Journal of Personality ••:••, •• 2013

Yes, But Are They Happy? Effects of © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
DOI: 10.1111/jopy.12050

Trait Self-Control on Affective

Well-Being and Life Satisfaction

Wilhelm Hofmann,1 Maike Luhmann,2 Rachel R. Fisher,1

Kathleen D. Vohs,3 and Roy F. Baumeister4
1
University of Chicago
2
University of Illinois at Chicago
3
University of Minnesota
4
Florida State University

Abstract
Does trait self-control (TSC) predict affective well-being and life satisfaction—positively, negatively, or not? We conducted three
studies (Study 1: N = 414, 64% female, Mage = 35.0 years; Study 2: N = 208, 66% female, Mage = 25.24 years; Study 3: N = 234, 61%
female, Mage = 34.53 years).The key predictor was TSC, with affective well-being and life satisfaction ratings as key outcomes.
Potential explanatory constructs including goal conflict, goal balancing, and emotional distress also were investigated. TSC is
positively related to affective well-being and life satisfaction, and managing goal conflict is a key as to why. All studies,
moreover, showed that the effect of TSC on life satisfaction is at least partially mediated by affect. Study 1’s correlational study
established the effect. Study 2’s experience sampling approach demonstrated that compared to those low in TSC, those high
in TSC experience higher levels of momentary affect even as they experience desire, an effect partially mediated through
experiencing lower conflict and emotional distress. Study 3 found evidence for the proposed mechanism—that TSC may boost
well-being by helping people avoid frequent conflict and balance vice-virtue conflicts by favoring virtues. Self-control positively
contributes to happiness through avoiding and dealing with motivational conflict.

Self-control is defined as the ability to override or change 2004). However, there appears to be a dearth of studies explor-
one’s inner responses, as well as to interrupt undesired behav- ing the possible relationship between TSC and subjective well-
ioral tendencies (such as impulses) and refrain from acting on being. The present investigation tested competing hypotheses
them. As such, it is among humankind’s most valuable assets. about possible links among TSC and various measures of
Individual differences in self-control bear out this value: Low happiness.
self-control is implicated in a large range of individual and There are multiple ways of conceptualizing and measuring
societal problems, including unhealthy eating, lack of exercis- happiness. Two have been widely influential (Diener, 1984),
ing, academic failure and underachievement, procrastination, and our investigation sought to assess both. One of these is
substance abuse, impulse buying, and delinquent behavior based on the idea of happiness and sadness as transient emo-
(Duckworth & Seligman, 2005; Friese & Hofmann, 2009; tional states. By this definition, happiness or well-being con-
Gottfredson & Hirschi, 1990; Moffitt et al., 2011; Patton, sists of feeling good and not feeling bad. This sort of happiness
Stanford, & Barratt, 1995; Vohs & Faber, 2007). A meta- is assumed to fluctuate across moments and situations. To
analysis surveying over 100 studies recently confirmed the assess global well-being, researchers simply aggregate across
benefits of high trait self-control (TSC) in work, school, time. Happiness is thus considered to consist of relatively
adjustment, interpersonal relationships, and management of many positive emotions and relatively few negative ones. It is
problem desires (de Ridder, Lensvelt-Mulders, Finkenauer, chiefly an affective measure. We call this form of happiness
Stok, & Baumeister, 2012).
Despite the abundance of evidence regarding the benefits of
TSC, its possible links to subjective well-being have received
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Wilhelm
surprisingly little attention. People high in TSC have fewer Hofmann, Booth School of Business, University of Chicago, 5807 South
problems, as indicated by a variety of measures of psychopa- Woodlawn Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637. Email: Wilhelm.Hofmann@
thology and maladjustment (Tangney, Baumeister, & Boone, ChicagoBooth.edu.
2 Hofmann, Luhmann, Fisher, et al.

momentary affect or, in the aggregate, accumulated affect. In killjoys whose toils in the wilderness founded one of the
Study 1, for instance, we also had participants rate their affect world’s great civilizations.
over longer periods of time, including a 4-week summary and Alternatively, one could predict that TSC might improve
“in general.” one’s aggregated momentary emotions. These effects might
The other form of happiness is typically called life satisfac- come by both direct (controlling one’s emotions so as to mini-
tion. It consists of the person’s appraisal of the relative quality mize or escape bad feelings and promote good ones) and
of his or her life. Although this construct undeniably contains indirect (e.g., managing to behave appropriately, which thereby
some degree of affect, it is far more cognitive than a simple reduces stress, guilt, and other bad feelings) routes. The aggre-
report of one’s current feeling state, leading some researchers gated positive feelings might then add up to a broad satisfac-
to label it “cognitive well-being” (Diener, Suh, Lucas, & tion with life. Consistent with that view, there is some evidence
Smith, 1999; Luhmann, Hofmann, Eid, & Lucas, 2012). Life that assessments of life satisfaction are at least partly based on
satisfaction is a summary view of the person’s life overall. one’s accumulated affective states (e.g., Kim-Prieto et al.,
Methodologically, measures of life satisfaction require the par- 2005). This view would predict that a positive link between
ticipant to integrate his or her own life and experiences and TSC and life satisfaction would be mediated by momentary
evaluate them. In contrast, accumulated affect measures are affect.
integrated by researchers, and participants must merely report Last, it was possible that high TSC would improve momen-
how they feel at any given moment. tary affect but not life satisfaction. High self-control might
Multitrait-multimethod studies consistently find that affect include holding unrealistically high standards and feeling that
and life satisfaction reports are empirically distinct (Lucas, one has failed to live up to them. Thus, the person would feel
Diener, & Suh, 1996; Luhmann, Hawkley, Eid, & Cacioppo, good in the moment but when reflecting on life as a whole feel
2012). There is some relationship between the two, but the disappointed.
causal nature of this has been debated, with several competing
models having been proposed (Busseri & Sadava, 2011). It is
reasonable to assume that accumulated affect is one cause Managing Goal Conflict
of life satisfaction (Kim-Prieto, Diener, Tamir, Scollon, & Nearly everyone has goals, and reaching goals contributes to
Diener, 2005; Kuppens, Realo, & Diener, 2008). The basic happiness. Insofar as self-control facilitates goal achievement,
assumption here is that people use their affective experiences it should increase happiness. But perhaps the matter is not so
as a source of information when they are asked to evaluate simple as that. Most people have multiple goals, and these
their lives (Kahneman, 1999; Schwarz & Strack, 1999). sometimes come into conflict. How the person manages these
However, other evidence indicates that life satisfaction is more conflicts may contribute to both momentary affect and life
than just the sum of affective experiences. For instance, people satisfaction. Indeed, we share the general assumption that life
think of specific activities and events when asked about their satisfaction is substantially based on appraisal of how well one
affective states, whereas they consider their broad life circum- is achieving one’s goals in life, and so trading off one goal for
stances when asked about their life satisfaction (Luhmann, another can have different effects on momentary affect versus
Hawkley, et al., 2012). Our efforts to measure both life satis- general satisfaction. Procrastination, for example, may yield
faction and momentary (and accumulated) affect enabled us to momentary pleasures, insofar as one enjoys the present rather
test hypotheses about how these might be interlinked and how than working on a difficult task—but in the long run, life
TSC would differentially influence them. satisfaction may be maximized by working hard on difficult
goals rather than frittering away time on transient pleasures.
Using trait self-control to overcome procrastination might thus
support the Puritan pattern of promoting high life satisfaction
Possible Effects of Self-Control
at the expense of momentary affect.
on Happiness We reasoned that self-control’s impact on happiness could
We entertained several competing hypotheses about how TSC be partly mediated by how it affects the process of balancing
would influence happiness. The most elegant was that being conflicting goals. The most obvious aspect is that people high
high on TSC would be negatively related to momentary or in TSC are more likely than others to achieve various goals and
aggregated affect but positively related to life satisfaction. TSC positive outcomes (de Ridder et al., 2012; Moffitt et al., 2011),
essentially reflects a capacity to resist impulsive temptations which would suggest that they would be happier than people
and work toward long-term goals. Frequent self-denial would lacking self-control. More important, perhaps, is that self-
cause one to miss out on many momentary pleasures but could regulation is inherently about managing conflict between com-
facilitate achievement of important goals. To caricature this peting motivations (Baumeister & Vohs, 2007), and so people
view, a person with high self-control lives a grim, joyless life with high self-control should be exceptionally good at manag-
marked by dutiful self-discipline—but is able to take satisfac- ing goal conflicts. They should be able to formulate plans that
tion in moral rectitude and culturally valued achievement. We enable them to fulfill more of their goals than other people—
label this the Puritan hypothesis, in honor of the straitlaced and to follow through on carrying out those plans.
Trait Self-Control and Well-Being 3

