AUTHOR=Lynn Margaret T., Van Dessel Pieter , Brass Marcel 

TITLE=The influence of high-level beliefs on self-regulatory engagement: evidence from thermal pain stimulation

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Psychology

VOLUME=Volume 4 - 2013

YEAR=2013

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00614

DOI=10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00614

ISSN=1664-1078

ABSTRACT=Determinist beliefs have been shown to impact basic motor preparation, prosocial behavior, performance monitoring, and voluntary inhibition, presumably by diminishing the recruitment of cognitive resources for self-regulation. We sought to support and extend previous findings by applying a belief manipulation to a novel inhibition paradigm that requires participants to occasionally suppress a prepotent withdrawal reaction from a strong aversive stimulus. Our results suggest that reduction of free will beliefs lead to a form of intentional disengagement that influences action selection and inhibition. It is likely that disbelief in free will encourages participants to be more passive, to exhibit a reduction in intentional engagement, and to be disinclined to adapt their behavior to contextual needs.