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Objectives: Past taxonomies of goal‐content have focused (either exclusively or predominantly) on generally‐desirable values, and they suggest that some values oppose other values. However, many goals are generally‐undesirable (i.e., the average person is committed to avoiding them), and these "vices" have been under‐studied. This is an important gap because other models suggest that the "opposite" of a value is actually a vice. Methods: To fill this gap, we conducted a lexical investigation. Two large samples (involving 504 undergraduates & 257 online participants) first rated their commitment to approaching or avoiding a large number of goals from the English lexicon. Results: Analyses indicated that vices can be summarized in terms of Elitism, Rebellion, and Disrepute, which appear opposite from Inclusiveness, Tradition, and Prominence values (respectively) in MDS models. In Study 3 (involving 280 undergraduates) and Study 4 (involving 261 online participants), we found that Schwartz values of Universalism, Tradition, and Self‐Enhancement actually appeared opposite from Elitism, Rebellion, and Disrepute (respectively) in MDS models, rather than from other values. Conclusions: This investigation develops an instrument which can distinguish between different vices at a holistic level, and it suggests that they are actually the opposite of select values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many theorists have stressed the benefits of goal‐conducive habits. However, past research has not yet demonstrated that habits benefit goal‐pursuit in daily life independently of more effortful forms of goal‐pursuit. Additionally, it is unclear if habits are triggered independently of conscious self‐regulatory processes. To address these issues, we conducted three intensive experience sampling studies. We found that habitual behaviours facilitated goal‐progress independently of effortful goal‐directed behaviours. Additionally, we evaluated three sets of predictions regarding the relationship between habits and other effortful self‐regulatory processes. The goal‐independent account suggests that habits function independently of planning and testing processes. The goal‐dependent account suggests that habits are influenced by these processes, and the hybrid account suggests that these processes indirectly influence habits through their association with contextual cue exposure. The results were consistent with the hybrid account, in that planning and testing were associated with habit enactment, but this association was mediated by contextual cue exposure. Collectively, our results suggest that one must consider both conscious self‐regulatory processes and automatic cue‐response associations to understand how the benefits of goal‐conducive habits are realized in daily life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Self-control is often thought to be reactive and focused solely on the inhibition of responses elicited by temptations. In two studies, we assessed whether self-control can instead (a) be planned and (b) target the antecedents of the response to temptation. We assessed self-control planning, four antecedent-focused self-control strategies (i.e., situation-selection, situation-modification, distraction, and reappraisal) and one response-focused strategy (i.e., response-inhibition). In both studies, we found that self-control planning predicted the initiation of self-control independently of temptation. Each antecedent-focused self-control strategy uniquely predicted goal-progress. Response-inhibition did not produce consistent effects on goal-progress. These studies provide evidence that people proactively initiate self-control by targeting the antecedents of temptation and that doing so supports goal-progress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]