Impairment of Self-control and its manifestations in Continuous Word Association Test

The aim of work is to find out how self–control influences word associations. The research presented herein provides new insight into manifestations of self–control. Experimental study is based on the Strength model (Baumeister, Bratslavsky, Muraven, & Tice, 1998), which assumes that self–control relies on limited resources of ego which become depleted with increased exercising of self–control (Ego depletion). The aim of this experiment was to verify in an empirical manner that the impairment of self–control can be manifested in word association tests. Continuous word association test (Kondáš, 1979) was used in this experiment. Distinct indicators of continuous word associations were divided into the following 4 categories; verbal dynamics, abnormalities in association, errors in the reproduction of association reactions and the overall number of mistakes. Parallel task and “e letter” crossing out exercises were used in order to impair ego resource.One–Way ANOVA was used in the analysis. The results of the study indicate that impaired self–control, induced by the “e letter” crossing out task, increased verbal dynamics. According to the obtained results, Continuous word association test provoke automatic processes. Further important indicators of impaired self–control were increased perseverations of potentially conflicting word ′control′, erroneous reproductions of potentially conflicting word ′explosions′ and the overall indicator of mistakes in conflict word‚ explosions and control‘. The experiment results show an increase in the number of mistakes of word association production when self–control is impaired.