Wenzel, Mario; Friese, Malte; Hofmann, Wilhelm; Milyavskaya, Marina; Radtke, Theda; Saunders, Blair; Bernecker, Katharina (2026). Beyond Resistance: Understanding Trait Self-Control Through Strategic Indulgence. Social Psychological and Personality Science, pp. 1-11. 10.1177/19485506261422582

Text (Online First) wenzel-et-al-2026-beyond-resistance-understanding-trait-self-control-through-strategic-indulgence.pdf - Published Version Available under License Creative Commons: Attribution-Noncommercial (CC-BY-NC). Download (527kB)

Trait self-control is often equated with resistance, leaving open whether it also involves domain-general conflict minimization and the strategic indulgence of low-conflict desires. We reanalyzed four ambulatory assessment datasets (N = 559 participants with 32,049 measurement occasions) to test whether these mechanisms explain the well-being benefits of trait self-control. Results showed that individuals high in self-control experienced fewer desire-goal conflicts (conflict minimization) and pursued desires selectively (strategic indulgence), with both conflict minimization and strategic indulgence being associated with significantly better hedonic well-being. These findings challenge the notion of self-control as mere restraint, emphasizing its role in optimizing both goal attainment and well-being by making strategic choices about when it is beneficial to indulge in desires without undermining long-term goals. Future research should examine whether these strategies are intentional or byproducts of effective planning.

Interest & Impact

Downloads

0 since deposited on 03 Mar 2026
0 in the past 12 months

Citations

5 Citations in Web of Science ®
6 Citations in Scopus

Search

in Google Scholar™

Services

Actions (login required)

Edit item

Actions (login required)

Edit item