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Smoking May Help Restore Self-Control
Researchers have suggested that smoking may help restore self-control by improving smokers’ positive mood, which may contribute to tobacco addiction.
When researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Fla., deplete smokers’ self control, they found that smoking a cigarette helps restore their self-control.
The study exposed a test group and a control group – totalling 132 nicotine dependent smokers – to an emotional video depicting environmental damage.
One group in the study expressed their natural emotional reactions (no depletion of self-control) while the second group suppressed their responses (self-control depletion).
Half of the participants in each group were subsequently allowed to smoke a cigarette. Everyone then was asked to complete a frustrating task that required self-control.
“Our goal was to study whether tobacco smoking affects an individual’s self-control resources,” said lead author Bryan W. Heckman, M.A., a graduate student at the Moffitt Tobacco Research and Intervention Program and the Department of Psychology at the University of South Florida.
“We hypothesized that participants who underwent a self-control depletion task would demonstrate less persistence on behavioural tasks requiring self-control as compared to those with self-control intact, when neither group was allowed to smoke. However, we also hypothesized that we would not find this performance decrement among participants who were permitted to smoke,” Heckman stated.
The results of the study supported the investigators’ hypotheses.
“We found that smoking did have a restorative effect on an individual’s depleted self-control resources. Moreover, smoking restored self-control, in part, by improving smokers’ positive mood,” said Heckman.
According to the researchers, evidence is mounting to suggest that self-control is a limited resource that acts like a muscle – expending self-control on a task has the short-term effect of depleting the resource, making it more difficult to engage in another task that requires self-control.
While nicotine has been found to enhance performance on a variety of cognitive activities, such as motor abilities, attention and memory, this study was the first to evaluate the effects of smoking on self-control.
It suggests that the desire to restore depleted self-control may contribute to smokers’ addiction to tobacco.
“Smoking is obviously a maladaptive way to restore self-control,” said study co-author Thomas H. Brandon, Ph.D., chair of the Department of Health Outcomes and Behaviour at Moffitt Cancer Center, and psychology professor at USF.
“Finding other ways to relax or enhance one’s mood would be much healthier alternatives. In fact, even raising glucose level – perhaps by consuming a sugary drink – has been shown to restore self-control,” he added.
This study also suggested that smokers wanting to quit might benefit from learning such alternative self-control restoration strategies as a way to reduce their dependence on tobacco.
The authors concluded that smoking cessation treatments would benefit by further research aimed at identifying how smoking restores self-control, as well as identifying additional alternative strategies for strengthening or restoring self-control.
The finding was published in a recent issue of the Journal of Abnormal Psychology.
Posted by
shukla bbolomani
March 24, 2012 at 3:44 pm
What nonsense!!! Smoking can never restore an individual’s depleted self-control. What about Sata, has he? Isn’t he getting worse?!
kunda
March 24, 2012 at 3:48 pm
Marketing stretagy-self-control how?
ZAGGA
March 24, 2012 at 4:24 pm
So kuti nachilola apapene?
Mwikala patalala
March 24, 2012 at 4:26 pm
Wenye tyala!! Tumfwenko next time you’ll be telling us drinking Jilijilis improves ones IQ
leon
March 24, 2012 at 5:02 pm
bbolomani,that literature refers to people who smoke.I too smoke and i also loose my self control when i have not smoked,eg bad temper.
y me
March 24, 2012 at 5:44 pm
no sense
mr bean
March 24, 2012 at 6:38 pm
smoking harmful to health and it make the victims to the natural memory and they tend to be very fogetful as a resalt they are never consistance.
Drewman
March 24, 2012 at 6:41 pm
This story was written by a dickless cunt of a swine at Tumfweko. How ******, son of a whore!
Moses Katumbi
March 24, 2012 at 6:45 pm
Liars will never inherit the Kingdom of God
mwisho kaps
March 24, 2012 at 7:12 pm
is dobo or chamba, marijuana included
Tonga Bull
March 24, 2012 at 8:01 pm
Smoking doesnot help, look at how Sata looks, he is almost like a corpse because of too much smoking. now he is busy cooking himself in charms in india so that he can try and reverse the effects of smoking.
ray
March 24, 2012 at 8:27 pm
kanshi tatwakaleke ukufokola
Papa_Mokonzi
March 24, 2012 at 8:46 pm
Few or no things dat a white man can recomend dat is better a blackman.
Papa_Mokonzi
March 24, 2012 at 8:47 pm
Few or no things dat a white man can recomend dat is better4a blackman.
njongis
March 24, 2012 at 8:49 pm
Yaba! Ubufi bapompwe! Fwaka ukuchita restore self confidence where on earth, mwikatutwala mukweshiwa. After all lyashi lyenu ilyo nafifwaka lyenu bane!
luchelo
March 24, 2012 at 8:53 pm
It’s not God’s design 4 man 2 smoke. If He wanted man 2 smoke He (God) wud ave given us chimneys. Remember the nose is 4 breathing & not a smoke exit or chimney. Period
tt
March 24, 2012 at 9:08 pm
what a research?, smoking can not make someone have self contntrol, instead, the elation of the mood by the smoker is due to the adictive power of nicotine which is found in tobbacco. Smoking is never good to someone’s health.
we know a lie when we see one!
March 25, 2012 at 3:17 am
Smoking causes lung cancer. One of the leading causes of death. So careful with your made up stories.
Nkana
March 25, 2012 at 8:03 am
Ba tumfweko,
mulenashako umungulu,ala imwe!
Den seng
March 25, 2012 at 8:21 am
This is so true! i cn testify! wn m edgy a smoke calms me down, i think better, and i relax. side effect is its addictive and harmful. gr8 article Tumfweko, amazing, now where’s my stash i get over this cold weather
Kenko
March 25, 2012 at 8:29 am
Ubusali bwenu!!
shhhiiit
March 25, 2012 at 9:17 am
u guys re fuucked up,chiikala editor,,,,which smookin?en smoking wat?weed?u re fool of shiit,,,panyopako,,,,
umu zedian
March 25, 2012 at 10:23 am
Fwaka iyi ine mpepako? this is a lie. Guys please give us something productive. I do smoke, and am intending to stop and yet you are busy publishing this shit. Give us a link where you got this.
interlectual
March 25, 2012 at 9:38 pm
th problm with u pipo is u read th 1st two sentences thn u start posting insults.learn to get th ful picture b4 u open yo mouthes!!
Pimpslim
March 26, 2012 at 11:05 am
After reading your comments, i shall not comment
African gal
March 27, 2012 at 9:07 am
talema nalo boza
mbonga
March 27, 2012 at 3:23 pm
it is very true only non smokers can argue