A particular problem for many people involves what we from biasing factors that might stem from being in the midst of
label “vice-virtue conflicts,” that is, conflicts between highly important life activities. To overcome the problem of having
valued and disvalued goals. Smoking cigarettes, for example, momentary affect only at the moment of completing the
is goal-directed behavior, but the smokers may assign low survey, we asked participants to rate their emotional states over
value to smoking (thus considering it a vice), whereas virtuous longer periods of time and in general.
abstinence would promote the highly valued goal of health.
Good self-control facilitates favoring virtuous abstinence over
the vice of smoking (Muraven, 2010). One way this may Method
happen is that people with good self-control are better than Participants. Four hundred fourteen adults (64% female;
others at managing their daily activities so as to avoid exposure Mage = 35.0 years, SD = 12.5) completed the survey online.
to problematic temptations (vices). Hofmann, Baumeister,
Förster, and Vohs (2012) found that people high in self-control Materials and Procedure. Participants first completed a
in fact experienced fewer problematic desires than other well-validated 13-item Trait Self-Control Scale (Tangney
people. As a result, such individuals ended up resisting desires et al., 2004; α = .88). Participants used a scale ranging from 1
less frequently than others—contrary to predictions based on (not at all like me) to 5 (very much like me) to indicate their
the theory that self-control is about resisting desires and so general self-control tendencies on items such as “I am good at
high self-control would entail frequently resisting desires. resisting temptation” and “I do certain things that are bad for
There was no reason to think that people high in TSC are me, if they are fun [recoded].” Next, emotion and life satisfac-
immune to feeling temptation. More likely, they structured tion reports were assessed using 5-point scales (1 = not at all;
their activities so as to minimize exposure to situations con- 5 = very much). Participants completed the five-item Satisfac-
taining problematic temptations. tion With Life Scale (Diener, Emmons, Larsen, & Griffin,
The goal conflict idea seems most compatible with the 1985; α = .92). A sample item is “To what extent do you feel
hypothesis that high TSC should boost both momentary affect satisfied with your life?” Participants also reported their emo-
and life satisfaction. It could, however, fit the Puritan hypoth- tional state using the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule
esis if resolving goal conflicts in favor of long-term goals (PANAS; Watson, Clark, & Tellegen, 1988), with α = .90 for
entails a loss of short-term pleasures. In that case, momentary positive affect and α = .92 for negative affect. Participants
affect might suffer while life satisfaction would be high. reported how they felt in reference to one of four randomly
assigned time frames: today, last week, last two months, and
overall (for details, see Luhmann, Hawkley, et al., 2012).
Overview of the Present Studies Ancillary analyses showed that results did not differ by time
We conducted three studies to test our hypotheses about TSC frame, and therefore we present results collapsed across the
and happiness. The first was a one-shot survey that simply four groups.
examined intercorrelations among TSC, life satisfaction, and
momentary affect. The second was an experience sampling
study that followed participants for a week, enabling us to Results
aggregate a great many momentary affect reports and relate The results supported the hypothesis that higher TSC is related
them to global measures of TSC and life satisfaction, including to higher subjective well-being. TSC was positively correlated
measures of desire-goal conflict and emotional distress. The with life satisfaction and positive affect, and negatively corre-
third study focused specifically on the role of goal balancing in lated with negative affect (Table 1).
explaining the relation between self-control and happiness. We built a mediation model to test whether the effect of
TSC on life satisfaction is (at least partially) mediated through
affect. Using both positive and negative affect as putative
STUDY 1: INITIAL EVIDENCE mediators, we tested for indirect effects using asymmetric 95%
confidence intervals that were based on 5,000 bootstraps
Study 1 was an online survey that provided a preliminary test
of our competing hypotheses about TSC, life satisfaction, and
momentary affect. As a one-shot survey, it measured happiness Table 1 Study 1: Descriptive Statistics, Reliability, and Intercorrelations
on only one occasion. The measure of self-control was a trait for Trait Measures
one, assumed to be relatively stable, and so the one-shot nature
Variable M SD 1 2 3
of the design would not presumably compromise the measure
of self-control. Life satisfaction is how one views one’s life in 1. Trait self-control 3.35 0.74 —
general, and although this may fluctuate to some extent across 2. Life satisfaction 3.02 1.08 .24 —
time and circumstances, measuring it while people are com- 3. Positive affect 3.31 0.83 .27 .52 —
4. Negative affect 2.04 0.91 –.35 –.45 –.24
pleting a survey would presumably catch them in a relatively
reflective moment and therefore should also be relatively free Note. p < .001 for all correlation coefficients.
4 Hofmann, Luhmann, Fisher, et al.

