Talk:Self-control

undated link

Measuring Self-Control

http://www.econ.nyu.edu/user/caplina/misers3.pdf

Skinner's Survey Is Not "Exhaustive" IMO

Who said that Skinner's survey of self-control techniques is exhaustive? An obvious self-control technique is to practice making the "good self-control choice" - but I don't see it on the list. --New Thought (talk) 10:23, 5 March 2008 (UTC)

this is his own description. I am not sure that doing something comprises a method of doing something.

You are right Skinner's list (as presented here and not in SHB) mostly reflects external methods for attempting self-control. Skinner mentions that there are 'covert' methods (i.e. perceptual) methods for engaging in Self-Control, such as might be seen in the behavior of ascetics (Zen Buddhism is commented upon in Skinner's Notebooks).

As for your position I'd have to agree with the unsigned comment above that it seems tautological as you've described it. Perhaps it needs a slight bit of embellishment. florkle (talk) 04:19, 15 March 2013 (UTC)

Rewrite

I tagged this article for rewrite because it's merely a collection of links, which could even be called promotional links. It offers no information whatsoever on self control/willpower. Also the 2nd section should be moved to its own article. -- Ynhockey ^(Talk) 18:59, 7 June 2006 (UTC)

I can't find any good resources to expand the article. What I can do, however, is clean it up to make a rewrite easier. I'll get to work as soon as I get some changes made to a template I want to use. --Gray Porpoise 14:03, 12 August 2006 (UTC)

Here are your resources: Journal Articles

Darwent, K. M., Fujita, K., & Wakslak, C. J. (in press). On the role of abstraction in global and local processing phenomena. Psychological Inquiry.

Fujita, K., & Roberts, J. C. (in press). Promoting prospective self-control through abstraction. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology.[pdf]

Fujita, K., & Sasota, J. A. (in press). The effects of construal levels on asymmetric temptation-goal associations. Social Cognition.

Scholer, A. A., Zou, X., Fujita, K., Stroessner, S. J., & Higgins, E. T. (2010). When risk-seeking becomes a motivational necessity. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 99, 215-231.

Fujita, K., & Han, H. A. (2009). Moving beyond deliberative control of impulses: The effects of construal levels on evaluative associations in self-control. Psychological Science, 20, 799-804. [pdf]

Fujita, K. (2008). Seeing the forest beyond the trees: A construal level approach to self-control. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 2, 1475-1496. [link]

Fujita, K., Eyal, T., Chaiken, S., Trope, Y., & Liberman, N. (2008). Influencing attitudes toward near and distant objects. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 44, 562-572. [pdf]

Iida, M., Seidman, G., Shrout, P. E., Fujita, K., & Bolger, N. (2008). Modeling support provision in intimate relationships. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 94, 460-478. [pdf]

McCulloch, K. C., Aarts, H., Fujita, K., & Bargh, J. A. (2008). Inhibition in goal systems: Means isolation and suppression. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 44, 857-865.[pdf]

Fujita, K., Gollwitzer, P. M., & Oettingen, G. (2007). Mindsets and pre-conscious open-mindedness to incidental information. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 43, 48-61. [pdf]

Fujita, K., Henderson, M., Eng, J., Trope, Y., & Liberman, N. (2006). Spatial distance and mental construal of social events. Psychological Science, 17, 278-282. [pdf]

Fujita, K., Trope, Y., Liberman, N., & Levin-Sagi, M. (2006). Construal levels and self-control. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 90, 351-367. [pdf]

Henderson, M. D., Fujita, K., Trope, Y., & Liberman, N. (2006). Transcending the "Here": The effects of spatial distance on social judgment. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 91, 845-856. [pdf]

Shih, M., Ambady, N., Richeson, J. A., Fujita, K., & Gray, H. M. (2002). Stereotype performance boosts: The impact of self-relevance and the manner of stereotype activation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 83(3), 638-647.

Chapters

Fujita, K., & MacGregor, K. E. (in press). Basic goal distinctions. In H. Aarts & A. J. Elliot (Eds.), Goal-directed behavior. New York: Psychology Press/Taylor & Francis.

Fujita, K., Trope, Y., & Liberman, N. (2010). Seeing the big picture: A construal level analysis of self-control. In R. R. Hassin, K. N. Ochsner, & Y. Trope (Eds.), Self-control in society, mind, and brain (pp. 408-427). New York: Oxford University Press.

