. The participants
were primed to adopt either an alone (n¼47) or a public
(n¼46) social context mind-set by completing six identical
sentences with a single word or a short sentence: ‘‘when I
am by myself, I ... ’’ (alone)or‘whenIaminthecom-
pany of others, I ...’’ (public). Participants had to provide a
different answer to each sentence. Past research has docu-
mented the effectiveness of similar priming techniques
(Haley & Fessler, 2005; Keller & Pfattheicher, 2011), and
this task was applied successfully in an earlier study (Uziel
& Hefetz, 2014).
Pleasantness. In order to assess the level of pleasantness in the
context of being alone/in public, responses on the mind-set task
were evaluated. Each response to the six identical stimulus sen-
tences was rated by two independent judges for level of plea-
santness. Total scores could range from 6(6responses
expressing unpleasantness; e.g., Iam... bored, anxious)to
þ6 (6 responses expressing pleasantness; e.g., Iam... happy,
excited). Interrater agreement was high (Intraclass Correlation
Coefficient [ICC]¼.91), and ratings were averaged to a single
score.
Willingness to exert self-control. Willingness to engage in self-
regulatory behavior was measured by asking participants to
rate (on a 4-point scale, from 1 ¼completely unwilling to
4¼completely willing) the extent to which they were willing
to do six demanding activities if required to do so right now
(see Kesebir, 2014, for a similar measure). All activities
involved exertion of self-control, such as persistence and
patience. The activities were (1) organize assorted documents
at home; (2) clean the entire house; (3) solve a difficult cross-
word puzzle; (4) get dental treatment; (5) wait in a long line at
the bank; and (6) read a boring book to the end. Reliability was
reasonable (a¼.65) considering the diversity of activities. Par-
ticipants’ ratings were averaged.
Results
Manipulation Check
In order to verify responsiveness to the social context priming,
two independent raters (blind to condition allocation) judged
the responses to the stimulus sentences with regard to the extent
that they reflect an alone or a public context by noting refer-
ences to (or mentions of) other people (from 1 ¼alone context
to 5 ¼public context). Judges’ ratings were in high agreement
(ICC ¼.92) and were averaged to a single score. Participants in
the alone mind-set condition (M¼1.46, SD ¼0.54) differed
significantly from participants in the public mind-set condition
(M¼4.38, SD ¼0.59), t(91) ¼24.75, p< .001, Cohen’s d¼
5.18, indicating that participants adopted the mind-set of their
assigned condition.
Main Analyses
The main hypothesis was that higher neuroticism (M¼2.47,
SD ¼0.53) would be associated with lower willingness to exert
self-control (M¼2.70, SD ¼0.49) following an alone mind-set
than a public mind-set. To test this hypothesis, willingness to
exert self-control was regressed on neuroticism (centered) and
on mind-set condition (0 ¼alone;1¼public)inStep1and
also on their interaction in Step 2. Table 1 summarizes the
findings.
2
As seen in Table 1, Step 1 yielded no effect for neuroticism
or for the mind-set condition. Importantly, Step 2 revealed that
neuroticism and mind-set condition had a significant interac-
tion. Probing the interaction (Figure 1) revealed that in the
alone condition neuroticism had a significant negative associa-
tion with willingness to exert self-control, b¼0.29, standard
error [SE]¼0.12, 95%confidence interval [CI]: [0.54,
0.05], t(89) ¼2.39, p¼.019, Z
2
p
¼.060, whereas in the pub-
lic condition there was a nonsignificant positive effect of neu-
roticism on willingness to exert self-control, b¼0.16, SE ¼
0.15, 95%CI [0.14, 0.46], t(89) ¼1.05, p¼.29, Z
2
p
¼.012.
A second set of analyses explored the level of pleasantness
that participants expressed in the context of being alone/with
others. For that purpose, the level of pleasantness (M¼0.54,
SD ¼2.64) was regressed on neuroticism and on mind-set
Table 1. Summary of Hierarchical Multiple Regression Analysis for Predicting Willingness to Exert Self-Control From Neuroticism and Mind-
Set Condition (Step 1) and Their Interaction (Step 2) in Study 1.
Predictor bSE(b) 95% CI tdfpZ
2
p
Neuroticism 0.11 0.09 [0.31, 0.08] 1.13 90 .260 .014
Mind-set
a
0.03 0.10 [0.17, 0.23] 0.29 90 .775 .001
Neuroticism Mind-Set 0.46 0.19 [0.07, 0.84] 2.34 89 .022 .058
Note.N¼93. CI ¼confidence interval; SE ¼standard error.
a
Alone ¼0, public ¼1.
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condition in Step 1 and also on their interaction in Step 2. Table
2 summarizes the results. Step 1 revealed a negative effect for
neuroticism. In addition, an effect was found for the mind-set
condition, indicating greater pleasantness in the public mind-
set compared to the alone mind-set. Step 2 indicated no inter-
action effect.
Discussion
Study 1 demonstrated a negative effect for neuroticism on will-
ingness to exert self-control in an alone (vs. public) condition.
This is compatible with the idea that when alone, neuroticism
leaves individuals lacking an important motivating force in the
form of potential to gain social approval. In addition, across
condition, neuroticism was associated with low pleasantness.
