Nicole L. Mead, Jessica L. Alquist, and Roy F. Baumeister
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- May 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195391381
- eISBN:
- 9780199776894
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195391381.003.0020
- Subject:
- Psychology, Cognitive Neuroscience, Social Psychology
People break diets, procrastinate in the face of looming deadlines, imbibe too much alcohol the night before a midterm, struggle to save money, and lash out at loved ones and family members. They do ...
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People break diets, procrastinate in the face of looming deadlines, imbibe too much alcohol the night before a midterm, struggle to save money, and lash out at loved ones and family members. They do all these things despite their best intentions not to. Why do people engage in such personally, interpersonally, and socially destructive behaviors? This chapter suggests that a major reason why people fail at self-control is because it relies on a limited resource. We define self-control as the capacity to alter one's responses; it is what enables people to forego the allure of short-term pleasures to institute responses that bring long-term rewards. One of the core functions of self-control may be to facilitate culture, which often requires that people curtail selfishness for the sake of effective group functioning. The first part of the chapter gives an overview of how self-control operates, including the possible biological basis of self-control. It covers a substantial body of literature suggesting that self-control operates on a limited resource, which becomes depleted with use. The second part of the chapter reviews the benefits of good self-control and the costs of bad self-control across a large variety of domains, such as consumption, self-presentation, decision making, rejection, aggression, and interpersonal relationships.Less
People break diets, procrastinate in the face of looming deadlines, imbibe too much alcohol the night before a midterm, struggle to save money, and lash out at loved ones and family members. They do all these things despite their best intentions not to. Why do people engage in such personally, interpersonally, and socially destructive behaviors? This chapter suggests that a major reason why people fail at self-control is because it relies on a limited resource. We define self-control as the capacity to alter one's responses; it is what enables people to forego the allure of short-term pleasures to institute responses that bring long-term rewards. One of the core functions of self-control may be to facilitate culture, which often requires that people curtail selfishness for the sake of effective group functioning. The first part of the chapter gives an overview of how self-control operates, including the possible biological basis of self-control. It covers a substantial body of literature suggesting that self-control operates on a limited resource, which becomes depleted with use. The second part of the chapter reviews the benefits of good self-control and the costs of bad self-control across a large variety of domains, such as consumption, self-presentation, decision making, rejection, aggression, and interpersonal relationships.
Michael Cholbi
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- August 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780199338207
- eISBN:
- 9780190228446
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199338207.003.0010
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Moral Philosophy, Political Philosophy
A significant body of research suggests that self-control and willpower are resources that become depleted as they are exercised. Having to exert self-control and willpower draws down a person’s ...
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A significant body of research suggests that self-control and willpower are resources that become depleted as they are exercised. Having to exert self-control and willpower draws down a person’s reservoir of these resources and makes subsequent such exercises more difficult. This ego depletion renders individuals more susceptible to manipulation by exerting nonrational influences on individual choice and conduct. In particular, ego depletion results in later choices being less governable by a person’s powers of self-control and willpower than earlier choices. This chapter draws out three implications of this phenomenon: (1) manipulation can exploit ego depletion through the fashioning of social environments that tax willpower or self-control; (2) ego depletion undermines the Platonic-Aristotelian picture of character and strength of will; and (3) ego depletion needs to be a more central focus of theorists of justice, since it appears to be a significant contributor to poverty and other persistent injustices.Less
A significant body of research suggests that self-control and willpower are resources that become depleted as they are exercised. Having to exert self-control and willpower draws down a person’s reservoir of these resources and makes subsequent such exercises more difficult. This ego depletion renders individuals more susceptible to manipulation by exerting nonrational influences on individual choice and conduct. In particular, ego depletion results in later choices being less governable by a person’s powers of self-control and willpower than earlier choices. This chapter draws out three implications of this phenomenon: (1) manipulation can exploit ego depletion through the fashioning of social environments that tax willpower or self-control; (2) ego depletion undermines the Platonic-Aristotelian picture of character and strength of will; and (3) ego depletion needs to be a more central focus of theorists of justice, since it appears to be a significant contributor to poverty and other persistent injustices.
Roy F. Baumeister, Andrew J. Vonasch, and Hallgeir Sjåstad
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- June 2020
- ISBN:
- 9780197500941
- eISBN:
- 9780197500972
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780197500941.003.0002
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Moral Philosophy
Abundant evidence suggests that people exert self-control as if the exertions consumed a limited energy resource, akin to the folk notion of willpower. After exerting self-control, subsequent efforts ...