Positive
their daily lives. In previous work, we collected such informa-
.27*** Affect
.45***
tion from a community sample followed over the course of a
week (Hofmann, Baumeister, et al., 2012). That study had been
Trait Life designed to assess how often and how strongly people experi-
Self-Control .004 (.25***) Satisfaction
ence a large range of desires over the course of their day, how
conflicted they feel about those various desires, how often they
–.35*** Negative –.35***
Affect
attempt to resist (problematic) desires, and whether they
enacted or inhibited a given desire. Thus, this database con-
tained information about both unproblematic and problematic
Figure 1 Study 1: Mediation analysis of the effect of trait self-control on desire pursuits—problematic in the sense that a focal desire
general life satisfaction via positive and negative affect. The total effect,
before taking into account the mediating variables, is given in parentheses.
may stand in opposition to important, often long-term goals
***p < .001. such as health, abstinence-restraint, achievement, time man-
agement, and social goals. Previous analyses had found that
high-TSC individuals experienced lower average levels of con-
(MacKinnon, 2008). Results indicated that the effect of TSC
flict and, therefore, needed to exert self-control less often in
on life satisfaction was fully mediated by positive affect (stan-
their daily lives (Hofmann, Baumeister, et al., 2012). Here, we
dardized indirect effect: β = 0.12, 95% CI [0.08, 0.17]) and
go beyond these initial findings by further scrutinizing the
negative affect (standardized indirect effect: β = 0.12, 95% CI
relationship between TSC and momentary affect as well as life
[0.08, 0.16]; Figure 1). The direct effect of TSC on life satis-
satisfaction. Specifically, we sought to replicate the relation-
faction was β = 0.004 and nonsignificant, indicating complete
ship among TSC, affective experiences, and life satisfaction
mediation.
identified in Study 1. In line with earlier writings on the con-
nection between motivational conflict, stress, and well-being
Discussion (Emmons & King, 1988; Epstein, 1982; Lazarus & Folkman,
1984; Riediger & Freund, 2008), we further hypothesized that
Study 1 yielded two main results. First, TSC was positively the effects of TSC on affect and life satisfaction would be at
correlated with both life satisfaction and pleasant affect. These least partially accounted for by lower levels of desire-goal
fit the hypothesis that being good at self-control is linked to conflict and concomitant psychological stress ensuing from
both life satisfaction and positive emotion, as well as to a such motivational conflicts.
relative absence of negative emotion. Second, the link between
TSC and life satisfaction was mediated by affective experi-
ences. These findings fit the hypothesis that having high self- Method
control improves life satisfaction by way of increasing positive Participants. Two hundred eight adults (66% female;
emotions and decreasing negative emotions. These findings Mage = 25.24 years, SD = 6.32) participated as part of a
contradict the Puritan hypothesis about self-control and other larger study. Participants were reimbursed with €20 initially
suggestions that TSC detracts from enjoyment of life. Instead, (approximately $28) and received a number of additional
feeling good rather than bad may be a core benefit of having incentives if they completed more than 80% of signals. On
good self-control, and being well satisfied with life is an average, participants responded to and completed 92.2% of
important consequence. signals. Experience sampling data from three participants were
lost due to technical problems. The final sample consists of 205
participants.
STUDY 2: SELF-CONTROL AND
DESIRE-GOAL CONFLICTS Materials and Procedure. Participants were provided with
Although Study 1 found that affective experiences mediated smartphones (Blackberry 7290) for one week. Each day for
the positive effect of TSC on life satisfaction, those findings a week, seven signals were distributed throughout a time
could be criticized because it assessed affect with respect to window of 14 hours (for more details, see Hofmann,
different time frames and at the time of life satisfaction ratings. Baumeister, et al., 2012). When signaled, participants indi-
It remained entirely unclear whether people’s affective expe- cated whether they were experiencing a current desire or had
riences that occur during the course of daily life and routine experienced a desire within the last 30 minutes. Desires were
would correspond closely (or at all) to how they happened to defined as subjective experiences that entail a sense of wanting
feel when filling out a one-shot online survey. or longing to do or consume certain things. If they indicated no
Hence, a main goal of Study 2 was to compile a substantial desire, the assessment period was over, whereas follow-up
amount of information about people’s everyday emotional questions ensued if they indicated a current or recent desire.
experiences. To accomplish this, we turned to a large experi- First, participants indicated the desire content. They then
ence sampling study, in which people reported on their states reported the strength of the desire on a scale ranging from 0
of desire and affect at randomly chosen moments throughout (no desire at all) to 7 (irresistible), the degree to which the
Trait Self-Control and Well-Being 5

