Managing temptation in a learning situation : Comparing cognitive reappraisal with obedience
When students find themselves in a situation of temptation, their parents/teachers frequently exercise authority to convince them to persist in their learning. This study suggests an alternative strategy : cognitive reappraisal, consisting in changing the meaning of the situation. Ninety participants memorized information while being tempted to look at some images. Compared with those who had not made a reappraisal or had been instructed to do the task properly, the group who had reappraised the task (1) was less distracted, (2) improved its performance and (3) allotted more value to the task.