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Abundant evidence suggests that people exert self-control as if the exertions consumed a limited energy resource, akin to the folk notion of willpower. After exerting self-control, subsequent efforts at self-control are often relatively feeble and unsuccessful. The state of low willpower is called ego depletion. Studies on ego depletion have shown effects on intelligent thought (which is impaired during ego depletion), decision-making (depleted persons shift to more superficial ways of choosing, or prefer to avoid making choices), and passivity (depleted people become more passive). The psychological processes of self-regulation and ego depletion are linked to physical energy, as indicated by evidence that hunger makes people more short-sighted, and that food intake tends to counteract ego depletion. Depletion increases in response to interpersonal conflict, poor sleep, and confronting uncertainty. In daily life, good self-control is linked to avoiding problems and temptations, low stress, and higher happiness.Less
Abundant evidence suggests that people exert self-control as if the exertions consumed a limited energy resource, akin to the folk notion of willpower. After exerting self-control, subsequent efforts at self-control are often relatively feeble and unsuccessful. The state of low willpower is called ego depletion. Studies on ego depletion have shown effects on intelligent thought (which is impaired during ego depletion), decision-making (depleted persons shift to more superficial ways of choosing, or prefer to avoid making choices), and passivity (depleted people become more passive). The psychological processes of self-regulation and ego depletion are linked to physical energy, as indicated by evidence that hunger makes people more short-sighted, and that food intake tends to counteract ego depletion. Depletion increases in response to interpersonal conflict, poor sleep, and confronting uncertainty. In daily life, good self-control is linked to avoiding problems and temptations, low stress, and higher happiness.
Mark R. Leary
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780195172423
- eISBN:
- 9780199786756
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195172423.003.0008
- Subject:
- Psychology, Social Psychology
Most people believe that they can solve many of the problems discussed in the book through self-control, making themselves behave in ways that are conducive to their health and happiness by force of ...
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Most people believe that they can solve many of the problems discussed in the book through self-control, making themselves behave in ways that are conducive to their health and happiness by force of will. Of course, people sometimes exercise sufficient self-restraint to override the self's natural maladaptive inclinations. Yet, as we all know, there are limits to what people can make themselves do, and people are often unable to control their thoughts, emotions, and behaviors as they desire. Many personal and social problems (such as aggression, addiction, unprotected sex, overeating, and deindividuation) result from self-regulation failure. This chapter deals with the nature of self-regulation and with the question of why people are often unable to control themselves no matter how hard they try. Topics include self-regulation, self-control strength, and ego-depletion. Implications of research for enhancing personal self-control are discussed.Less
Most people believe that they can solve many of the problems discussed in the book through self-control, making themselves behave in ways that are conducive to their health and happiness by force of will. Of course, people sometimes exercise sufficient self-restraint to override the self's natural maladaptive inclinations. Yet, as we all know, there are limits to what people can make themselves do, and people are often unable to control their thoughts, emotions, and behaviors as they desire. Many personal and social problems (such as aggression, addiction, unprotected sex, overeating, and deindividuation) result from self-regulation failure. This chapter deals with the nature of self-regulation and with the question of why people are often unable to control themselves no matter how hard they try. Topics include self-regulation, self-control strength, and ego-depletion. Implications of research for enhancing personal self-control are discussed.
Michael Inzlicht, Alexa M. Tullett, and Jennifer N. Gutsell
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199732449
- eISBN:
- 9780199918508
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199732449.003.0007
- Subject:
- Psychology, Social Psychology
Experiencing prejudice has consequences. When people feel like they are being judged by a negative stereotype about their group, they perform poorly in the domain in which the stereotype applies—a ...
