Gassing and Braking, and the Self

2007 was a stellar year for psychological essays about gassing and braking and the self. At least one such essay was published that year, namely: “Gassing, Braking, and Self-Regulating: Error Self-Regulation, Well-Being, and Goal-Related Processes,” Michael D. Robinson, Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, January 2007, vol. 43, no. 1, pp. 1–16. The author, at North Dakota State University, begins by explaining that:

“One should not treat the gas and brake pedals equivalently. The two pedals are designed to serve fundamentally different functions, namely those associated with going forward and slowing down, respectively.”