0000000000093124
AUTHOR
Mario Wenzel
showing 30 related works from this author
Self-Control in Daily Life
2016
In this daily diary study, we investigated the flexibility-enhancing effects of positive affect on the self-reported success of self-control strategies followed in daily life; 297 participants completed a 13-day daily diary that included measures of positive affect, desire, and habit strength as well as three self-control strategies (i.e., monitoring, distraction, and stimulus control). We found specific effects of positive affect on self-control strategies: Individuals with higher positive affect were most successful when following a strategy of distraction (e.g., thinking about something else), particularly when faced with strong tempting desires. These results reinforce the idea that po…
Heart rate variability and self-control–A meta-analysis
2016
We read the commentary on our meta-analysis with great interest and we greatly appreciate that the authors developed suggestions for further research on heart rate variability (HRV) and self-control. While we mostly support these suggestions, we believe that it is necessary to clarify some points raised with respect to our meta-analysis. The first point brought up by the authors of the commentary is the focus of our meta-analysis on HRV instead of vagal tone and the inclusion of studies using the standard deviation of RR intervals (SDNN). They argue that only vagal tone and HRV metrics reflecting vagal tone are expected to be linked to self-control according to both the Neurovisceral Integr…
A round peg in a square hole: strategy-situation fit of intra- and interpersonal emotion regulation strategies and controllability
2019
Although the importance of contextual factors is often recognised, research on emotion regulation strategies (ERS) has mainly focused so far on the effectiveness of ERS across situations. In the present research, we tested the strategy-situation fit hypothesis, which does not assume general effectiveness of ERS but instead stresses the importance of the congruency between ERS and the contexts in which they are used. Using a longitudinal Ambulatory Assessment dataset (
Let There be Variance: Individual Differences in Consecutive Self–Control in A Laboratory Setting and Daily Life
2019
The large body of research used to support ego–depletion effects is currently faced with conceptual and replication issues, leading to doubt over the extent or even existence of the ego–depletion effect. By using within–person designs in a laboratory (Study 1; 187 participants) and an ambulatory assessment study (Study 2; 125 participants), we sought to clarify this ambiguity by investigating whether prominent situational variables (such as motivation and affect) or personality traits can help elucidate when ego depletion can be observed and when not. Although only marginal ego–depletion effects were found in both studies, these effects varied considerably between individuals, indicating t…
Heart rate variability and self-control—A meta-analysis
2015
Heart rate variability (HRV) has been suggested as a biological correlate of self-control. Whereas many studies found a relationship between HRV at rest and self-control, effect sizes vary substantially across studies in magnitude and direction. This meta-analysis evaluated the association between HRV at rest and self-control in laboratory tasks, with a particular focus on the identification of moderating factors (task characteristics, methodological aspects of HRV assessment, demographics). Overall, 24 articles with 26 studies and 132 effects (n=2317, mean age=22.44, range 18.4-57.8) were integrated (random effects model with robust variance estimation). We found a positive average effect …
The Effects of Self-Control on Glucose Utilization in a Hyperinsulinemic Euglycemic Glucose Clamp
2019
Abstract. Background. The glucose hypothesis of self-control posits that acts of self-control may draw upon glucose as a source of energy, leading to a decrease in blood glucose levels after exerting self-control, mirroring the temporary depletion of self-control, but supporting evidence is mixed and inconclusive. This might partly be due to using methods that are not suitable to reliably quantify glucose utilization. Aims. We aimed at examining whether self-control exertion leads to an increase in glucose utilization. Method. In a sample of N = 30 healthy participants (50% women, age 26.5 ± 3.5 years) we combined a hyperinsulinemic euglycemic glucose clamp (a well-established and validate…
Self-Control Dynamics in Daily Life: The Importance of Variability Between Self-Regulatory Strategies and Strategy Differentiation
2021
Research on self-control has increasingly acknowledged the importance of self-regulatory strategies, with strategies in earlier stages of the developing tempting impulse thought to be more effective than strategies in later stages. However, recent research on emotion regulation has moved away from assuming that some strategies are per se and across situations more adaptive than others. Instead, strategy use that is variable to fit situational demands is considered more adaptive. In the present research, we transfer this dynamic process perspective to self-regulatory strategies in the context of persistence conflicts. We investigated eight indicators of strategy use (i.e., strategy intensit…
Relationship satisfaction can help to maintain the positive effect of childbirth on parental self-esteem
2020