desire conflicted with one or more of their other goal(s) on a significantly associated with aggregated stress levels, r = .13,
scale ranging from 0 (not at all) to 4 (very strongly), whether p = .057. Moreover, desire-goal conflict was correlated with
they were resisting or had attempted to resist the desire (yes or more negative affect, r = –.35, p < .001, but not life satisfac-
no), and whether they had enacted the desire-related behavior tion, r = .006, p = .94.
(yes or no). Participants were asked about their momentary To investigate the relationship between TSC and affective/
affective well-being on a 7-point scale ranging from 1 (very cognitive well-being, we first built a simple mediation model
bad) to 7 (very good). In 60% of occasions, a number of further involving TSC, aggregated affect, and life satisfaction. Results
questions were activated on a random basis. Then, participants showed that the positive relationship between TSC and life
provided further information on their current level of stress on satisfaction was partially mediated via aggregated affect, as the
a scale ranging from 0 (not at all) to 4 (very much). They also total indirect effect was strongly significant, β = .08, p = .007.
indicated situational circumstances such as location, presence In a next step, we added conflict between the experienced
of other people, and alcohol consumption not in the focus of desire and other goals as an explanatory variable for the link
the present manuscript (see Hofmann, Baumeister et al., between TSC and aggregated affective well-being. The results
2012). Approximately three days after the experience sampling for the full path analysis conflict are presented in Figure 2. As
phase, participants provided demographic data and completed expected, lower levels of desire-goal conflict among those
questionnaires, among them the TSC Scale (Tangney et al., high in TSC partially accounted for the positive relationship
2004; α = .80) and the Satisfaction With Life Scale (Diener between TSC and aggregated affect, β = .05, p = .028. Further-
et al., 1985; α = .87). more, the indirect effect from TSC to life satisfaction via
desire-goal conflict and momentary affect was reliable,
β = .02, p = .043. A final supplementary mediation analysis
Results including stress indicated that stress partially accounted for
Data Analysis Strategy. The main analyses of interest were a the link between conflict and momentary affect, β = –.10,
set of path analyses relating TSC to affective and cognitive p = .011, with conflict retaining a unique residual effect on
well-being. Because both TSC and cognitive well-being were momentary affect, β = –.20, p = .005.
measured at the person level only, a multilevel mediation
analysis (from Level 2 to Level 1 to Level 2) was not possible.
We therefore aggregated all Level 1 measures (affective well- Table 2 Study 2: Descriptive Statistics, Reliability, and Intercorrelations
being, conflict, stress) into composite scores and conducted all for Trait and Aggregate Measures
analyses on the person level using Mplus (Muthén & Muthén,
2004). Indirect effects were estimated using the model indirect Variable M SD 1 2 3 4
command, based on 5,000 bootstrapping samples. 1. Trait self-control 3.06 .59 —
Table 2 shows the zero-order correlations among measures. 2. Desire-goal conflict 1.11 .64 –.18 —
Higher TSC was associated with both higher aggregated 3. Momentary affective well-being 4.68 .64 .30 –.35 —
momentary affective well-being, r = .30, p < .001, as well as 4. Momentary stress 0.87 .56 –.13 .41 –.37 —
higher life satisfaction, r = .34, p < .001. As in Study 1, affect 5. Cognitive well-being (SWLS) 4.75 1.14 .34 .01 .34 –.05
reports and life satisfaction were correlated but also clearly Note. N = 205. SWLS = Satisfaction With Life Scale. All correlation coefficients
distinct, r = .34, p < .001. As predicted, TSC was marginally greater than .13 in absolute magnitude are significant at p < .05.

.16* (.01)

Momentary
Trait Desire-Goal Affective Life
Self-Control –.18** Conflict -
Well-Being .31*** Satisfaction
–.30***

.25*** (.30***)

.28*** (.34***)

Figure 2 Study 2: Mediation analysis of the effect of trait self-control on cognitive well-being mediated through aggregated desire-goal conflict and momentary
affective well-being. Conflict and affective well-being were assessed over the course of one week with experience sampling. Coefficients in parentheses denote
total effects; those outside the parentheses denote residual direct effects. *p < .05; **p < .01; ***p < .001.
6 Hofmann, Luhmann, Fisher, et al.

Discussion controllers, in contrast, may fall short of striking their ideal

balance more often, leading to adverse consequences for feel-
Study 2 provided much stronger evidence than Study 1 that ings and life satisfaction. The final study was specifically
TSC affects both momentary affect and life satisfaction. designed to test this proposed goal-balancing effect.
Whereas Study 1 measured affect once, Study 2 was able to
aggregate participants’ reports of their momentary affective
states across a week of observations, sampling them randomly
STUDY 3: STRIKING THE RIGHT
across a broad range of daily waking activities (whenever they
had desires). People with higher TSC had more positive and BALANCE
fewer negative emotions overall. Study 2 found that perceived conflict was a substantial com-
Again, and crucially, accumulated (momentary) affect ponent of the links among TSC, momentary emotional states,
mediated the link between TSC and life satisfaction. These and life satisfaction. Building off of prior work (Hofmann,
findings suggest that one reason that people with good self- Baumeister et al., 2012), we found that one reason that people
control are generally satisfied with their lives is that they have high in TSC reported greater well-being was that they had
a relative preponderance of positive affect compared to people fewer conflicts between their current desires and their other
with poor self-control as they go about their daily lives. To be goals. This helped them experience less stress and more posi-
sure, the mediation in Study 2 was only partial, as opposed to tive emotion than people with low TSC, accounting for the
the full mediation found in Study 1. Partial mediation seems a improvement in life satisfaction.
priori more plausible than full mediation, insofar as there are Study 3 pursued the issue of motivational conflict and
multiple contributors to life satisfaction, and as we have noted, examined conflict between goals. Participants identified
global life satisfaction and momentary affect have been shown various important conflicting goals in their lives and then rated
in past work to be separate, distinct constructs. It is possible aspects of these goals and conflicts. Pursuing and achieving
that the one-shot nature of Study 1’s measures allowed the two goals is undoubtedly an important source of happiness, but
happiness measures to influence and perhaps slightly contami- many goals conflict with each other—so that achieving one
nate each other, thereby bolstering the apparent correlation detracts from achieving another. One of the core functions of
between them. Study 2 measured momentary affect on many self-regulation is to adjudicate among competing goals, such
occasions and life satisfaction on a different occasion. as deciding which one gets priority (Carver & Scheier, 1981;
We also acknowledge the possibility that the partial rather Higgins, 1996). Therefore, it seemed plausible that one benefit
than full mediation occurred because life satisfaction and of high TSC would be skill and success at managing goal
affect measures referred to different segments of experience. conflicts. Study 3 tested that hypothesis in several ways. First,
The life satisfaction measure was taken once and involved an we predicted that people high in TSC would report more
appraisal of life as a whole. The momentary affect measures success than others in resolving their goal conflicts in the
were taken many times—but only when desires were felt. optimal manner. Second, we predicted that they would encoun-
Possibly, including affective states occurring in the absence of ter goal conflicts less frequently. The latter hypothesis was
current desire could have improved the mediation, though we based on the recently emerging view that one important benefit
know of no reason why that should be true. of high self-control lies in setting up one’s life to prevent or
Study 2 also identified desire-goal conflict and ensuing minimize motivational conflict (Baumeister & Tierney, 2011;
emotional distress as possible mechanisms for why people low de Ridder et al., 2012; Hofmann, Baumeister, et al., 2012).
in self-control are less happy than those with high self-control. In the context of the present investigation, we reasoned
Conflict and its effect on stress partially mediated the link that effective management of conflicting goals would be
between TSC and affective well-being. This fine-grained an important contributor to happiness and life satisfaction.
analysis suggests that high self-control may facilitate momen- Someone who failed to manage goal conflicts effectively
tary happiness by helping people behave in ways that reduce might lurch from one activity to another, undoing efforts to
mental conflict and thus prevent emotional distress. One reach one goal by pursuing another and then also failing to
possible explanation is that people with good self-control achieve that one because of switching to yet another. In con-
proactively navigate their world in ways so as to avoid trast, someone with good self-control might maintain focus
temptation through situation and stimulus control (Hofmann, on the more important goal even when tempted to set it aside
Baumeister, et al., 2012), preventing conflict from occurring in so as to pursue something else. Long-term well-being, as
the first place. A second, complementary, possibility is that reflected in measures of life satisfaction, therefore should be
individuals high in self-control deal more effectively with the facilitated by the use of good self-control to effectively
motivational conflicts they encounter. In other words, people manage goal conflicts. Study 3 was designed to test this
good at self-control may manage to strike a better balance hypothesis using mediational analyses.
between mutually incompatible motivations and therefore Not all goal conflicts are created equal, of course. We dis-
experience less conflict and more happiness as they go about tinguished two major types (along a continuum) that would
juggling their various inclinations and goal strivings. Bad self- need to be resolved in different ways. Participants rated each
Trait Self-Control and Well-Being 7

