A new study has revealed that people are more likely to achieve their goals and avoid temptations when they are able to remove themselves from the big picture.
The scientists offered M and Ms to participants while asking questions focused on either staying connected with friends and family or improving their health and some participants answered the questions while seated in a cubicle facing a mirror.
According to the study, when participants were focused on themselves (in front of the mirror), they were more likely to eat M and Ms when their goal was more abstract, while in absence of self-focus (mirror) they were more likely to eat the M and Ms when thinking about friends and family.
The study was published in the Journal of Consumer Research.