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Experiencing prejudice has consequences. When people feel like they are being judged by a negative stereotype about their group, they perform poorly in the domain in which the stereotype applies—a phenomenon known as stereotype threat. Unfortunately, the effects of stereotype threat do not end in the threatening environment, but also spill over into other domains, where they can have further detrimental consequences. In this chapter, we present a model detailing the social-psychological processes whereby someone confronted with a negative stereotype comes to suffer effects in areas unrelated to the source of threat, an experience we call stereotype threat spillover. This model is based on identity-threat models of stigma, process models of stereotype threat, and theories of stress and coping. We first describe some of the short-term effects of spillover, including aggression, risky decision-making, and overeating. We then discuss long-term effects, including both physical health problems like obesity and hypertension, as well as mental health issues, such as depression and anxiety. We end on a positive note when we outline traits and offer strategies that allow individuals to overcome the negative outcomes set in motion by the powerful experience of prejudice.Less
Experiencing prejudice has consequences. When people feel like they are being judged by a negative stereotype about their group, they perform poorly in the domain in which the stereotype applies—a phenomenon known as stereotype threat. Unfortunately, the effects of stereotype threat do not end in the threatening environment, but also spill over into other domains, where they can have further detrimental consequences. In this chapter, we present a model detailing the social-psychological processes whereby someone confronted with a negative stereotype comes to suffer effects in areas unrelated to the source of threat, an experience we call stereotype threat spillover. This model is based on identity-threat models of stigma, process models of stereotype threat, and theories of stress and coping. We first describe some of the short-term effects of spillover, including aggression, risky decision-making, and overeating. We then discuss long-term effects, including both physical health problems like obesity and hypertension, as well as mental health issues, such as depression and anxiety. We end on a positive note when we outline traits and offer strategies that allow individuals to overcome the negative outcomes set in motion by the powerful experience of prejudice.
Roy F Baumeister
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- May 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195189636
- eISBN:
- 9780199868605
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195189636.003.0005
- Subject:
- Psychology, Social Psychology
This chapter points to a view of free will as a complex form of action control that is used (sometimes) by humans to achieve self-control and rational, intelligence decision-making, as well as making ...
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This chapter points to a view of free will as a complex form of action control that is used (sometimes) by humans to achieve self-control and rational, intelligence decision-making, as well as making and following ad hoc plans. Research suggests that these activities deplete a common but limited energy resource, so the capacity for free will is limited and biologically expensive. Blood glucose (brain fuel) maybe a major part of the common resource. Rational choice, self-control, and planful behavior are more useful forms of free will than random action. Psychologists may profitably focus more on how this mechanism works than on debating whether it fits various philosophical or theological definitions of free will. The broader context is that free will can be understood as an evolutionary adaptation to enable humans to function in the increasingly complex social world afforded by culture.Less
This chapter points to a view of free will as a complex form of action control that is used (sometimes) by humans to achieve self-control and rational, intelligence decision-making, as well as making and following ad hoc plans. Research suggests that these activities deplete a common but limited energy resource, so the capacity for free will is limited and biologically expensive. Blood glucose (brain fuel) maybe a major part of the common resource. Rational choice, self-control, and planful behavior are more useful forms of free will than random action. Psychologists may profitably focus more on how this mechanism works than on debating whether it fits various philosophical or theological definitions of free will. The broader context is that free will can be understood as an evolutionary adaptation to enable humans to function in the increasingly complex social world afforded by culture.
Jonathan Schooler, Thomas Nadelhoffer, Eddy Nahmias, and Kathleen D. Vohs
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- November 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780199333950
- eISBN:
- 9780199393848
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199333950.003.0005
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Mind, General
This chapter describes interdisciplinary research on measuring beliefs about free will and on attempts to alter those beliefs and associated behaviors. The authors developed a new psychometric ...
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This chapter describes interdisciplinary research on measuring beliefs about free will and on attempts to alter those beliefs and associated behaviors. The authors developed a new psychometric instrument for measuring people’s beliefs specifically about free will, determinism, and dualism. They generated new primes to manipulate people’s beliefs about free will and tested the relationship between beliefs about free will and various moral and nonmoral behaviors, including cheating, helping, thought suppression, creativity, and persistence in difficult tasks. The chapter describes the assorted results obtained and the lessons learned in the process.Less
This chapter describes interdisciplinary research on measuring beliefs about free will and on attempts to alter those beliefs and associated behaviors. The authors developed a new psychometric instrument for measuring people’s beliefs specifically about free will, determinism, and dualism. They generated new primes to manipulate people’s beliefs about free will and tested the relationship between beliefs about free will and various moral and nonmoral behaviors, including cheating, helping, thought suppression, creativity, and persistence in difficult tasks. The chapter describes the assorted results obtained and the lessons learned in the process.
T.J. Kasperbauer
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- December 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780190695811
- eISBN:
- 9780190695842
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190695811.003.0005
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Moral Philosophy
This chapter discusses why people often fail to meet their moral goals and identifies the main obstacles in achieving moral change. It shows how psychological processes specific to animals, as ...