Study 2a
Study 1 focused on declared willingness (i.e., motivation) to
exert self-control. Study 2a measured behavior. Specifically,
this study explored how neuroticism affects performance on a
tedious task after adopting an alone mind-set versus a public
mind-set. It was expected that higher neuroticism would be
associated with impaired performance more following the
alone mind-set than following the public mind-set.
Method
Participants and Procedure
University students (N¼75; M
age
¼25.40; SD ¼7.15; 60
women) were recruited for an online study on personality and
language. Participants started the experiment by completing a
neuroticism scale. Then they were randomly assigned to expe-
rience either an alone or a public social context mind-set. Par-
ticipants were then asked to solve anagrams,whichisa
prevalent and effective measure of self-control ability
(Muraven, Tice, & Baumeister, 1998). Upon completion, parti-
cipants answered demographic questions before being
debriefed and thanked.
Materials
Neuroticism. As in Study 1, neuroticism was measured with the
EPQ-RS (Eysenck et al., 1985;a¼.85).
Alone/public social context mind-set manipulation. Alone (n¼33)
and public (n¼42) social context mind-sets were primed with
the same sentence completion task from Study 1.
Pleasantness. As in Study 1, the level of pleasantness that parti-
cipants expressed in the context of being alone/in public was
judged by analyzing responses in the mind-set task. The ratings
by two independent judges were in high agreement (ICC ¼.88)
and were averaged to a single score.
Anagrams task. For a behavioral measure of self-control, parti-
cipants were required to work on anagrams task. Anagrams are
an effective measure of self-control because they require
repeated attempts of building and breaking letter combinations
along with an ability to withstand frustration. Participants were
informed that several of the (16) anagrams might be unsolvable
(in fact, all were solvable) and that their goal was to solve as
many anagrams as possible. No time limit was set. Performance
was evaluated by counting the number of anagrams solved cor-
rectly (i.e., by counting solutions in which all the specified let-
ters were used to regenerate the target word or an alternative
meaningful word).
Results
Manipulation Check
As in Study 1, two independent raters judged the responses to
the stimulus sentences with regard to the extent that they reflect
an alone or a public context. Judges’ ratings (ICC ¼.88) were
averaged to a single score. Participants in the alone mind-set
condition (M¼1.48, SD ¼0.52) differed significantly from
participants in the public mind-set condition (M¼4.48,
SD ¼0.58), t(73) ¼23.47, p< .001, Cohen’s d¼5.49, indicat-
ing that they adopted the mind-set of their assigned condition.
Main Analyses
The main analysis explored the effect of neuroticism
(M¼2.42, SD ¼0.44) on the number of anagrams solved
(M¼10.08, SD ¼2.95) in the two mind-set conditions. For
that purpose, the number of anagrams solved was regressed
on neuroticism (centered) and on mind-set condition (0 ¼
alone;1¼public) in Step 1 and also on their interaction in Step
2.TheresultsaresummarizedinTable3.Step1revealeda
negative effect for neuroticism and no effect for the mind-set
condition. Importantly, Step 2 revealed a significant interac-
tion. Probing the interaction (Figure 2) showed that in the alone
Figure 1. Willingness to exert self-control as a function of neuroti-
cism and the social context mind-set condition (Study 1).
N¼Neuroticism.
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condition neuroticism had a negative association with the
number of anagrams solved, b¼3.03, SE ¼0.85, 95%CI
[4.72, 1.33], t(71) ¼3.56, p< .001, Z
2
p
¼.151, whereas
in the public condition there was a nonsignificant effect of neu-
roticism on the number of anagrams solved, b¼0.76, SE ¼1.31,
95%CI [1.85, 3.39], t(71) ¼0.58, p¼.56, Z
2
p
¼.005.
A second set of analyses explored the level of pleasant-
ness that participants experienced in the context of being
alone/with others. For that purpose, the level of pleasantness
(M¼0.77, SD ¼2.49) was regressed on neuroticism and on
mind-set condition in Step 1 and also on their interaction in
Step 2 (see Table 2). Step 1 revealed a negative effect for
neuroticism. There was also a significant effect for mind-
set condition, indicating that participants associated being
with others with more pleasantness than being alone. Step
2 found no interaction effect. That is, as was the case in
Study 1, across conditions, neuroticism was associated with
low pleasantness. In addition, and also consistent with Study
1, the experience in a public context was more pleasant than
the experience alone.
Discussion
Study 2a extended Study 1 by showing that neuroticism has a
negative impact on performance in a self-control task in an
alone mind-set. In addition, like in Study 1, across conditions,
neuroticism was associated with low pleasantness.
Study 2b
Study 2b sought to replicate and extend Study 2a with a new
sample under a more controlled environment. The following
changes were implemented in the procedure: First, partici-
pants were in a laboratory, and thus were working under a
more controlled and contextually neutral (not really alone and
not really in public) setting compared to the previous online
study. Second, a central thesis promoted in this research is
that neuroticism is associated with reduced willingness to
Table 3. Summary of Hierarchical Multiple Regression Analysis for Predicting the Number of Anagrams Solved From Neuroticism and Mind-Set
Condition (Step 1), and Their Interaction (Step 2) in Study 2a.