goal as to whether satisfying that goal would entail doing a Goal Conflict Measures. For each goal conflict, participants
“good” versus a “bad” thing. For each pair of goals in conflict, rated the extent to which the goals conflict with one another
we then calculated the difference between each goal’s evalua- (1 = not at all; 7 = very) and the frequency with which they
tion on that dimension. One type of goal conflict, indicated by conflict (1 = less than once per month; 7 = more than 3 times
small or no difference, would be a conflict between two goals per day). Participants evaluated each of the opposing goals in
that were essentially equally valued. For example, many people terms of whether they imply doing a “good or bad thing”
struggle with work-family conflicts, insofar as obligations to (1 = bad; 7 = good). We computed an evaluative difference
perform one’s job may conflict with family duties and obliga- score for each goal conflict by subtracting the score for the
tions, and both job and family are highly valued. Self-control more negatively evaluated goal from the score for the more
in those circumstances is difficult because one does not easily positively evaluated goal. Thus, evaluative difference scores
know what is the right thing to do and must therefore come up ranged from 0 (equal goal conflict) to a maximum of 6 (indi-
with a basis for deciding not to do one thing in order to do cating a very strong vice-virtue conflict).
something that is nearly equally important.
The second type of goal conflict is between two goals of Balancing Measures. Participants rated how much during
substantially different value. We label these “vice-virtue con- the past week they pursued one goal versus the other
flicts” because by the person’s own ratings, the choice is (–3 = always followed goal 1; 3 = always followed goal 2) as
between doing something good and doing something (rela- well as how they would ideally pursue each goal in relation to
tively) bad. These conflicts do not have the problem that the other goal (–3 = always follow goal 1; 3 = always follow
plagues the equal goal conflicts because the person easily goal 2), with a value of zero indicating equal time pursuing
discerns what is better to do (i.e., do good rather than bad). The both goals. We calculated an ideal-actual balancing score by
difficulty presumably lies elsewhere, in that the temptation to (a) recoding conflicts with an evaluative difference score
do the bad thing is linked to impulses and desires that are greater than zero such that positive values indicate pursuit in
perhaps highly alluring. Familiar examples—desires to smoke favor of the more positively valued (i.e., “good”) goal, and by
tobacco, eat delicious high-calorie foods, or drink too much (b) subtracting the ideal balancing score from the actual bal-
alcohol—may conflict with healthy lifestyle goals. At the ancing score. Thus, the closer to zero, the more participants
moment of decision, the bad desire may be felt much more reported pursuing goals in tune with how they would ideally
keenly than the virtuous one, and self-control somehow has to like to pursue these competing goals. Positive values on the
find some basis for performing the less immediately appealing discrepancy measure indicate that the more positively evalu-
action. ated goal is pursued more often than is considered ideal,
We reasoned that self-control is a tool more than a reason, whereas negative values indicate that the more negatively
and so it should be more helpful with vice-virtue conflicts than evaluated goal is pursued more often than is considered ideal.
with conflicts between equally valued goals. That is, self- After information on all three goals was provided, partici-
control should be useful in helping oneself to resist temptation pants completed an overall rating of balancing by rating how
so as to pursue the path of virtue. With conflicts between equal happy they are with their overall ability to balance goal con-
goals, self-control may be of little or no help because the flicts on a scale from 1 (not at all happy) to 7 (very happy).
challenge is to come up with reasons rather than to resist A multilevel analysis confirmed that this summary rating
temptations. reflected well the average of participants’ ideal-actual balanc-
ing scores measured at the goal conflict level, r = .65, p < .001.

Trait Measures. As in Study 1, affect was assessed with the

Method PANAS (Watson et al., 1988; α = .81). Participants also com-
Participants. Two hundred thirty-four adults (61% female; pleted the Satisfaction With Life Scale (Diener et al., 1985;
Mage = 34.53 years, SD = 11.98) completed the study online in α = .93) and the Brief Trait Self-Control Scale (Tangney et al.,
return for monetary compensation. 2004; α = .84).

Procedure. Participants were instructed to identify three

important goal conflicts that they routinely experience. Nine-
teen goal domains, derived from a recently developed goal Results
taxonomy (Stauner, Stimson, & Ozer, 2011) as well as Descriptive Data. Participants reported on three experienced
common goals as reported in a recent study (Hofmann, Vohs, conflicts, yielding a total of 702 conflicts. Of these, 45 were
& Baumeister, 2012), were provided as examples (see Appen- judged to be nonsensical by two independent raters. Therefore,
dix A). Participants then answered questions about each goal 657 conflicts were retained for analyses. The mean evaluative
conflict and provided information on how they balance difference per goal conflict was 1.98 (SD = 1.82), meaning that
between goals. Lastly, they completed trait measures pertain- the two goals mentioned were, on average, about two points
ing to self-control and happiness. apart on the value scale. About a third of the conflicts (n = 193;
8 Hofmann, Luhmann, Fisher, et al.

Table 3 Study 3: Multilevel Analyses Probing the Relationship Between TSC and Magnitude of Goal Conflict, Conflict Frequency, Goal Evaluation
Difference, and Balancing

Variable B SE p Low TSC Mean High TSC Mean

Magnitude of conflict –.07 .10 .459 5.53a 5.43a
Conflict frequency –.22 .10 .022 4.51a 4.19b
Evaluation difference –.27 .11 .016 2.17a 1.78b
Balancing discrepancy .33 .12 .007 –.75a –.27b
Actual balancing .38 .10 <.001 –.19a .36b
Ideal balancing .06 .09 .523 .55a .64a
Note. N = 234 participants (Level 2).TSC = trait self-control.The number of analyzed goal conflicts on Level 1 was 657. Low and high TSC outcomes were estimated at
one standard deviation below and above the mean of TSC, respectively. Estimated row means with different subscripts a and b differ at p < .05.