The transition to parenthood is accompanied by declined self-esteem levels, which may be explained by parents’ relationship satisfaction. However, prior research examined self-esteem only shortly before and after childbirth and had no or only unmatched childless respondents as a control group, limiting the possibility to examine long-term adaptive processes and the causal interpretation of the associations. Thus, we used panel data (10 years, 4,075 individuals, and 16,122 observations) to compare self-esteem and relationship satisfaction trajectories of parents with matched childless respondents using propensity score matching. We found a quadratic trajectory for parents’ self-esteem, whic…
Music Listening and Stress in Daily Life—a Matter of Timing
2017
Purpose Despite increasing evidence suggesting that music listening in daily life has stress-reducing effects, studies mostly rely on subjective, retrospective data on music listening. Thus, the temporal dynamics underlying the stress-reducing effect of music listening remain unclear. Therefore, we aimed to examine the temporal dynamics of the associations between stress and music listening by assessing subjective and objective data on music in daily life. Design An exploratory Ambulatory Assessment study examining a total of 60 participants (37 women), aged 18 to 34 years (M = 22.4 years, SD = 3.5) was conducted. Methods For 1 week, participants answered questions on music listening and st…
Increases of negative affect following daily hassles are not moderated by neuroticism: An ecological momentary assessment study
2020
The occurrence of daily hassles is associated with increased subsequent levels of negative affect. Neuroticism has been found to exacerbate this effect. So far, most research used single-item measures for the assessment of daily hassles or relied on daily diary studies. This study aimed to examine the interrelations of daily hassles, negative affect reactivity, and neuroticism in daily life employing an extensive inventory of daily hassles. Seventy participants (18-30 years; M = 23.9 years, 59% female) completed a 4-week smartphone-based ecological momentary assessment study reporting the occurrence and perceived strain of daily hassles as well as negative affect at five semi-random signals…
The power of status: What determines one's reactions to anger in a social situation?
2017
Abstract The present study examined how social status and gender determine anger expression and behavioral reactions toward experienced anger. In two experiments, anger was induced in a staged social interaction. Behavioral anger reactions were judged by observers. In Experiment 1 ( equal status condition ; N = 110) participants were provoked by a confederate, in Experiment 2 ( low status condition ; N = 116) participants were provoked by the experimenter. We found that participants expressed their anger to a lesser extent, were less resistant, and engaged in submissive behaviors if they had a lower status than the anger-target. As expected, gender had a moderating effect: While women's a…
Experiences from a wearable-mobile acquisition system for ambulatory assessment of diet and activity
2017
Public health trends are currently monitored and diagnosed based on large studies that often rely on pen-and-paper data methods that tend to require a large collection campaign. With the pervasiveness of smart-phones and -watches throughout the general population, we argue in this paper that such devices and their built-in sensors can be used to capture such data more accurately with less of an effort. We present a system that targets a pan-European and harmonised architecture, using smartphones and wrist-worn activity loggers to enable the collection of data to estimate sedentary behavior and physical activity, plus the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages. We report on a unified pilot…
Neuroticism may reflect emotional variability when correcting for the confound with the mean
2020
Kalokerinos et al. (1) demonstrate that emotional variability, as assessed via the SD, is not significantly associated with neuroticism once the confound with mean negative emotion is controlled for, r = 0.05. To control for this confound, the authors use the relative SD (RSD), which mathematically corrects for the nonlinear dependency between the SD and the mean (2). The authors prefer the RSD over including the SD and the mean of negative emotions in a model, given the nonlinearity of their association. While we agree that the RSD is an important addition to the field, we argue that including the mean of emotions is still necessary when examining the association between neuroticism and em…
The Limits of Ego Depletion
2019
Abstract. Evidence on the existence of the ego depletion phenomena as well as the size of the effects and potential moderators and mediators are ambiguous. Building on a crossover design that enables superior statistical power within a single study, we investigated the robustness of the ego depletion effect between and within subjects and moderating and mediating influences of the ego depletion manipulation checks. Our results, based on a sample of 187 participants, demonstrated that (a) the between- and within-subject ego depletion effects only had negligible effect sizes and that there was (b) large interindividual variability that (c) could not be explained by differences in ego depleti…
Glucose metabolism and self-regulation — Is insulin resistance a valid proxy of self-control?