Predictor bSE(b) 95% CI tdfpZ
2
p
Neuroticism 1.91 0.74 [3.38, 0.44] 2.59 72 .012 .085
Mind-set
a
1.08 0.66 [0.22, 2.39] 1.65 72 .103 .036
Neuroticism Mind-Set 3.79 1.57 [0.67, 6.93] 2.42 71 .018 .076
Note.N¼75. CI ¼confidence interval; SE ¼standard error.
a
Alone ¼0, public ¼1.
Figure 2. Number of anagrams solved as a function of neuroticism
and the social context mind-set condition (Study 2a).
N¼Neuroticism.
Table 2. Summary of Hierarchical Multiple Regression Analyses for Predicting Pleasantness From Neuroticism and Mind-Set Condition (Step 1)
and Their Interaction (Step 2) in Studies 1, 2a, and 2b.
Study Predictor bSE(b) 95% CI tdf p Z
2
p
Study 1 Neuroticism 1.69 0.49 [2.66, 0.73] 3.48 90 <.001 .118
Mind-Set
a
1.02 0.51 [0.01, 2.03] 2.01 90 .048 .043
Neuroticism Mind-Set 0.17 0.99 [2.14, 1.80] 0.17 89 .863 .000
Study 2a Neuroticism 1.31 0.59 [2.49, 0.13] 2.22 72 .030 .064
Mind-set
a
1.92 0.52 [0.88, 2.97] 3.67 72 <.001 .158
Neuroticism Mind-Set 1.41 1.29 [1.17, 3.99] 1.09 71 .280 .016
Study 2b Neuroticism 1.15 0.54 [2.23, 0.07] 2.11 79 .038 .053
Mind-set
a
0.18 0.48 [1.13, 0.77] 0.39 79 .700 .002
Neuroticism Mind-Set 0.09 1.09 [2.26, 2.09] 0.08 78 .936 .000
Note.N¼93, 75, and 82, for Studies 1, 2a, and 2b, respectively. CI ¼confidence interval; SE ¼standard error.
a
Alone ¼0, public ¼1.
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exert effort in an alone condition. To test this issue directly,
the time that participants spent on the anagrams task was
also measured.
Method
Participants and Procedure
University students (N¼82; M
age
¼22.99; SD ¼3.76; 58
women) were recruited for a study on personality characteris-
tics. Upon arrival at the lab, they were directed to an experi-
mental room equipped with a computer where they
completed the experiment alone. The experiment started with
aneuroticism scale. Participants were then randomly assigned
to experience either an alone or a public social context mind-
set. After the mind-set manipulation, participants were asked
to solve anagrams. Upon completion, participants answered
demographic questions, were debriefed, and thanked.
Materials
Neuroticism. Neuroticism was measured with the EPQ-RS
(Eysenck et al., 1985; a¼.84).
Alone/public social context mind-set manipulation. Alone (n¼40)
and public (n¼42) social context mind-set were primed with
the same sentence completion task from Studies 1 and 2a.
Pleasantness. As in the previous studies, the level of pleasant-
ness that participants expressed in the context of being alone/
in public was judged by analyzing responses in the mind-set
task. The ratings by two independent judges were in agreement
(ICC ¼.84) and were averaged to a single score.
Anagrams task. Akin to Study 2a, participants’ level of beha-
vioral self-control was assessed on an anagrams task. Like in
Study 2a, participants were informed that several of the (40)
anagrams might be unsolvable (in fact, all were solvable) and
that their goal is to solve as many anagrams as possible. No
time limit was set, but time was measured. Performance was
evaluated by counting the number of anagrams solved correctly
(number of anagrams; see Study 2a) and by recording the dura-
tion that participants spent working on the task from the time it
was presented on the computer screen until the answers were
submitted (work time).
Results
Manipulation Check
As in the previous studies, two independent raters judged the
responses to the stimulus sentences with regard to the extent
that they reflect an alone or a public context. Judges’ ratings
(ICC ¼.96) were averaged to a single score. Participants in the
alone mind-set condition (M¼1.16, SD ¼0.28) differed sig-
nificantly from participants in the public mind-set condition
(M¼4.69, SD ¼0.38), t(80) ¼47.16, p< .001, Cohen’s
d¼10.54, indicating that they adopted the mind-set of their
assigned condition.
Main Analyses
The main analysis explored the effect of neuroticism
(M¼2.20, SD ¼0.43) on the number of anagrams solved
(M¼24.10, SD ¼10.15). For that purpose, the number of ana-
grams solved was regressed on neuroticism (centered) and on
mind-set condition (0 ¼alone;1¼public) in Step 1 and also
on their interaction in Step 2. Table 4 summarizes the results. In
Step 1, the analysis yielded no effect for neuroticism or for the
mind-set condition. Step 2 revealed a significant interaction.
Probing the interaction (Figure 3) showed that in the alone con-
dition neuroticism had a significant negative association with
the number of anagrams solved, b¼7.42, SE ¼3.72, 95%
CI [14.84, 0.01], t(78) ¼1.99, p¼.049, Z
2
p
¼.048,
whereas in the public condition there was a nonsignificant
effect for neuroticism, b¼3.41, SE ¼3.82, 95%CI (4.20,
11.03), t(78) ¼0.89, p¼.37, Z
2
p
¼.010. Put simply, neuroti-
cism was associated with poorer performance in the alone
mind-set compared with the public mind-set.
