PSY 348 Lecture Notes - Lecture 17: Executive Functions, Toshiyori, Psy
10 May 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
PSY 348 – Self Control
Lecture 17 – Self-Regulatory Mindsets
Conflict Monitoring: Detect conflict Recruit Cognitive Control Mechanism
Conflict Adaptation: Detect conflict Recruit cognitive control mechanism behavioral adjustment
Detect conflict
Accessibility of Self-Regulatory Mechanisms: Abstract and Concrete Self-Regulatory
Mindsets
- Any action can be construed at varying levels of abstraction from
a. High levels, specifying its purpose, or why it is is performed
b. Low levels, specifying its process or how it is performed
Is thinking abstractly vs concretely about action a general cognitive operation that can become accessible
and then generalize to newly encountered stim?
- Why important to study?
a. Theory – would imply a mechanism for continuity in cognitive function across time
b. Application – thinking abstractly about action’s purposes vs concretely about its processes,
critical to numerous self-regulatory dilemmas
Abstract & Concrete Self-Regulatory Mindsets
- Rationale
a. Given that actions and goals can be linked hierarchically, ppl accrue extensive experience
doing so
b. Cognitive operations should become relatively automatized
c. Question
i. Once used in one context, applied anew in different context?
- General claim – Thinking abstractly vs concretely about action = general cog operation that can
become accessible and then generalized to newly encountered stim
- Tested regarding sensitivity to immediate vs LT costs & gains in common self-control situation,
feedback seeking
a. Pos feedback – feels good immediately but not helpful for improvement
b. Neg feedback – painful to receive but can guide improvement
- Method – manip participants’ focus on abstract vs concrete aspects of action in one domain,
physical health
a. Test whether this manip impacts attention to situational features in diff domain, feedback-
seeking
- Prediction – abstract (relative to concrete) mindset manipulation heightens sensitive to long-term
benefits of negative feedback
- “How Do We Do the Things We Do?” & “Why Do We Do the Things We Do?”
Social Intelligence (Study 1)
- In ostensibly unrelated task, all participants next learned of social intelligence assessment
program
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