Perspectivas contemporáneas sobre el autocontrol: revisión narrativa de los aportes de Baumeister y Fujita
Resumen
El autocontrol es un concepto relevante para comprender el comportamiento de las personas en diferentes ámbitos de la vida. Está asociado con aspectos positivos en distintas áreas y tiene un valor pragmático al ser un prerrequisito para el logro exitoso de las metas a largo plazo. En este sentido, existen diferentes teorías y aproximaciones al estudio del autocontrol. Comprender con mayor profundidad los mecanismos psicológicos implicados en esta capacidad permitiría orientar el diseño de estrategias más eficaces para promover su desarrollo en distintos contextos. Este artículo de revisión narrativa se centró en un registro actualizado sobre dos de los principales modelos teóricos de este constructo que identificó posibles similitudes y diferencias. Primero, el modelo de Roy F. Baumeister propone que el autocontrol es un recurso limitado similar a un músculo. La fatiga del autocontrol se conoce como “agotamiento del ego”. El segundo, de Kentaro Fujita, postula que el autocontrol está influenciado por la manera en que las personas representan mentalmente los eventos y las decisiones futuras. Los principales resultados de la revisión concluyen que los modelos de Baumeister y Fujita ofrecen conceptualizaciones y perspectivas distintas pero complementarias sobre el autocontrol. Cada uno proporciona valiosas conclusiones sobre su funcionamiento y posibilidad de desarrollo. Además, se encontró que la investigación actual está avanzando hacia un modelo integrador del control esforzado y hacia el estudio de la metamotivación, lo que refleja la evolución y el enriquecimiento de la comprensión de este constructo.
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