In order to address participants’ motivation to exert effort,
time spent working on the anagrams task was assessed
(M
seconds
¼685.07, SD ¼429.77). Time on the task was
regressed on neuroticism and on mind-set condition in Step 1
andalsoontheirinteractioninStep2.Table4presentsthe
results. In Step 1, there was no effect for neuroticism or for the
mind-set condition. Step 2 revealed a significant interaction.
Probing the interaction (Figure 4) showed that in the alone con-
dition neuroticism had a significant negative association with
work time, b¼329.66, SE ¼148.10, 95%CI [624.52,
34.80], t(78) ¼2.22, p¼.029, Z
2
p
¼.059, whereas in the
public condition there was a marginally significant positive
effect for neuroticism, b¼262.33, SE ¼150.11, 95%CI
[36.53, 561.19], t(78) ¼1.75, p¼.08, Z
2
p
¼.038. That is,
neuroticism was associated with less willingness to exert effort
in the alone mind-set than in the public mind-set.
To the extent that willingness to exert effort (i.e., work time)
accounts for the number of anagrams solved, it should mediate
the effect of the interaction of neuroticism and mind-set condi-
tion on the number of anagrams solved. In order to establish
mediated moderation, several criteria need to be met (Muller,
Judd, & Yzerbyt, 2005): First, the interaction between neuroti-
cism and mind-set condition in predicting the number of ana-
grams solved should be significant (as was found; see Table 4).
Second, the interaction between neuroticism and mind-set condi-
tion in predicting work time should be significant (as was found;
see Table 4). Third, controlling for all other variables, work time
should predict the number of anagrams solved. This was indeed
the case, b¼0.01, SE ¼0.002, 95%CI [0.01, 0.02], t(77) ¼
6.32, p< .001, Z
2
p
¼.341. Finally, controlling for work time
should reduce the effect of the interaction between neuroticism
and mind-set condition in predicting the number of anagrams
solved. This was also found, b¼2.54, SE ¼4.34, 95%CI
[6.10, 11.19], t(77) ¼0.58, p¼.560, Z
2
p
¼.004. That is,
Uziel 823
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performance on the task was dependent on participants’ willing-
ness to exert effort.
A final set of analyses explored the level of pleasantness that
participants experienced in the context of being alone/in public.
For that purpose, the level of pleasantness (M¼0.70, SD ¼
2.18) was regressed on neuroticism and on mind-set condition
in Step 1 and also on their interaction in Step 2 (see Table 2).
Step 1 yielded a significant effect for neuroticism but no effect
for the mind-set condition. Step 2 indicated no interactive
effect. That is, again, across conditions neuroticism was asso-
ciated with low pleasantness.
Discussion
Study 2b replicated the results of Study 2a in showing that neu-
roticism was associated with impaired self-control in an alone
mind-set but not in a public mind-set. It extended Study 2a by
stressing the role of motivation in affecting performance.
General Discussion
Three studies uncovered an interaction effect, whereby neuro-
ticism was associated with reduced willingness to self-regulate
in an alone mind-set than in a public mind-set. Study 1 found
that in an alone mind-set neuroticism was associated with
reduced willingness to engage in tedious everyday tasks. Stud-
ies 2a and 2b found that in an alone mind-set neuroticism was
associated with impaired behavioral expressions of self-
control. Study 2b pointed to the role of willingness to exert
effort as the factor responsible for impaired performance.
The present study suggested that these effects stem from the
association between neuroticism and need for social approval
(Leary et al., 2013). Specifically, the potential to gain others’
approvals stimulates effort expenditure (until resources are
depleted), and its absence—as in an alone condition—leads
to a state of demotivation. The present focus was on establish-
ing the behavioral effect and on attributing it to changes in
motivation. Future research should address the more concrete
mechanisms involved, notably, the mediating roles of need for
approval and feeling of loneliness. Moreover, although the
mind-set condition did not moderate the effect of neuroticism
on pleasantness, different processes might have caused low
pleasantness among high-N individuals in the two conditions.
Specifically, low pleasantness in the public context might have
stemmed from evaluation apprehension, whereas low pleasant-
ness in the alone context might have stemmed from despair.
These diverging affective responses should also be the focus
of future explorations.
Figure 3. Number of anagrams solved as a function of neuroticism
and the social context mind-set condition (Study 2b).
N¼Neuroticism.
Table 4. Summary of Hierarchical Multiple Regression Analyses for Predicting the Number of Anagrams Solved and Work Time From
Neuroticism and Mind-Set Condition (Step 1), and Their Interaction (Step 2) in Study 2b.
Dependent Predictor bSE(b) 95% CI tdf p Z
2
p
Number of anagrams Neuroticism 2.00 2.59 [7.16, 3.15] 0.77 79 .442 .008
Mind-set
a
0.07 2.26 [4.49, 4.51] 0.00 79 .997 .000
Neuroticism Mind-set 10.85 5.07 [0.78, 20.95] 2.14 78 .035 .056
Work time Neuroticism 37.66 109.93 [256.46, 181.15] 0.34 79 .733 .001
Mind-set
a
27.48 96.05 [163.69, 218.66] 0.29 79 .775 .001
Neuroticism Mind-set 591.99 210.88 [172.15, 1011.83] 2.81 78 .006 .092
Note.N¼82. CI ¼confidence interval; SE ¼standard error.
a
Alone ¼0, public ¼1.
