Introducing an Experimental Task to Assess Social Self-Control Across the Interpersonal Circumplex

Current laboratory measures of self-controlled behavior typically focus on immediate behavioral decision conflicts, isolated from social contexts. However, conflicting motives—and thus self-control situations—also arise in social interactions. Socially controlled behavior, in turn, depends on the ability to anticipate the interpersonal long-term consequences of one’s actions, which requires theory of mind and empathy. The goal of the current study is to conceptualize self-control within social interactions and examine the impact of theory of mind and empathy on controlled social behavior. In two online studies, we developed a set of vignettes to assess social self-control in terms of social behaviors with short-term benefits and negative long-term consequences. Participants rated the vignettes on self-control relevant characteristics. Then, we empirically tested their placement within the interpersonal circumplex. In a third laboratory study, we employed a set vignettes within an experimental task. Here, we manipulated attentional focus on either the short-term benefits or long-term costs of the social self-control vignettes. When generating long-term costs, participants were instructed to consider the negative impact on others' thoughts and feelings, which we hypothesize may require theory of mind and empathy. As expected, focusing on long-term costs led to increased social self-control. We discuss a potential link between empathy, theory of mind, and self-controlled behavior. This research provides (1) a method for assessing social self-control failures behaviorally and (2) evidence for its validity in an experimental setting.