The Role of State and Trait Self-Control on the Sustained Attention to Response Task
研究考察了特质自我控制和状态自我控制对持续注意反应任务表现的影响，发现特质自我控制能预测任务表现，而状态自我控制（自我损耗）无显著作用。
Objective This study aimed to assess the plausibility of self-control depletion, or ego-depletion, as the underlying cognitive resource responsible for performance decrements on the sustained attention to response task. Background Researchers suggested that self-control is a limited cognitive resource used to complete a myriad of processes, including sustained attention. Past research showed that trait self-control affects some sustained attention tasks. However, little research has investigated the effect of self-control as a limited cognitive resource that varies over time (i.e., as a state-dependent variable). Methods This experiment investigated the effect of self-control (trait and state) on a sustained motor-inhibition task (e.g., sustained attention to response task; SART). State self-control was manipulated using a between-subjects design—participants in the experimental condition completed a task designed to deplete state self-control prior to performing the SART while the control condition completed a modified version that did not deplete self-control. Results Trait self-control predicted performance on the SART, but the depletion task (state self-control) had no detectable effect. Conclusion Given the evidence, it is unlikely that state self-control plays a causal role in performance decrements in the SART, but there appears to be some association between performance on the SART and trait self-control. Application Trait self-control ought to be considered in future work for personnel selection in real-world tasks that the SART models such as long-distance driving, air traffic control, and TSA operations.