Figure 4. Work time on the anagrams task as a function of neuroti-
cism and the social context mind-set condition (Study 2b).
N¼Neuroticism.
824 Social Psychological and Personality Science 7(8)
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The findings have implications for research on neuroticism,
self-regulation, and aloneness. Research on neuroticism has
generally placed little emphasis on the moderating role of
social conditions in considering the trait’s impact on behavior.
The present findings (see also Uziel, 2007, 2015; Uziel & Bau-
meister, 2012) indicate that in the domain of self-control, social
context—specifically, the mere thought of a social context—is
an important moderator for neuroticism’s effects. Notwith-
standing, unlike previous studies (notably, Uziel & Baumeister,
2012), the present study revealed a relatively facilitative effect
for the public condition and an inhibitory effect for the alone
condition. Several methodological differences (e.g., the nature
of the alone condition) explain the seemingly different find-
ings, of which the most important difference is that Uziel and
Baumeister (2012; Studies 1 & 2) studied ‘residual effects’
of being in a public context, whereas the present study explored
concurrent effects. That is, participants in Uziel and Baumeis-
ter (2012) were in a public context while working on an early
task, but they were alone when their performance was tested
on a subsequent task (i.e., after exerting effort in public). In
contrast, in the present study, participants performed a single
task that reflected their level of effort while being in a public
condition (mind-set). This difference is significant because it
highlights an important theoretical implication: High-N indi-
viduals’ strong motivation in public contexts helps them avoid
self-control failures for a (relatively short) period of time (until
motivation is no longer able to counter their limited resources;
Tangney et al., 2004).
Implications also exist for the self-control literature. The
present results agree with recent theoretical formulations that
underscored the role of motivation in affecting self-control per-
formance (Inzlicht & Schmeichel,2012), but they add some
nuances: First, motivation could be external to the task itself
(e.g., triggered by a social context); second, motivation is
highly affected by personality variables; and third, the impact
of motivation on subsequent performance is bounded, to some
extent, by one’s basic self-control resources, which could even-
tually be depleted (Vohs, Baumeister, & Schmeichel, 2012).
Finally, there are implications for the research on aloneness.
For the most part, research on the alone condition has relied on
correlational field studies (Larson, 1990). The present research
is among the first to address this condition experimentally. This
allowed the present research not only to distill the effects of
aloneness but also to broaden the point of reference by showing
that an alone mind-set (i.e., mere thought of being alone) is a
factor that should be considered. The present results have gen-
erally corroborated past findings in showing that aloneness is
not very pleasant (Matias et al., 2011), but they have also
showed that in addition to the effects on mood, aloneness caries
motivational effects among neurotic individuals with clear
behavioral implications.
There are several limitations to the present study. First, gen-
eralizability could have improved using alternative measures of
neuroticism. Although various measures of neuroticism are
highly correlated (e.g., Watson et al., 1994), having alternative
measures could have increased the robustness of the effects.
The same is true for self-control tasks. In addition, having a
direct measure of affect after the mind-set task might have pro-
vided a more rigorous approach for assessing the impact of the
manipulation on pleasantness. Furthermore, although the mind-
set manipulation presents some advantages, the lack of actual
alone/public conditions limits the external validity of the
findings.
In conclusion, research on the alone condition in general and
with reference to neuroticism in particular could provide new
understandings of ways toward greater well-being. The present
research offered a first step in addressing these questions, seek-
ing to establish the existence of basic effects and also to stimu-
late future experimental work on these topics.
Declaration of Conflicting Interests
The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to
the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Funding
The author(s) received no financial support for the research, author-
ship, and/or publication of this article.
Supplemental Material
The online supplements are available at http://spps.sagepub.com/
supplemental.
Notes
1. Materials are fully reproduced in the supplemental materials.
2. Auxiliary analyses are presented in the supplemental materials.
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Author Biography
Dr. Liad Uziel is a Senior Lecturer at the Psychology Department in
Bar-Ilan University, Israel. His research focuses on individual differ-
ences in social behavior.
Handling Editor: Dominique Muller
Uziel 827
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... Often, aloneness is experienced as a time of passivity and loneliness (Larson, 1990), and was found to be associated with lower positive affect and higher biological indices of stress (Pauly et al., 2017). Relatedly, Wilson et al. (2014) demonstrated how aversive people may find even brief periods of aloneness, and research showed that aloneness predicted low motivation and lack of self-control (mainly among high-neuroticism individuals; Uziel, 2016). ...
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... Notwithstanding, existing research informs that, overall, Neuroticism is associated with difficulties in social integration. These difficulties are expressed in conflicted romantic and marital life (Donnellan, Conger, & Bryant, 2004;Karney & Bradbury, 1995;McNulty, 2008), low social status (Anderson, John, Keltner, & Kring, 2001), lack of social support (Kendler, Gardner, & Prescott, 2005), and in the realm of task performance and cognitive functioning in public contexts-with impaired performance, reduced creativity, and negative appraisals (e.g., Uziel, 2007Uziel, , 2015Uziel, , 2016Uziel & Baumeister, 2012). ...
