Abstract

PSYCHOLOGICAL INQUIRY 2019, VOL. 30, NO. 3, 140–146 https://doi.org/10.1080/1047840X.2019.1646051 a b c Lile Jia , Edward R. Hirt , and Michal Nowak a b Department of Psychology, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore; Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University Bloomington, Bloomington, Indiana; Institute of Psychology, Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Krakow, Poland In their target article, Scholer, Cornwell, and Higgins (this Avoidance of Temptation in Self-Control issue) challenge the conventional wisdom that approach, as Self-control refers to the self-initiated regulation of thoughts opposed to avoidance, motivation is always the better motiv- and behaviors in accordance with enduring goals, values, and ation. By analyzing the self-regulatory hierarchy at three lev- standards (e.g., Baumeister & Heatherton, 1996; Duckworth, els—the system level, the strategic level, and the tactical Gendler, & Gross, 2016; Fujita, 2011; Loewenstein, 1996). level—they illustrated the benefits of avoidance motivation There is a long-standing tradition to consider effortful inhib- in terms of both psychological outcomes and processes. ition as the primary component of self-control. Self-control They conclude that whether approach or avoidance motiv- involves the vigilant avoidance of temptations, a process that ation is better depends on the level of hierarchy, the types requires resource-demanding inhibition of impulses