TY - JOUR
T1 - Being of two minds
T2 - Switching mindsets exhausts self-regulatory resources
AU - Hamilton, Ryan
AU - Vohs, Kathleen D.
AU - Sellier, Anne Laure
AU - Meyvis, Tom
PY - 2011/5/1
Y1 - 2011/5/1
N2 - The human psyche is equipped with the capacity to solve problems using different mental states or mindsets. Different mindsets can lead to different judgment and decision making styles, each associated with its own perspective and biases. To change perspective, people can, and often do, switch mindsets. We argue, however, that mindset switching can be costly for subsequent decisions. We propose that mindset switching is an executive function that relies on the same psychological resource that governs other acts of executive functioning, including self-regulation. This implies that there are psychic costs to switching mindsets that are borne out in depleted executive resources. One implication of this framework is that switching mindsets should render people more likely to fail at subsequent self-regulation than they would if maintaining a consistent mindset. The findings from experiments that manipulated mindset switching in five domains support this model.
AB - The human psyche is equipped with the capacity to solve problems using different mental states or mindsets. Different mindsets can lead to different judgment and decision making styles, each associated with its own perspective and biases. To change perspective, people can, and often do, switch mindsets. We argue, however, that mindset switching can be costly for subsequent decisions. We propose that mindset switching is an executive function that relies on the same psychological resource that governs other acts of executive functioning, including self-regulation. This implies that there are psychic costs to switching mindsets that are borne out in depleted executive resources. One implication of this framework is that switching mindsets should render people more likely to fail at subsequent self-regulation than they would if maintaining a consistent mindset. The findings from experiments that manipulated mindset switching in five domains support this model.
KW - Executive functioning
KW - Judgment and decision making
KW - Mindsets
KW - Resource depletion
KW - Self-control
KW - Self-regulation
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=79952736082&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=79952736082&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.obhdp.2010.11.005
DO - 10.1016/j.obhdp.2010.11.005
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:79952736082
VL - 115
SP - 13
EP - 24
JO - Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes
JF - Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes
SN - 0749-5978
IS - 1
ER -