... Neuroticism is associated with dependency and need to belong (Bornstein & Cecero, 2000;Leary, Kelly, Cottrell, & Schreindorfer, 2013), alongside increased sensitivity and anxiousness concerning rejection (Barlow et al., 2014;Downey & Feldman, 1996). This duality makes social contexts both appealing and threatening, expressed in strong self-presentational motives (Uziel, 2016), which eventually drain the resources of high-Neuroticism individuals (Uziel & Baumeister, 2012). ...
... In an alone context they are deprived of the social support which they seek, and thus are likely to experience it as unsatisfying. Indeed, Neuroticism is negatively associated with a desire to be alone (Hagemeyer, Neyer, Neberich, & Asendorpf, 2013;Teppers et al., 2013), and higher Neuroticism individuals associate solitude with loneliness , stress (Matias et al., 2011), | 341 UZIEL Et aL. and with diminished motivation (Uziel, 2016). Of particular importance to the present study, existing research asserts that when others are perceived as inaccessible, people tend to emphasize short-term personal goals, and to adopt selfpreservation strategies, expressed in promoting self-centered interests (e.g., Cacioppo, Chen, & Cacioppo, 2017;Cacioppo & Patrick, 2008;Goossens, 2018;Layden, Cacioppo, & Cacioppo, 2018). ...
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Objective: This research presents evidence for an egocentric shift occurring among individuals high in neuroticism by the mere thought—and actual state—of being alone. Method: Four experiments and one experience sampling study (N = 719). In the experiments, neuroticism was measured, and participants were randomly primed to adopt either an alone or a 'with others' social context mind-set. The experiments measured different expressions of egocentrism. Study 1 measured perspective-taking, Study 2a was focused on social value orientation, Study 2b measured money allocation in a dictator game, and Study 3 measured self-reported and behavioral interpersonal trust. Trust was also the focus of Study 4, a 5-day experience sampling study. Results: In an alone mind-set, high (vs. low) neuroticism individuals were more likely to adopt an egocentric perspective in evaluating social stimuli (Study 1) and to adopt a selfish approach to money allocation (Studies 2a, 2b). Studies 3 and 4 addressed the source of the shift, showing that in an alone mind-set (Study 3) and in an actual alone state (Study 4), neuroticism was associated with reduced interpersonal trust. Conclusions: For high-neuroticism individuals, thinking about—and actually being—alone induces a sense that they only have themselves to rely on.
... For example, Larson (1990) reported that the experience of solitude in daily life is one of loneliness and passivity and that spending extended time alone is a marker of poor adjustment. Matias et al. (2011) reported increased levels of stress hormones when alone, whereas Teppers et al. (2013) found that traits reflecting emotional stability were associated with an aversion of aloneness (see also Lay et al., 2018;Uziel, 2016). Behaviorally, Wilson et al. (2014) reported that people find being alone extremely aversive and would rather keep themselves occupied in self-harming (yet stimulating) activities. ...
... Moreover, these findings imply that internal (i.e., non-contextual) factors play a significant role in shaping the effects of aloneness. Indeed, the literature has begun identifying relevant factors, such as personality traits (Uziel, 2016;Uziel et al., 2020), preferences and desires (Coplan et al., 2019;Leary et al., 2003), and developmental periods (Larson et al., 1985). ...
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Stable social relationships are conducive to well-being. However, similar effects are not reported consistently for daily social interactions in affecting episodic (experiential) subjective well-being (ESWB). The present investigation suggests that the choice of being in a social context plays an important moderating role, such that social interactions increase ESWB only if taken place by one's choice. Moreover, it is argued that choice matters more in a social context than in an alone context because experiences with others are amplified. These ideas were tested and supported in two studies: An experiment that manipulated social context and choice status, and a 10-day experience-sampling study, which explored these variables in real-life settings. Results showed that being with others by one’s choice had the strongest positive association with ESWB, sense of meaning, and control, whereas being with others not by one’s choice—the strongest negative association with ESWB. Effects of being alone on ESWB also varied by choice status, but to a lesser extent. The findings offer theoretical and practical insights into the effects of the social environment on well-being.
... Although loneliness is not a more powerful predictor of POSI compared to social anxiety (Caplan, 2007), we predict that loneliness may serve an integral role in problematic use of dating applications for two reasons. First, research on social exclusion and loneliness has shown that individuals perceiving themselves as socially excluded struggle with self-regulation (Baumeister, DeWall, Ciarocco, & Twenge, 2005) and even merely thinking about being alone could reduce willpower (Uzial, 2016). With affordances unique to mobile dating applications such as mobility, proximity, and immediacy (Chan, 2017), as well as "perpetual contact" that allows romantic pursuits "anywhere, anytime" (Mascheroni & Vincent, 2016), individuals higher in loneliness would more likely be subject to problematic use. ...
... Most U.S. adults have their smartphones on them almost always, and lonely individuals are unlikely to be an exception (Rainie & Zickhur, 2015). In line with past research showing people who perceive themselves as socially excluded are likely to experience impairment of self-regulation and willpower (Baumeister et al., 2005;Uzial, 2016), our research demonstrates that lonely individuals may be at risk when it comes to unregulated use of dating applications. ...
