Can you resist a chocolate bonbon while on a diet? And fulfill your New Year’s resolutions to exercise? New research from the University of Georgia (USA) reveals thatboth self-control and the absence of it are contagious.
In a series of five experiments with volunteers, psychologist Michelle vanDellen and her colleagues found thatobserving – and even remembering – other people with great self-control helps us respond less impulsively. On the contrary, people with little self-control influence us in a negative way. “This effectcontagiousis so powerful that the simple fact of seeing the name of someone with good or little self-control on a screen for only 10 milliseconds changes the behavior of the participants, “says vanDellen, who has published his findings in the magazinePersonality and Social Psychology Bulletin.
For example, in the first of the experiments, the researchers asked 36 people chosen at random to think of a friend who had poor or good self-control. Those who became aware of someone who did have a good attitude, managed to persist in a task that was entrusted to them, while those who evoked someone who had low self-control abandoned the task early.
In another experiment with more than a hundred volunteers, half of them were asked to observe people who restrained themselves by choosing a carrot instead of a cookie that was located on a nearby plate, while others watched as one subject got carried away. out of temptation and ate the cookie. The results of a test carried out subsequently showed that the first group had acquired a greater capacity for self-control.
People tend toimitate the behavior of those around them, which explains why smoking, drug abuse and obesity tend to spread rapidly in social groups. But it is the first time that it has been shown that self-control and its absence are also contagious behaviors. However, vanDellen cautions, this should not be an excuse to blame others for our failures. “The ultimate decision is always ours“, he assures.
