Testing Conventional Theories of Self-Regulation: Heart-Rate Variability and Mental Imagery

The present experiment was performed in order to test the hypotheses that self-regulation and mental imagery positively correlate and that mental imagery mediates the correlation of resting heart-rate variability and self-regulation. Self-regulation was measured via a self-report questionnaire (the Short Self-Regulation Questionnaire), as was mental imagery (the Plymouth Sensory Imagery Questionnaire). Resting heart-rate variability was calculated as the root mean square of successive differences between normal heartbeats within the final 30 seconds of a five-minute period of rest. While a positive correlation between mental imagery and self-regulation is found, its magnitude trails behind that anticipated by conventional theories. No correlation was detected between resting heart-rate variability and either mental imagery or self-regulation, and therefore no mediatory role was possible for mental imagery. In short, the present results call into question much of the academic theorization and popular opinion about self-regulation.