TY - JOUR

T1 - Low working memory reduces the use of mental contrasting

AU - Timur Sevincer, A.

AU - Schröder, Anne

AU - Plakides, Alexander

AU - Edler, Nils

AU - Oettingen, Gabriele

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2024 The Author(s)

PY - 2024/2/1

Y1 - 2024/2/1

N2 - Mentally contrasting a desired future with reality is a self-regulation strategy that helps people effectively pursue important personal wishes. People with higher self-regulation skills are more likely to spontaneously use mental contrasting. Because one central cognitive function underlying self-regulation is working memory capacity, we investigated whether people with low rather than high working memory capacity are less likely to spontaneously use mental contrasting. Study 1 provided correlational evidence that participants with lower working memory capacity, as measured by the Operation-Span Task, were less likely to use mental contrasting when elaborating an important interpersonal wish. Study 2 provided experimental evidence that manipulating low working memory capacity by inducing cognitive load (vs. no load) led fewer participants to use mental contrasting. The findings have theoretical implications by illuminating the processes that impede mental contrasting, and they have applied implications for understanding how to foster the use of mental contrasting in everyday life.

AB - Mentally contrasting a desired future with reality is a self-regulation strategy that helps people effectively pursue important personal wishes. People with higher self-regulation skills are more likely to spontaneously use mental contrasting. Because one central cognitive function underlying self-regulation is working memory capacity, we investigated whether people with low rather than high working memory capacity are less likely to spontaneously use mental contrasting. Study 1 provided correlational evidence that participants with lower working memory capacity, as measured by the Operation-Span Task, were less likely to use mental contrasting when elaborating an important interpersonal wish. Study 2 provided experimental evidence that manipulating low working memory capacity by inducing cognitive load (vs. no load) led fewer participants to use mental contrasting. The findings have theoretical implications by illuminating the processes that impede mental contrasting, and they have applied implications for understanding how to foster the use of mental contrasting in everyday life.

KW - Spontaneous mental contrasting

KW - Self-regulation

KW - Working memory

KW - Content-analysis

KW - Cognitive load

KW - Psychology

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85184741757&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1016/j.concog.2024.103644

DO - 10.1016/j.concog.2024.103644

M3 - Journal articles

C2 - 38244397

VL - 118

JO - Consciousness and Cognition

JF - Consciousness and Cognition

SN - 1053-8100

M1 - 103644

ER -