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This chapter discusses why people often fail to meet their moral goals and identifies the main obstacles in achieving moral change. It shows how psychological processes specific to animals, as outlined in chapters 2–4, interact with broader components of moral psychology. Three main moral psychological factors are discussed: emotions, situational conditions, and self-control. These factors are used to illustrate the frequent failure of reason and higher-level cognition to modify our moral responses, including our treatment of animals. The discussion draws from a wide range of research within empirical moral psychology as well as recent critical discussion of this research among philosophers.Less
This chapter discusses why people often fail to meet their moral goals and identifies the main obstacles in achieving moral change. It shows how psychological processes specific to animals, as outlined in chapters 2–4, interact with broader components of moral psychology. Three main moral psychological factors are discussed: emotions, situational conditions, and self-control. These factors are used to illustrate the frequent failure of reason and higher-level cognition to modify our moral responses, including our treatment of animals. The discussion draws from a wide range of research within empirical moral psychology as well as recent critical discussion of this research among philosophers.
Bence Nanay
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- June 2020
- ISBN:
- 9780197500941
- eISBN:
- 9780197500972
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780197500941.003.0013
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Moral Philosophy
An important recent distinction in the empirical literature about self-control is between resisting and avoiding temptations. While there is evidence that avoiding temptations is the more efficient ...
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An important recent distinction in the empirical literature about self-control is between resisting and avoiding temptations. While there is evidence that avoiding temptations is the more efficient method of the two, philosophers have focused almost exclusively on resisting temptations. The aim of this chapter is to examine what the ability to avoid temptations depends on and to argue that it depends primarily on how fragmented one’s mind is: on the inconsistencies in one’s mental setup. The fragmentation of mind requires a significant amount of mental effort to conceal from oneself and this leads to a weakened ability to resist temptations.Less
An important recent distinction in the empirical literature about self-control is between resisting and avoiding temptations. While there is evidence that avoiding temptations is the more efficient method of the two, philosophers have focused almost exclusively on resisting temptations. The aim of this chapter is to examine what the ability to avoid temptations depends on and to argue that it depends primarily on how fragmented one’s mind is: on the inconsistencies in one’s mental setup. The fragmentation of mind requires a significant amount of mental effort to conceal from oneself and this leads to a weakened ability to resist temptations.
Myrto Mylopoulos and Elisabeth Pacherie
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- June 2020
- ISBN:
- 9780197500941
- eISBN:
- 9780197500972
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780197500941.003.0005
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Moral Philosophy
A main obstacle to the successful pursuit of long-term goals is a lack of self-control. But what is the capacity for self-control? The aim of this chapter is to contribute to an overarching theory of ...
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A main obstacle to the successful pursuit of long-term goals is a lack of self-control. But what is the capacity for self-control? The aim of this chapter is to contribute to an overarching theory of self-control by exploring the proposal that it is best understood as a form of hybrid skill. The authors draw on recent work on skill in the domain of motor control to highlight important ways in which experts differ from novices in the capacities they deploy. They then consider how the resulting framework can be applied to the domain of self-control. The chapter ends by examining how this approach can help reconcile a motivational construal of self-control, according to which it involves resisting competing temptations in order to do what one deems best, and an executive construal, in which the emphasis is on overriding “cold” habits that are at odds with what one intends to do.Less
A main obstacle to the successful pursuit of long-term goals is a lack of self-control. But what is the capacity for self-control? The aim of this chapter is to contribute to an overarching theory of self-control by exploring the proposal that it is best understood as a form of hybrid skill. The authors draw on recent work on skill in the domain of motor control to highlight important ways in which experts differ from novices in the capacities they deploy. They then consider how the resulting framework can be applied to the domain of self-control. The chapter ends by examining how this approach can help reconcile a motivational construal of self-control, according to which it involves resisting competing temptations in order to do what one deems best, and an executive construal, in which the emphasis is on overriding “cold” habits that are at odds with what one intends to do.
Alfred R. Mele (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- June 2020
- ISBN:
- 9780197500941
- eISBN:
- 9780197500972
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780197500941.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Moral Philosophy
This book is one of the fruits of the Philosophy and Science of Self-Control project, a three-year project designed to explore the topic of self-control from a variety of angles: neuroscience; ...