2016
Abstract Glucose metabolism has been suggested as an underlying biological factor of self-control stimulating a range of studies exploring the associations between glucose and self-control. Research on interindividual trait-like differences in glucose metabolism and self-control is sparse, as most previous research has focused on associations between state self-control performance and momentary glucose levels. In two experiments in healthy participants (n = 60, mean age 35.2 ± 13.9, 58% women; n = 103, mean age 25.8 ± 6.3, 67% women) consisting of a baseline assessment and a laboratory session, we examined whether trait markers of glucose metabolism (fasting glucose levels, oral glucose tol…
Curb your neuroticism – Mindfulness mediates the link between neuroticism and subjective well-being
2015
Abstract Recent research has shown that mindfulness moderates the negative emotional reactivity associated with neuroticism. In two studies, we investigated how neuroticism and mindfulness are associated with subjective well-being (SWB), assuming a moderated mediation. In Study 1, 147 participants (74.2% female, M = 34.3 years, SD = 11.9) completed an online survey. Mindfulness partially mediated but did not moderate the relationship between neuroticism and SWB, indicating that low levels of mindfulness were partially accountable for lower SWB in individuals high in neuroticism. In Study 2, 108 participants (80.6% female, M = 25.2 years, SD = 6.6) completed daily diaries for 6 days. We …
Like clouds in a windy sky : mindfulness training reduces negative affect reactivity in daily life in a randomized controlled trial
2020
While prior research has found mindfulness to be linked with emotional responses to events, less is known about this effect in a non-clinical sample. Even less is known regarding the mechanisms of the underlying processes: It is unclear whether participants who exhibit increased acceptance show decreased emotional reactivity (i.e., lower affective responses towards events overall) or a speedier emotional recovery (i.e., subsequent decrease in negative affect) due to adopting an accepting stance. To address these questions, we re-analysed two Ambulatory Assessment data sets. The first (NStudy1 = 125) was a 6-week randomized controlled trial (including a 40-day ambulatory assessment); the sec…
Adaptive modes of rumination: the role of subjective anger.
2015
Rumination has been demonstrated to have negative consequences on affect, behaviour, and physiological markers. Recent studies, however, suggest that distinct "modes" of anger-associated rumination may lead to several positive consequences. Previous research primarily used recall procedures of anger episodes to elicit anger. By contrast, the present study focused on the effect of subjective anger on the process of rumination and tested its effects in a "staged" social interaction where a confederate provoked participants. Subsequently, participants engaged in rumination about the anger-eliciting event either in an abstract-distanced or a concrete-immersed rumination mode. Results showed an …
Setbacks in Self-Control: Failing Not Mere Resisting Impairs Subsequent Self-Control
2020
Research on ego depletion has often relied on the dual-task setting employing short tasks with low ecological validity. The comparatively few studies on ego depletion in daily life so far used diverging operationalization and yielded ambiguous results. We argue that fundamental research on short-term self-control limitations can benefit from research on the limit violation effect, which highlights the danger to self-control when setbacks are attributed to internal causes. To test the role of setbacks and compare different ego depletion operationalizations in daily life, we used data from two ambulatory assessment studies ( N = 125 and 205). No consistent ego depletion effects were observed…
Examining five pathways on how self-control is associated with emotion regulation and affective well-being in daily life.
2020
OBJECTIVE Self-control is positively connected to well-being, but less is known about what, on the mechanistic level, explains this association. We hypothesized five pathways how this connection could be explained by emotion regulation, that is, by facilitating (a) strategy effectiveness, (b), adaptive strategy selection, (c) situation selection, (d) strategy variability, or (e) social sharing. METHOD To explore these pathways, we integrated two ambulatory assessment data sets (N = 250 participants, N = 22,796 observations) that included assessments of participants' emotions and their emotion regulation efforts. RESULTS We found that self-control was positively associated with affective wel…
Ambulatory assessment as a means of longitudinal phenotypes characterization in psychiatric disorders
2014
Abstract Ambulatory Assessment (AA) comprises the use of in-field methods to assess individuals’ behavior, physiology, and the experience as they unfold in naturalistic settings. We propose that AA is favorable for the investigation of gene–environment interactions and for the search for endophenotypes, being able to assess the experienced environment and to track basic regulatory processes, such as stress reactivity, affective instability, and reward experience, which are potential common factors that underlie psychiatric disorders. In this article, we (a) first describe briefly the rationale of AA and summarize the key advantages of the approach, (b) highlight within-subject regulatory pr…
How mindfulness shapes the situational use of emotion regulation strategies in daily life.
2020
Mindfulness is associated with a wide range of beneficial outcomes such as well-being. However, less is known about the mechanisms underlying these benefits. Some researchers suggest that the benefits could be driven by emotion regulation, either by improving the effectiveness of emotion regulation or by lessening the need for effortful emotion regulation. By using two longitudinal Ambulatory Assessment data sets (
Positive affect and self-control: attention to self-control demands mediates the influence of positive affect on consecutive self-control.