29.4%) were between goals that participants rated as equally low (-1 SD) TSC average TSC high (+1 SD) TSC
good or bad (i.e., a difference of zero).

Ideal-actual balancing discrepancy

0.0

-0.5
TSC and Goal Conflict. Because goal conflicts were nested
within participants, we used multilevel modeling (e.g., Hox, -1.0
2010). Level 1 (goal conflict level) was composed of ratings of
-1.5
extent of conflict, conflict frequency, value of each goal, and
ideal-actual discrepancy of goal balancing. Level 2 (person -2.0
level) was composed of TSC (grand-mean centered). High-
and low-TSC individuals did not differ with regard to the -2.5
No (0) Low (2) Moderate (4) High (6)
average self-reported magnitude of goal conflict, indicating (i.e., equal goal conflicts) Goal Value Difference (i.e., vice-virtue conflicts)
that both high- and low-TSC individuals followed instructions
equally and reported strong conflicts that were comparable in Figure 3 Study 3: TSC and the management of goal conflicts. The graph
magnitude (Table 3). shows the moderator effect of trait self-control on the relation between goal
As predicted, TSC was associated with the frequency with value differences (no = equal goal conflict; 6 = highest possible value asymme-
which the conflict was experienced, with high (+1 standard try, i.e., “vice-virtue” conflict) and how much people report their actual way
of balancing is close to ideal (discrepancy of zero) versus less than ideal (i.e.,
deviation) TSC individuals reporting that the conflicts they increasing negative discrepancy scores).
mentioned occurred less frequently on average than the con-
flicts mentioned by low (–1 standard deviation) TSC individu-
als. High-TSC individuals reported fewer vice-virtue conflicts
on average, as indicated by the negative regression coefficient ences on balancing discrepancy (at the mean level of TSC) was
relating TSC to the evaluative difference score (Table 3). Taken B = –.22, p < .001. Most important, there was a significant
together, this pattern of findings provides evidence that people Evaluation Difference × TSC interaction, B = .13, p = .013,
high in TSC experience fewer goal conflicts overall, and, indicating that differences between high- and low-TSC indi-
among those, fewer instances of vice-virtue conflicts. viduals became more pronounced as goal evaluation differ-
ences increased (Figure 3). Among people low in TSC, larger
TSC and Balancing. Balancing refers to how the person deficiencies in balancing goal conflicts were found to the extent
handles goal conflict. TSC predicted that high-TSC individuals the goals differed in value (i.e., vice-virtue conflicts). We used
would indicate balancing behavior that was closer to their ideals simple slope testing to estimate the effect of TSC at four levels
than would low-TSC individuals (Table 3). To investigate of increasing goal evaluation differences: 0 (indicating equal
whether this effect depended on the type of goal conflict, we goal conflict), 2, 4, and 6 (indicating low, moderate, and strong
analyzed how TSC and goal evaluation differences interact to value differences between goals). The difference between
predict balancing discrepancy scores. To do so, we entered goal high- and low-TSC individuals was negligible for equal goal
evaluation difference as a Level 1 continuous predictor and conflicts, B = .02, p = .90, whereas it became increasingly
modeled its cross-level interaction with TSC as a Level 2 pronounced for low, moderate, and high evaluative differences
predictor. The average balancing discrepancy score (at the mean (low: B = .24, p = .048; moderate: B = .50, p < .001; high:
of TSC and goal value differences) was negative, B = –.49, B = .76, p < .001). Thus, the advantage of high TSC was mainly
p < .001, indicating that, on average, more negatively evaluated found with vice-virtue conflicts.
goals were pursued more often than people considered ideal. Because balancing scores reflect the difference between
The conditional main effect of TSC on balancing discrepancy actual and ideal balancing, it was possible that either actual or
(at the mean level of goal value differences) was B = .24, ideal scores could account for the effects of TSC. Does high
p = .052, and the conditional main effect of goal value differ- TSC entail changes to ideal standards or to actual behavior?
Trait Self-Control and Well-Being 9

Our findings point to the latter. There was no effect of TSC on for the total indirect effect. The relationship between TSC and
how people ideally wished they would handle goal conflicts, life satisfaction was further accounted for by considering posi-
B = .06, p = .52. In contrast, TSC was associated with better tive and negative affect as proximal mediators (see Study 1).
actual balancing (e.g., pursuing virtue rather than vice), Specifically, both positive and negative affect mediated the
B = .38, p < .001. Thus, it seems that people with high TSC effect from TSC to life satisfaction, via balancing performance
have a better fit between how they actually manage multiple (total indirect effect for positive affect: β = .012, p = .056; total
goals and how they ideally would like to manage multiple indirect effect for negative affect: β = .028, p = .005). In addi-
goals, which is achieved by adjusting their behavior to favor tion, negative affect, β = .070, p = .008, but not positive affect,
the virtuous goals over the vices. β = .015, p = .158, accounted for additional variance in the
relation between TSC and life satisfaction that was not medi-
TSC, Overall Balancing Performance, and Cognitive and ated via balancing performance.
Affective Well-Being. On the level of zero-order correlations
at the person level, as expected, higher TSC was associated Discussion
with higher self-reported balancing performance, and with Study 3 investigated the positive effect of trait self-control on
higher levels of affective positivity and life satisfaction well-being via its effect on reducing and managing goal con-
(see Table 4). To investigate whether balancing performance flict. Although people at different levels of TSC reported much
accounts for at least parts of the relation between TSC and life the same difficulties and intensities of goal conflicts, they
satisfaction, and whether the possible link between balancing differed as to frequency and type. High TSC was associated
performance and life satisfaction can further be accounted with fewer vice-virtue conflicts. Thus, people high in TSC
for via positive and negative affect, we performed a path seem less prone to find themselves in circumstances in which
analysis in Mplus (Muthén & Muthén, 2004). Variables were they are tempted to do bad things and must exert themselves to
z-transformed prior to analysis. Again, indirect effects were resist those temptations.
estimated based on 5,000 bootstrapping samples. Moreover, and crucially, high TSC was associated with a
As can be seen in Figure 4, the overall total effect of TSC on relatively lower reported frequency of experiencing goal con-
life satisfaction was significant, β = .35, p < .001. Balancing flicts. Further supplementary analyses showed that conflict
performance partially mediated this effect, β = .15, p < .001 frequency was not related to positive affect, B = .00, p = .97,
but it was significantly related to negative affect, B = .23,
Table 4 Study 3: Descriptive Statistics, Reliability, and Intercorrelations p = .001, as well as to life satisfaction, B = –.16, p = .019.
for Trait Measures Again, one interpretation of this finding is that people use
self-control to set up their lives so as to avoid problems. It is
Variable M SD 1 2 3 presumably impossible to organize one’s life so that goals
1. TSC 3.30 .73 —
never conflict. (Sure enough, none of our participants said they
2. Overall satisfaction with balancing 4.10 1.39 .27 — never experienced goal conflicts, or balked at listing three
3. Affective well-being (PANAS) 3.86 1.65 .35 .50 — recurrent ones.) But someone with good self-control can
4. Cognitive well-being (SWLS) 3.49 .67 .35 .58 .57 apparently manage his or her life so that these conflicts arise
Note. N = 234. TSC = trait self-control; PANAS = Positive and Negative Affect
relatively infrequently. These findings provide further support
Scales; SWLS = Satisfaction With Life Scale. All correlation coefficients are signifi- for the view that good self-control facilitates managing one’s
cant at p < .001. life so as to avoid and minimize problems.