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More and more individuals hunt for information on and reach out to potential romantic partners through mobile dating applications available on their smartphones. Although these emerging technologies offer social benefits, certain individuals become overly dependent on such applications and suffer from negative outcomes. Relatively little research in online dating to date has investigated what predicts problematic use of such social technologies. Building upon the cognitive-behavioral model of problematic Internet use and the social skill model, we examined the relationship between social anxiety, the problematic use of dating applications, and the possible moderating role of loneliness with an online survey (N = 269) conducted with a college student sample. The data did not provide support for serial mediation predicted by the social skills model (social anxiety influencing negative outcomes serially through preference for online social interaction (POSI) and compulsive use) but provided support for moderated serial mediation. Specifically, the serial mediation predicted by the social skills model was significant only among those high in loneliness, with the positive association between POSI and compulsive use being significant among those high in loneliness. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.
... Studies also show that when one is alone, they may experience negative feelings such as loneliness or peer exclusion, as well as feelings of depression and social anxiety (Gazelle, 2022;Pearcey et al., 2020;Rubin et al., 2021). Many studies with youth also show that personality traits reflecting emotional stability were linked with an aversion of aloneness (Lay et al., 2019;Uziel, 2016;2021;Wilson et al.2014). ...
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This paper explores adolescents’ solitude activities, their reasons for choosing to be alone, and how they think and feel when they are away from others. Gender and age differences were also explored.ApproachWe looked at the links between solitary activities and emotional well-being and personal happiness. Sixty-one adolescents (68% female, Mage = 16.14 ± .50) completed self-report on-line measures assessing time alone, solitary activities, and indices of adjustment.FindingsMajority of participants reported that they were alone by choice, and that they were more often with others than alone. Age and gender differences emerged in time alone, feelings of self-worth, and emotional well-being.Research Limitations The demographics of participants was limited to English-speakers in Eastern Canada, and data collection was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.Practical Implications School programs could be developed to better equip adolescents with the skills necessary to be productive in, and feel positive about, time spent alone.
... On the first task, participants were asked not to think of a white bear for 30 s (Wegner et al., 1987). On the second task they were asked about their willingness to do right now all sorts of tedious activities (e.g., "wait in a long line at the bank" or "read a boring book to the end"; Uziel, 2016). The third task presented them with 10 incongruent Stoop test items (Stroop, 1935). ...
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Self-control is important, but people may only be motivated to improve their self-control under specific conditions. The present study tests the factors that affect the desire for self-control (DSC), expecting that it would be affected by stable level of self-control (deficiency) and by concerns about meeting current goals (necessity). Four studies (total N = 676) tested the above hypothesis. Study 1 examined the nomological network of DSC, and Study 2 explored specifically its association with the need to exert self-control. Studies 3 and 4 tested experimentally the role of need to exert self-control in increasing DSC. Results revealed that DSC is associated with low trait self-control and with fear of failure (Study 1), and with concerns about meeting current goals (Study 2). Study 3 established causality, showing that DSC increased only among those who were led to believe that their self-control was insufficient to complete an upcoming task. In Study 4, DSC increased among participants who had completed a more (vs. less) demanding task, but only when they expected another demanding task. Jointly, the findings portray the different routes leading to a desire for self-control.
... Two notable personality traits that were found to have a significant role in moderating response to social presence are neuroticism and impression management (Uziel & Baumeister, 2012). Specifically, whereas presence in a public social setting tends to deplete selfcontrol resources and impair performance of neurotic individuals (Uziel, 2016), it was found to lead to a restoration of self-control resources of those high in impression management (Uziel, 2010). Other characteristics which might interact with the objective state of mind are public self-consciousness-the dispositional tendency to focus on the self as an object of social perception (Fenigstein et al., 1975;Fenigstein & Vanable, 1992;Govern & Marsch, 2001), extraversion/introversion (Eysenck, 1963;Jung, 1921), as well as demographic characteristics found to be related to the feeling of being observed, such as gender (Argyle & Williams, 1969), age (Monteleone, van Bavel, Rodríguez-Priego, & Esposito, 2015), and culture (as discussed above). ...
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This research explores the consequences of two states of mind on judgment: a subjective state, looking at the world from one’s own eyes, and an objective state, in which one thinks of oneself from the imagined perspective of an external observer. In six experiments, we show that judgments people make while they are in a subjective state of mind are more influenced by metacognitive experience compared with judgments people make when they are in an objective state of mind. This is demonstrated in Experiments 1–3, using two different manipulations for the two states of mind and two different fluency tasks. Experiment 4 explores the underlying mechanism and demonstrates that an objective state does not lessen the metacognitive experience itself; rather, it affects the reliance on this experience as a relevant source of information. Finally, in Experiments 5 and 6 we investigate implications of our hypothesis for doing experimental research in psychology. We find that taking part in a laboratory experiment resembles the experimental condition of an objective state of mind, as participants rely less on their metacognition compared with conditions aimed to restore the subjective state of mind within the lab setting. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of our findings regarding social influences on judgments and decisions in psychology labs and in the real world.
... Anagrams task. To measure participants' ability to meet self-control challenges, they were required to work on an anagrams task (e.g., Uziel, 2016;Uziel & Baumeister, 2012). Anagrams are a highly effective measure of self-control ability, because they require repeated attempts of building and breaking letter combinations along with an ability to withstand frustration. ...
