Quiz: Plopping down in front of the tube to watch reruns of a favorite show…
A) Turns you into a zoned-out zombie.
B) Is fun but essentially a waste of time.
C) Rejuvenates self-control.
Would you be surprised if I said that the correct answer is C? Well, it’s true, according to intriguing new research. But before I get into the study details, let’s cover some background info…
Psychologists know that it takes work to control one’s thoughts, moods and behaviors. Since self-control is not limitless, this “effortful self-control” depletes a finite resource, leaving less self-control available for whatever tasks one might face next. Self-control can be replenished by positive social interactions (such as a nice chat with a friend or a hug from your honey). But social interactions also can be risky—because when things go wrong (for instance, an argument erupts), self-control can wind up being depleted even further.
So for the new study, researchers investigated whether “social surrogacy”—in the form of interaction with a favorite, familiar, fictional world—could replenish flagging self-control. The study included two separate components…
Part 1. Participants were asked to write about a recent trip. Half of them were allowed to write what they wanted, which was easy…but the other half were restricted to words that did not contain the letters “a” or “i,” which required concentrated effort and thus depleted self-control. Then the groups were reshuffled and assigned a second writing task. Half wrote a list of items in their rooms (a neutral activity)…the other half wrote about a favorite TV show (to trigger feelings associated with social surrogacy). Next, all participants worked on word puzzles, then rated their levels of negative feelings such as anger, dejection and sadness.
Results: Among participants whose self-control had initially been depleted by the restricted writing task, those who wrote about favorite fictional TV characters did better on the word puzzles and reported fewer negative feelings—suggesting that their self-control reserves had been replenished—than those who simply listed household items.
Part 2. Volunteers kept daily diaries for two weeks, noting when they encountered situations that required them to exercise self-control over their thoughts or moods. They also recorded when they reread a beloved book or watched a familiar favorite TV episode or film (the social surrogacy situation)…and when they read a new book, watched a new episode of a show they liked or watched whatever happened to be on TV. In addition, they rated the intensity levels of their negative moods.
Analysis: When participants had to exert a lot of self-control, they were more likely to reread a favorite book or watch a favorite rerun afterward—an indication that they were subconsciously seeking the rejuvenating comfort of a familiar fictional world. Those who did not use this social surrogacy to replenish self-control were more likely to report negative moods afterward.
Bottom line: Of course, no one is suggesting that we spend all our free time playing couch potato while ignoring chores, work, family and other responsibilities. After all, a healthy lifestyle must include interactions with other live humans as well as regular physical activity. But it is comforting to know that there’s a perfectly good reason to curl up with a well-loved book or settle down to watch a favorite flick or TV show when we’re feeling depleted and need a restorative boost.