Positive
Affect
.12*

.35*** .12*
Trait Balancing Life
Self-Control .27*** Performance .38*** (.53***) Satisfaction
–.33*** –.32***

–.22*** Negative
Affect

.12* (.35***)

Figure 4 Study 3: Mediation effect of trait self-control on life satisfaction via overall balancing of important goal conflicts, and positive and negative affect.
*p < .05; **p < .01; ***p < .001.
10 Hofmann, Luhmann, Fisher, et al.

Further benefits of self-control emerged when we asked stern self-discipline, people with high TSC typically felt better
participants to rate how they usually managed each conflict than others even in the present moment, as well as being more
and how they ideally wished they would manage it. The gap satisfied with their lives in general. Study 2 was particularly
between ideal and reality was considerably smaller for people enlightening in this regard because it collected and analyzed
with high as compared to low TSC. These findings dovetail reports of how people felt at a great many randomly chosen
well with laboratory findings on state self-control, which moments as they went about their daily lives. Thus, it is not
typically find that as the capacity for self-control becomes simply that people with higher, versus lower, TSC are in a better
depleted, behavior tends to shift toward the less optimal, more mood when taking time out from their daily activities to reflect
impulsive sort (e.g., Baumeister, Bratslavsky, Muraven, & on life as a whole by filling out a questionnaire. We asked them
Tice, 1998; Hofmann, Rauch, & Gawronski, 2007; Vohs & to report their mood as part of a larger investigation on desire, so
Heatherton, 2000). Put more simply, people with high TSC are it is particularly notable that high-TSC people were in a better
better than others at balancing goals that are in conflict. mood even when experiencing longing, a signal of an unfulfilled
Study 3 also found that effectiveness at managing goal need.
conflict (as indicated by relatively small ideal-actual discrepan- We found, also, that the benefits of high self-control in
cies in reports of how one dealt with conflicting goals) partly terms of momentary affect were associated with life satisfac-
mediated the link between TSC and happiness. Specifically, tion. Our most rigorous and extensive data (Study 2) found that
high TSC contributed to good balancing of conflicting goals, momentary affect partly mediated the relationship between
which in turn led to high life satisfaction. We did also find that TSC and life satisfaction. The finding of partial rather than full
positive and negative affect (especially the latter) improved the mediation should not be surprising. Almost certainly, there are
mediation. The implication is that one way in which TSC multiple pathways by which self-control produces greater sat-
contributes to life satisfaction is by improving management of isfaction with life, including better interpersonal relationships,
goal conflict and thereby improving one’s momentary affective better health, and better achievement. But improving one’s
experiences. mood on a regular basis seems to be one important pathway
As predicted, we also found that TSC interacted with the from exerting good self-control to being well satisfied with
type of goal conflict. People at different levels of TSC did not your life in general.
show any discernible differences as to how well they reported Study 2 was also consistent with the hypothesis that goal
balancing equally valued goals. As the gap between the valu- conflict and its effects on stress are one important mechanism
ation of the two goals widened, however, TSC had a stronger by which individual differences in TSC translate into momen-
and stronger impact. High levels of TSC thus mainly helped tary affect. Experiencing more frequent goal conflicts drains
people deal effectively with vice-virtue conflicts. We had theo- momentary happiness presumably because inner mental
rized that self-control is useful for doing what one knows is turmoil is an aversive, stressful state that signals to the indi-
right when tempted to do otherwise—rather than for finding vidual that the current state of affairs is suboptimal (Emmons
reasons to choose between two equally valued goals. The find- & King, 1988). Even though conflict can trigger more effortful
ings clearly supported that prediction. thinking, which can lead to successful resolution of the conflict
(Hofmann, Baumeister, et al., 2012), it is still an aversive
mental state. Studies 2 and 3 both showed that high-TSC
GENERAL DISCUSSION individuals experience relatively fewer instances of such con-
In recent years, an increasing volume of research has estab- flicts, presumably through proactive strategies or habits of
lished assorted benefits of good self-control for educational situation and stimulus control.
and occupational success, interpersonal relationships, mental Avoiding motivational conflict is not always possible,
and physical health, socially desirable behavior, personal however. Study 3 was designed to test how well people high
adjustment, and longevity (Baumeister & Tierney, 2011; de versus low in self-control balance their existing goal conflicts.
Ridder et al., 2012; Moffitt et al., 2011; Tangney et al., 2004). High-TSC individuals clearly outperformed low-TSC indi-
But does self-control make you happy? Existing theories might viduals in finding a proper balance when it came to managing
predict people would be happier with either more or less self- vice-virtue conflicts. Their advantage apparently came from
control—or they might predict no difference. Prior empirical altering their behavior to conform to their ideals rather than
work had remained largely mute as to that question. lowering their self-standards. This, presumably, is precisely
The present series of studies offers a tentative answer: High what self-control is for, namely, to make oneself do what is best
self-control does make you happy. We measured both momen- in the long run rather than yielding to costly temptation. We also
tary affect and life satisfaction. The former refers to how found that better balancing of goal conflict, as in resolving those
positively one feels right now (or aggregates thereof), whereas conflicts in favor of virtue rather than vice, was related not only
the latter refers to an integrative appraisal of how one regards to higher life satisfaction but also to higher affective well-being.
and evaluates one’s life as a whole. Across all three studies, TSC This too contradicted the Puritan hypothesis.
was positively related to both measures. Contrary to the Puritan These conclusions have to be interpreted in light of the fact
hypothesis and other views of self-control as grim sacrifice and that our data were correlational and therefore do not allow
Trait Self-Control and Well-Being 11