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This book is one of the fruits of the Philosophy and Science of Self-Control project, a three-year project designed to explore the topic of self-control from a variety of angles: neuroscience; social, cognitive, and developmental psychology; decision theory; and philosophy. The book is divided into four main parts: “What is self-control and how does it work?”; “Temptation and goal pursuit”; “Self-control, morality, and law”; and “Extending self-control.” Part I explores conceptual and empirical questions about the nature of self-control and how self-control functions. Questions featured here include the following: How is self-control related to willpower and ego depletion? What are the cultural and developmental origins of beliefs about self-control? Does self-control entail competition between or coordination of elements of the mind? Is self-control a set of skills? What is inhibitory control and how does it work? How are attempts at self-control hindered or helped by emotions? How are self-control and decision-making related? A sampling of questions tackled in Parts II, III, and IV includes the following: How do one’s beliefs about one’s own ability to deal with temptation influence one’s behavior? What does the ability to avoid temptation depend on? How is self-control related to moral concerns and beliefs? How should juvenile responsibility be understood, and how should the juvenile justice system be reformed? How does the framing of possible outcomes bear on success at self-control? How are self-control and empathy related? Can an account of self-control help us understand moral responsibility and free will?Less
This book is one of the fruits of the Philosophy and Science of Self-Control project, a three-year project designed to explore the topic of self-control from a variety of angles: neuroscience; social, cognitive, and developmental psychology; decision theory; and philosophy. The book is divided into four main parts: “What is self-control and how does it work?”; “Temptation and goal pursuit”; “Self-control, morality, and law”; and “Extending self-control.” Part I explores conceptual and empirical questions about the nature of self-control and how self-control functions. Questions featured here include the following: How is self-control related to willpower and ego depletion? What are the cultural and developmental origins of beliefs about self-control? Does self-control entail competition between or coordination of elements of the mind? Is self-control a set of skills? What is inhibitory control and how does it work? How are attempts at self-control hindered or helped by emotions? How are self-control and decision-making related? A sampling of questions tackled in Parts II, III, and IV includes the following: How do one’s beliefs about one’s own ability to deal with temptation influence one’s behavior? What does the ability to avoid temptation depend on? How is self-control related to moral concerns and beliefs? How should juvenile responsibility be understood, and how should the juvenile justice system be reformed? How does the framing of possible outcomes bear on success at self-control? How are self-control and empathy related? Can an account of self-control help us understand moral responsibility and free will?
Nick Heather
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- November 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780198727224
- eISBN:
- 9780191833427
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198727224.003.0008
- Subject:
- Psychology, Cognitive Psychology
This chapter argues that addiction can usefully be seen as a form of akrasia, an ancient philosophical concept referring to acting against one’s better judgment. Ordinary akrasia and addiction can be ...
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This chapter argues that addiction can usefully be seen as a form of akrasia, an ancient philosophical concept referring to acting against one’s better judgment. Ordinary akrasia and addiction can be located at extremes on a continuum of frequency of akratic actions. Four criteria essential to “core akratic action” also apply to addiction—that it must be: (1) free; (2) intentional; (3) contrary to the agent’s better judgment based on practical reasoning; (4) consciously recognized as contrary to better judgment at the time of action. The chapter concludes by briefly describing four lines of current theory and research on addiction with parallels to philosophical accounts of akrasia: (1) behavioral economic theories; (2) dual-process cognitive theory; (3) “willpower” and ego depletion; and (4) neuroscientific research on deficits to self-regulation. Finding ways these lines of enquiry can converge is an exciting task for theory and research on addiction.Less
This chapter argues that addiction can usefully be seen as a form of akrasia, an ancient philosophical concept referring to acting against one’s better judgment. Ordinary akrasia and addiction can be located at extremes on a continuum of frequency of akratic actions. Four criteria essential to “core akratic action” also apply to addiction—that it must be: (1) free; (2) intentional; (3) contrary to the agent’s better judgment based on practical reasoning; (4) consciously recognized as contrary to better judgment at the time of action. The chapter concludes by briefly describing four lines of current theory and research on addiction with parallels to philosophical accounts of akrasia: (1) behavioral economic theories; (2) dual-process cognitive theory; (3) “willpower” and ego depletion; and (4) neuroscientific research on deficits to self-regulation. Finding ways these lines of enquiry can converge is an exciting task for theory and research on addiction.