I do Care about your Status: The Inspiration Information and Social Status can Promote Self-regulation

According to the strength model of self-control, when individuals find a task that is important or relevant to their self-worth, they will invest more self-control resources in the task. The current study aims to explore the effects of social status on people’s interpersonal self-regulation.

Participants were randomly assigned to one of the following conditions: Prime with a high-status other with inspiration information, a high-status other with no inspiration information, an equal-status other with inspiration information, or positive mood (control condition). Participants were then told that the stroop task could train their ability of perception and reasoning. The main dependent variable was the trials of stroop task completed.

The results indicated that neither status nor inspiration information alone could motivate participants. Thus is, participants would work harder and perform significantly better than participants in other conditions only when facing a high status other with inspiration information. Cultural factor and other implications were also discussed.