causal claims. While it is plausible that TSC contributes to Baumeister, R. F., & Tierney, J. (2011). Willpower: Rediscovering the
subjective well-being, we cannot rule out that subjective well- greatest human strength. New York: Penguin.
being has a causal effect on TSC. In fact, studies suggest that Baumeister, R. F., & Vohs, K. D. (2007). Self-regulation, ego
subjective well-being can predict life outcomes. For instance, depletion, and motivation. Social and Personality Psychology
frequent positive affect is prospectively associated with Compass, 1, 1–11.
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tional success (Diener & Chan, 2011; Lyubomirsky, King, & structure of subjective well-being: Implications for conceptualiza-
Diener, 2005). Similarly, high life satisfaction is prospectively tion, operationalization, analysis, and synthesis. Personality and
associated with an increased likelihood to get married and Social Psychology Review, 15, 290–314.
become parents and with a decreased likelihood to become Carver, C. S., & Scheier, M. F. (1981). Attention and self-regulation:
unemployed or separate from one’s spouse (Luhmann, Lucas, A control-theory approach to human behavior. New York:
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tant avenue for future research is to establish the (possibly tive well-being contributes to health and longevity. Applied Psy-
bidirectional) causal relationship between TSC and subjective chology: Health and Well-Being, 3, 1–43.
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Satisfaction With Life Scale. Journal of Personality Assessment,
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Diener, E., Suh, E. M., Lucas, R. E., & Smith, H. L. (1999). Subjec-
Many people search for the key to happiness and satisfaction tive well-being: Three decades of progress. Psychological Bulle-
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because its reputation is associated with drudgery and self- Duckworth, A. L., & Seligman, M. E. P. (2005). Self-discipline
denial rather than with pleasure and joy. Yet, our data clearly outdoes IQ in predicting academic performance of adolescents.
indicate that people who have more trait self-control feel Psychological Science, 16, 939–944.
happier and are gladder about their life. We also found that Emmons, R. A., & King, L. A. (1988). Conflict among personal
many benefits of high self-control are linked to handling and strivings: Immediate and long-term implications for psychologi-
avoiding conflicts among goals. The person with high trait cal and physical well-being. Journal of Personality and Social
self-control regulates daily life so as to avoid some goal con- Psychology, 54, 1040–1048.
flicts, through planning and proactive control (prudence). The Epstein, S. (1982). Conflict and stress. In L. Goldberger & S. Breznitz
person who sets up life and its routines to avoid inner conflict (Eds.), Handbook of stress (pp. 49–68). New York: Free Press.
between goals is better off in the sense that he or she ends up Friese, M., & Hofmann, W. (2009). Control me or I will control you:
feeling fewer bad emotional states and is generally happier. Impulse, trait self-control, and the guidance of behavior. Journal
Nonetheless, trait self-control does not prevent conflict, even of Research in Personality, 43, 795–805.
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Time frames and the differences between affective and cognitive
well-being. Journal of Research in Personality, 46, 431–441. APPENDIX A
Luhmann, M., Hofmann, W., Eid, M., & Lucas, R. E. (2012). Sub-
Goal Domain Examples Provided in Study 3
jective well-being and adaptation to life events: A meta-analysis.
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 102, 592–615. Perform well at college/school, lose weight/get in shape, find a
Luhmann, M., Lucas, R. E., Eid, M., & Diener, E. (2013). The partner/get married, socialize, help others/be a good person,
prospective effect of life satisfaction on life events. Social Psy- perform well at work, play sports/exercise, save money, follow
chological and Personality Science, 4, 39–45. religious tenets, gain power/recognition, remain abstinent from
Lyubomirsky, S., King, L., & Diener, E. (2005). The benefits of a drug, end a drug dependency, remain faithful to partner, seek
frequent positive affect: Does happiness lead to success? Psycho- variety/stimulation, eat great-tasting food, enjoy life/have fun,
logical Bulletin, 131, 803–855. purchase new items, satisfy sexual desire, pursue leisure/
MacKinnon, D. P. (2008). Introduction to statistical mediation analy- relaxation
sis. New York: Taylor & Francis.
Moffitt, T. E., Arseneault, L., Belsky, D., Dickson, N., Hancox, R. J.,
Harrington, H., et al. (2011). A gradient of childhood self-control
APPENDIX B
predicts health, wealth, and public safety. Proceedings of the Goal-Related Items Used in Study 3
National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America,
108, 2693–2698. Goal Conflict
Muraven, M. (2010). Practicing self-control lowers the risk of Think closely about the conflict between your goals to [Goal 1]
smoking lapse. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 24, 446–452. and to [Goal 2]. To what extent do these two goals conflict with
Muthén, L. K., & Muthén, B. O. (2004). Mplus user’s guide (Vol. 3rd one another for you?
ed). Los Angeles, CA: Muthén & Muthén.
Patton, J. H., Stanford, M. S., & Barratt, E. S. (1995). Factor structure
of the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale. Journal of Clinical Psychol- Goal Conflict Frequency
ogy, 51, 768–774. How often do you experience this conflict between your goals
Riediger, M., & Freund, A. M. (2008). Me against myself: Motiva- to [Goal 1] and to [Goal 2]?
tional conflicts and emotional development in adulthood. Psychol-
ogy and Aging, 23, 479–494.
Schwarz, N., & Strack, F. (1999). Reports of subjective well-being: Goal Value
Judgmental processes and their methodological implications. In To what extent do you think that pursuing [Goal 1/Goal 2]
D. Kahneman, E. Diener, & N. Schwarz (Eds.), Foundations of implies doing a good thing?
hedonic psychology: Scientific perspectives on enjoyment and suf-
fering (pp. 61–84). New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
Stauner, N., Stimson, T. S., & Ozer, D. J. (2011). The factor structure Actual Balance
of personal goals in an undergraduate population. Unpublished Think back to this past week. How much did you tend to
manuscript. pursue your goal to [Goal 1] versus your goal to [Goal 2]?
Trait Self-Control and Well-Being 13

Ideal Balance Overall Balancing Performance

Next, think about how you would ideally like to spend your Thinking back to the goal conflicts you reported, how happy
time. How often would you pursue your goal to [Goal 1] versus would you say you are at your ability to balance your goal
your goal to [Goal 2]? conflicts OVERALL?