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Self-control is a highly adaptive human capacity. Accordingly, development of self-control is widely encouraged. Whereas the benefits of having self-control are well documented, little is known about the impact of wanting self-control. The present investigation fills this void by exploring the effect of desire for self-control on the ability to exert self-control. It was expected that in the context of demanding self-control challenges a desire for self-control will highlight a discrepancy between one's goals and perceived performance potential, leading to reduced efficacy beliefs and task disengagement. Four studies (N = 635) supported the prediction. Study 1 showed that a strong desire impaired performance on a demanding task but not on a simple task. Study 2 conceptually replicated the decrement in performance and established causality by experimentally manipulating desire for self-control. Studies 3 and 4 showed that reduction in efficacy beliefs mediate the effect. Implications of the findings are discussed.
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This article challenges the highly intuitive assumption that prejudice should be less likely in public compared with private settings. It proposes that stereotypes may be conceptualized as a type of dominant response (C. L. Hull, 1943; R. B. Zajonc, 1965) whose expression may be enhanced in public settings, especially among individuals high in social anxiety. Support was found for this framework in an impression formation paradigm (Experiment 1) and in a speeded task designed to measure Stereotypic errors in perceptual identification (Experiment 2). Use of the process dissociation procedure (B. K. Payne, L. L. Jacoby, & A. J. Lambert, in press) demonstrated that these effects were due to decreases in cognitive control rather than increases in stereotype accessibility. The findings highlight a heretofore unknown and ironic consequence of anticipated public settings: Warning people that others may be privy to their responses may actually increase prejudice among the very people who are most worried about doing the wrong thing in public.
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Self-control is a powerful tool that promotes goal pursuit by helping individuals curb personal desires, follow norms, and adopt rational thinking. In interdependent social contexts, the socially acceptable (i.e. normative) and rational approach to secure long-term goals is prosocial behaviour. Consistent with that, much research associates self-control with prosociality. The present research demonstrates that when norm salience is reduced (i.e. social relations are no longer interdependent), high self-control leads to more selfish behaviour when it is economically rational. In three studies, participants were asked to allocate an endowment between themselves and another person (one-round, zero-sum version of the dictator game), facing a conflict between a socially normative and an economically rational approach. Across the studies, norm salience was manipulated [through manipulation of social context (private/public; Studies 1 and 2), measurement of social desirability (Studies 1 and 3), and measurement (Study 2) and manipulation (Study 3) of social power] such that some participants experienced low normative pressure. Findings showed that among individuals in a low normative pressure context, self-control led to economically rational, yet selfish, behaviour. The findings highlight the role of self-control in regulating behaviour so as to maximize situational adaptation. Copyright © 2014 European Association of Personality Psychology
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Although much has been learned from cross-sectional research on marriage, an understanding of how marriages develop, succeed, and fail is best achieved with longitudinal data. In view of growing interest in longitudinal research on marriage, the authors reviewed and evaluated the literature on how the quality and stability of marriages change over time. First, prevailing theoretical perspectives are examined for their ability to explain change in marital quality and stability. Second, the methods and findings of 115 longitudinal studies—representing over 45,000 marriages—are summarized and evaluated, yielding specific suggestions for improving this research. Finally, a model is outlined that integrates the strengths of previous theories of marriage, accounts for established findings, and indicates new directions for research on how marriages change. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
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Loneliness is experienced by children, adolescents and adults across varied cultures. In the early 1960s and 1970s, some authorities in the field of psychology did not believe that children experienced loneliness. This book ushers in a new wave of theory and research examining the phenomena of loneliness during childhood and adolescence. The book represents a thorough examination of the topic: the chapters range from the role of attachment in children's loneliness, differences between being alone and loneliness, the significance of divided self and identity achievement in adolescents' loneliness, and the link between loneliness and maladjustment during adolescence. This volume should stimulate research into loneliness during childhood and adolescence for many years to come.
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In this article, we provide a fresh perspective on the developmental origins of neuroticism-a dimension of temperament marked by elevated stress reactivity resulting in the frequent experience of negative emotions. This negative affectivity is accompanied by a pervasive perception that the world is a dangerous and threatening place, along with beliefs about one's inability to manage or cope with challenging events. Historically, neuroticism has been viewed as a stable, genetically based trait. However, recent understanding of ongoing gene-environment interactions that occur throughout the life span suggests there may be a more complex and dynamic etiology. Thus, the purpose of this article is to offer a theory for understanding the development of neuroticism that integrates genetic, neurobiological, and environmental contributions to this trait. Given the strong correlation between neuroticism and the development of negative health outcomes-most notably, the full range of anxiety and mood disorders-an enhanced understanding of how neuroticism originates has implications for the treatment and prevention of a broad range of pathologies and, perhaps, even for the prevention of neuroticism itself. © The Author(s) 2014.
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How does mere social presence affect cognitive processes? The extant literature has focused on the impact of social presence on cognitive resources. The present study extends this work by focusing on the positivity of cognitive appraisal. Building on recent findings it was predicted that the traits neuroticism and impression management will differentially moderate the effect, such that neuroticism will be associated with a negative shift in appraisal, and impression management with a positive shift. In an experiment, participants (N = 158) formed evaluations of life events either alone or in social presence. The results supported the predictions. The findings advance the knowledge about the effect of social presence on cognition, and about the role of personality in moderating responses in public social contexts.