The emotion of guilt as a motivator: can transgressors overcome ego-depletion to help their victims?

dc.contributor.advisorBuckingham, Justin
dc.contributor.authorBoring, Brandon
dc.contributor.departmentTowson University. Department of Psychologyen_US
dc.date.accessioned2016-08-12T21:04:57Z
dc.date.available2016-08-12T21:04:57Z
dc.date.issued2016-08-12
dc.date.submitted2016-05
dc.description(M.A.) -- Towson University, 2016en_US
dc.description.abstractSelf-control is a limited resource; exerting it leads to a state termed ego-depletion. Research suggests that techniques can overcome this loss of resources; one such avenue may lie in the experience of guilt, an emotion arising following transgressions. Transgressors are motivated to repay their victims, and are also motivated to alleviate the feelings associated with guilt. This study examined whether guilt can motivate people to overcome ego-depletion. Participants completed a task requiring self-control, and were then made to believe that they had caused harm to the researcher. Persistence on a subsequent task helping the researcher was then measured. The results showed that depleted participants who experienced guilt persisted longer on the subsequent task than depleted participants who did not experience guilt. However, guilt without prior depletion debilitated participants’ self-control as much as the ego-depletion induction. This study showed that guilt can both restore and exhaust self-control depending upon prior circumstance.en_US
dc.description.urihttp://library.towson.edu/cdm/ref/collection/etd/id/48365en_US
dc.formatapplication/pdf
dc.format.extentvi, 49 pagesen_US
dc.genrethesesen_US
dc.identifierdoi:10.13016/M2WJ6H
dc.identifier.otherTSP2016Boring
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11603/3109
dc.language.isoen_USen_US
dc.titleThe emotion of guilt as a motivator: can transgressors overcome ego-depletion to help their victims?en_US
dc.typeTexten_US

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