An Obligation to Work Or an Opportunity to Have Fun? the Influence of Task Construal and Task Completion on Regulatory Behavior

Identical behaviors can be perceived in different ways by different people. For example, trying a piece of candy can be construed as act of regulation (i.e., the trial is limited to one piece of candy) or an opportunity for a rewarding experience (i.e., eat something tasty). We posit that individual differences (e.g., a person’s level of self-control) and contextual factors combine to influence the construal of a behavior as regulatory or rewarding. In turn, the construal of the behavior, and the degree to which the behavior is incomplete or completed, influence a person’s self-control in subsequent behaviors.

Citation:

Juliano Laran and Chris Janiszewski (2011) ,"An Obligation to Work Or an Opportunity to Have Fun? the Influence of Task Construal and Task Completion on Regulatory Behavior", in E - European Advances in Consumer Research Volume 9, eds. Alan Bradshaw, Chris Hackley, and Pauline Maclaran, Duluth, MN : Association for Consumer Research, Pages: 470.