The moderating role of task aversiveness on the relation between trait self-control and study behavior

Abstract

Who wouldn’t want to know how to be successful in academic performance, well-being, health and relations? One of the key factors to success in life is trait self-control, but the underlying processes of self-control success remain unexplored. Trait self-control is defined as the ability to inhibit immediate impulses to attain a long-term goal. The current paper investigates the relation between trait self-control and study behavior and the main focus was on the moderating role of task aversiveness. This task aversiveness is defined as how unpleasant or unenjoyable it is to perform a task. It was expected that trait self-control positively predicted study behavior. Furthermore, a moderating role of task aversiveness on the relation between trait self-control and study behavior was predicted. It was proposed that task aversiveness is an aspect that diminishes study behavior, but chiefly for people with low trait self-control. Trait self-control, task aversiveness and study behavior were assessed in a short-term longitudinal study (N=187) and results showed that trait self-control indeed predicted study behavior. Unexpectedly, non-significant moderating effects were found. However, results showed that task aversiveness influences study behavior for people with low trait self-control, but not for people high in trait self-control. These findings contribute to knowledge of the underlying processes of self-control success. Future research could focus on a more heterogeneous sample with fluctuating scores on trait self-control and investigate other behavior for which self-control is needed.