Being of two minds: Switching mindsets exhausts self-regulatory resources

Ryan Hamilton, Kathleen D. Vohs, Anne-Laure Sellier and Tom Meyvis
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Ryan Hamilton: Goizueta Business School - Emory University [Atlanta, GA]
Kathleen D. Vohs: Carlson School of Management - UMN - University of Minnesota [Twin Cities] - UMN - University of Minnesota System
Anne-Laure Sellier: Leonard Stern School of Business - NYU - New York University [New York] - NYU - NYU System
Tom Meyvis: Leonard Stern School of Business - NYU - New York University [New York] - NYU - NYU System

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Abstract: 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.

Keywords: Mindsets; Self-regulation; Self-control; Executive functioning; Resource depletion; Judgment and decision making (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2011-05
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (13)

Published in Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 2011, 115 (1), pp.13-24. ⟨10.1016/j.obhdp.2010.11.005⟩

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:hal-00668671

DOI: 10.1016/j.obhdp.2010.11.005

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