SUCCESS EXPECTATIONS - A POSSIBLE MEDIATOR OF WILLPOWER BELIEFS INFLUENCE ON SELF-CONTROL DEPLETION.

Although an important number of studies support the view of self-control as a limited resource, recent studies pointed out that self-control capacity does not diminish invariably. Success expectancies and willpower beliefs might play an important role in this context. This study tested a mediation model, considering success expectancies in consecutive tasks requiring self-control as a mediator of the relationship between willpower beliefs and performance in these kind of tasks. An experiment involving 163 participants, adolescents, (88 females and 75 males, age range: 14-18 years old) was conducted. Participants were randomized in two experimental groups (manipulated to believe willpower is limited or unlimited) and a control group. Afterwards, participants reported their performance expectancies for two following tasks requiring self-control and solved it (task 1 - stimuli detection; task 2 - vicarious depletion by transposing in a character's struggling with temptation shoes). At the end, they received a menu and ordered the meal, but also estimated the maximum patience until its arrival, as if they were still in the story character's shoes (the dependent variables). Lastly, they completed the Romanian version of the General Self-Efficacy Scale. The results supported the mediation model but also indicated the possibility that willpower beliefs might affect self-control capacity through other mechanisms. The perception of the energy consumed proved to be particularly influenced by the belief that willpower is limited. The mechanism by which limited and unlimited willpower beliefs influence self-control capacity after consecutive tasks involving self-control needs more investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]