2013
Positive affect (PA) can either improve or impair self-control performance, depending on whether two tasks are dissimilar, and thus require flexible releasing and switching, or similar, which requires stable maintenance. The present study suggests that this effect is mediated by attentional shifts. The authors found that participants under PA, who performed on two dissimilar tasks and had to switch to a new response dimension, were less attentive to distracting information compared to neutral affect (NE), leading to better performance. In contrast, participants under PA who did not have to switch, were more attentive to distracting information compared to participants under NE. These findin…
Assessment of Microstressors in Adults: Questionnaire Development and Ecological Validation of the Mainz Inventory of Microstressors
2020
Background Many existing scales for microstressor assessment do not differentiate between objective (ie, observable) stressor events and stressful cognitions or concerns. They often mix items assessing objective stressor events with items measuring other aspects of stress, such as perceived stressor severity, the evoked stress reaction, or further consequences on health, which may result in spurious associations in studies that include other questionnaires that measure such constructs. Most scales were developed several decades ago; therefore, modern life stressors may not be represented. Ecological momentary assessment (EMA) allows for sampling of current behaviors and experiences in real…
Understanding the limits of self-control: Positive affect moderates the impact of task switching on consecutive self-control performance
2013
Performing consecutive self-control tasks typically leads to deterioration in self-control performance. This effect can be explained within the strength model of self-control or within a cognitive control perspective. Both theoretical frameworks differ in their predictions with regard to the impact of affect and task characteristics on self-control deterioration within a two-task paradigm. Whereas the strength model predicts decrements in self-control performance whenever both tasks require a limited resource, under a cognitive control perspective, decrements should only occur when people switch to a different response conflict in the second task. Moreover, only the cognitive control model …
The Role of Self-Control and the Presence of Enactment Models on Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Consumption: A Pilot Study
2019
The objective of the present research was to investigate associations of dispositional and momentary self-control and the presence of other individuals consuming SSBs with the consumption frequency of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) in a multi-country pilot study. We conducted an Ambulatory Assessment in which 75 university students (52 females) from four study sites carried smartphones and received prompts six times a day in their everyday environments to capture information regarding momentary self-control and the presence of other individuals consuming SSBs. Multilevel models revealed a statistically significant negative association between dispositional self-control and SSB consumption…
Supplemental Material, Supplementary_Materials(SPP) - Relationship Satisfaction Can Help to Maintain the Positive Effect of Childbirth on Parental Se…
2020
Supplemental Material, Supplementary_Materials(SPP) for Relationship Satisfaction Can Help to Maintain the Positive Effect of Childbirth on Parental Self-Esteem by Mario Wenzel, Doris Staab, Zarah Rowland and Manon A. van Scheppingen in Social Psychological and Personality Science
Supporting info item, per2208-sup-0001_PER_Open_Practices_Disclosure_Form - Let There be Variance: Individual Differences in Consecutive Self–Control…
2020
Supporting info item, per2208-sup-0001_PER_Open_Practices_Disclosure_Form for Let There be Variance: Individual Differences in Consecutive Self–Control in A Laboratory Setting and Daily Life by Wenzel Mario, Rowland Zarah, Zahn Daniela, Kubiak Thomas and Carlson Erika in European Journal of Personality
The effects of computer-based mindfulness training on Self-control and Mindfulness within Ambulatorily assessed network Systems across Health-related…
2016
Background Self-control is an important ability in everyday life, showing associations with health-related outcomes. The aim of the Self-control and Mindfulness within Ambulatorily assessed network Systems across Health-related domains (SMASH) study is twofold: first, the effectiveness of a computer-based mindfulness training will be evaluated in a randomized controlled trial. Second, the SMASH study implements a novel network approach in order to investigate complex temporal interdependencies of self-control networks across several domains. Methods The SMASH study is a two-armed, 6-week, non-blinded randomized controlled trial that combines seven weekly laboratory meetings and 40 days of e…
Population-based validation of a German version of the Brief Resilience Scale.
2017
Smith and colleagues developed the Brief Resilience Scale (BRS) to assess the individual ability to recover from stress despite significant adversity. This study aimed to validate the German version of the BRS. We used data from a population-based (sample 1: n = 1.481) and a representative (sample 2: n = 1.128) sample of participants from the German general population (age ≥ 18) to assess reliability and validity. Confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) were conducted to compare one- and two-factorial models from previous studies with a method-factor model which especially accounts for the wording of the items. Reliability was analyzed. Convergent validity was measured by correlating BRS scores …