Self-Control and Stress: A Limited resource model

令人上瘾的行为，如吸烟、饮酒和过量食用富含脂肪的高脂肪食物非常普遍。 在美国的年轻人中。过度沉迷于这种行为会使这些年轻人面临极大的风险 吸毒成瘾，从而对公众健康构成重大威胁。自我控制可能是减少 有问题的成瘾行为，拟议的研究将建立在最近出现的基础上 将自我控制理解为有限的资源能力。当该资源耗尽时，SelfControl 很可能失败，潜在地导致不健康饮食、饮酒或吸烟的增加。应对 压力会耗尽自制力，众所周知，上瘾行为在压力下会增加。虽然我们 以前的研究表明，自我控制可以通过锻炼来加强，而压力确实会耗尽 自我控制能力，社会行为研究，以评估是否通过锻炼加强自我控制 能够提高自我控制力和减少成瘾行为在现实世界中已经受到了限制。因此，在 目前的建议我们将通过实施两个项目来解决这一重要差距，每个项目都涉及一系列 随机对照实验。项目1包括在大学里进行的一系列4个实验。 在实验室评估自我控制练习对这种有限资源能力的影响的学生， 在选择减少暴饮暴食、吸烟或酗酒成瘾行为的大学生中 使用。最初的三个实验旨在开发一个有效的训练计划，通过以下方式加强自我控制 采用简单和生态有效的训练技术。最后的实验考察了这种情况 在以上瘾风险升高为标志的紧张时期保持改善 在自然主义的背景下。项目二考察了主观和生理压力对自我控制的影响 以及上瘾的行为。这是对我们的自我控制理论的一个新的重要贡献，因为它 将有助于阐明人们发展(或未能发展)自控力的一些过程。在项目II中， 实验一调查自我控制的需求本身是否具有内在的压力。 实验二考察在不同类型的情况下，葡萄糖是否提供了一种提高自我控制能力的方法 实验室应激源，最后实验3评估了压力、自我控制和 自然主义环境中的上瘾行为。通过协作团队科学，这些研究将整合 自我控制的社会和行为概念对压力和自我控制有生物学影响。如果 成功后，这项拟议的研究将独特地将自我控制过程的基本知识应用于 找出有效的方法来改变大学生活中的成瘾行为，从而 降低大学生成瘾的风险。

Addictive behaviors, such as smoking, drinking and overeating rich, high fat foods are highly prevalent among young adults in the US. Over-indulgence in such behaviors put these young adults at great risk for addiction, thereby posing an important threat to public health. Self-control may be central to reducing problematic addictive behaviors, the proposed research will build on the recently emerging basic understanding of self-control as a limited resource capacity. When that resource has been depleted, selfcontrol is likely to fail, potentially resulting in an increase in unhealthy eating, drinking, or smoking. Coping with stress depletes self control, and addictive behaviors are known to increase under stress. Although we have previously shown that self control may be strengthened via exercises and that stress indeed depletes self control capacity, social behavioral research to assess whether strengthening self control via exercises could improve self control and decrease addictive behaviors in the real world has been limited. Therefore, in the current proposal we will address this important gap by conducting two projects, each involving a series of randomized controlled experiments. Project 1 encompasses a series of 4 experiments conducted in college students that evaluate the impact of self-control exercises on this limited resource capacity in the laboratory, and among college students choosing to decrease addictive behaviors of overeating, smoking or alcohol use. The initial three experiments aim to develop an efficient training program that strengthens self-control by employing simple and ecologically-valid training techniques. The final experiment examines whether such improvements are maintained during stressful periods marked by elevated risk for addictive indulgence within a naturalistic setting. Project II examines the impact of subjective and physiological stress on selfcontrol and addictive behaviors. This is a new and important contribution to our theory of self-control, as it will help clarify some of the processes by which people develop (or fail to develop) self-control. In Project II, experiment 1 investigates whether the demands for self-control are themselves inherently stressful. Experiment 2 examines whether glucose provides a way for improvement of self-control under different types of laboratory stressors, and finally experiment 3 assesses the association between stress, self-control and addictive behaviors in a naturalistic setting. Through collaborative team science, these studies will integrate social arid behavioral conceptions of self-control with biological influences on stress and self control. If successful, the proposed research will uniquely apply basic knowledge about self control processes to identify effective ways to change addictive behaviors in the real world setting of college life, and thereby decrease the risk of developing addiction among college students.