Temptation

Can Resist Everything, Except Temptation? - Here's Why

To expand upon these findings, the study authors set out to test whether people in a cold, non-impulsive state will overestimate their ability to control impulses.

They also wanted to find if people in a hot, impulsive state will have a more realistic view of their capacity for impulse control, or whether people who perceive they have a high capacity for impulse control will expose themselves to more temptation and will ultimately exhibit more impulsive behaviour


To test their hypotheses, the researchers conducted four experiments focusing on hunger, addiction and mental fatigue. Each experiment resulted in significant "restraint bias."

For example, one experiment focused on cigarette addiction found those who overestimated their capacity for self-control were much more likely to smoke a cigarette after simply watching a movie about smoking.

Another experiment centred on hunger and results found that a satiated group was significantly less likely to return snacks than a hungry group who limited their temptation by choosing less appealing snacks.

"A system which assumes people will control themselves is going to fall prey to this restraint bias; we expose ourselves to more temptation than is wise, and subsequently we have millions of people suffering with obesity, addictions and other unhealthy lifestyles," said Nordgren.

He added: "And, while our study focused on personal behaviors like smoking and eating, it is easy to apply our findings to a broader context. Understanding the power of temptation, you might also ask about the extent to which we need oversight or regulatory guidelines for business and political leaders."

Furthermore, he concluded that the research suggests that observers should think twice before judging those who fall prey to temptation because most people overestimate their capacity to control their own impulses.