Fujita, K., Trope, Y., & Liberman, N. (2007). Construal level theory. In R. F. Baumeister & K. D. Vohs (Eds.), Encyclopedia of social psychology. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Fujita, K., Trope, Y., & Liberman, N. (2006). The role of mental construal in self-control. In D. DeCremer, M. Zeelenberg, & J. K. Murnighan (Eds.), Social psychology and economics (pp. 193-211). New York: Sage Publications.

Gollwitzer, P. M., Fujita, K., & Oettingen, G. (2004). Planning and the implementation of goals. In R. Baumeister & K. Vohs (Eds.), Handbook of self-regulation research: Research, theory, and applications (pp. 211-228). Guildford: New York. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.47.135.131 (talk) 23:46, 27 December 2011 (UTC)

I reorganized the information, putting the links in an "External links" section, and putting a splitsection template above the second section. I am not yet sure how the article should be rewritten, but I cleaned it up so the task will be easier. --Gray Porpoise 18:26, 12 August 2006 (UTC)

This subject is very important and there are many good resources. I will also help in the most non-biased way possible. --Liane J. Leedom, M.D. 18:26, 16 April 2007 (UTC)

Agreed, this article is missing an entire body of research on self-control, i.e., Kentaro Fujita et al. Current research suggests that self-control is more of an automatic process than a controlled one, the ole top down vs bottom up theory. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.47.135.131 (talk) 23:43, 27 December 2011 (UTC)

I have added a considerable amount to this page from a behavior analytic perspective. However, this is quite different from the perspective it was originally written in. I have perhaps 30 more research articles I can add, as well as an enormous amount of theory (all well cited!) that should be coming up on wikipedia in the next 2-3 months.

--florkle 06:38, 21 May 2007 (UTC)

In the section on conventional understandings of self control, the author states that in 2 Peter 1:5-8 "The Apostle Peter describes an increase in self control as fundamental to the salvation of a Christian." If one reads further, it is evident that this increase in self-control leads to a deeper knowledge of Christ, not salvation. Peter does not claim that one must display an increase of self control for salvation.

Katem2007 00:42, 28 September 2007 (UTC) Not sure the interpretation is accurate. The above interpretation focuses on the means and not the ends. A focus on the means is self-regulation, a focus on the ends is self control, a big difference. To have self control the goal must have superordinate intrinsic value. The self-control protects the valued goal from temptations. An unvalued goal only requires self-regulation and will not be swayed so much by a temptation, simply because it matters less. If I fail in pursuit of a valued goal (thrown out of Church) I stand exposed to a multitude of idosyncratic downfalls (e.g.depleted self-esteem). If I fail in pursuit of an unvalued goal (i.e.skipping class) no big deal, life goes on. The Bible uses examples that are often misinterpreted by those who not not understand the authors valued goal of salvation. the means to the end require self-regulation (religiousity), the end requires a high level contrual of self-control (faith in salvation). — Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.47.135.131 (talk) 15:55, 14 April 2012 (UTC)

"The Marshmallow Test" times differ between the Procrastination and Self Controll article. Procrastination states 20 minutes while this article states 15 minutes.161.225.196.111 (talk) 02:31, 7 June 2009 (UTC)

Citation Needed Indeed!

I quote from the article:

Conversely, research has found support that self-control can be improved through "exercising" it. For example, by maintaining proper posture, by performing everyday activities such as opening doors and brushing teeth with the less dexterous hand, and by adhering to a schedule of regular physical exercise, over time, general self-control can be improved.[citation needed]

These are interesting assertions, of great importance to many people, relevant to many areas of research and so on. They are also somewhat implausible. If they can be supported with appropriate citations, citations should be provided. They couldn't be that hard to find. I'm looking for them now, but this topic is not a specialty area for me. If the citations cannot be found, they may not exist, or the source might not be credible. In that case, this passage should be deleted. 68.127.239.245 (talk) 00:08, 30 August 2010 (UTC)

I agree that it sounds implausible and should have been referenced. I've deleted it for now. Any editor is welcome to put it back if they can support it with appropriate reliable sources. MartinPoulter (talk) 12:05, 30 August 2010 (UTC)

Right now there's a reference to "Donal Logue (1984)" in the discussion on ego depletion. I can't for the life of me find any such paper or study. In fact, most of the things I could find regarding Donal Logue were referring to the actor... -- Pjf (talk) 08:00, 23 October 2011 (UTC)

I've deleted the ones that don't seem well cited. Feel free to find the citation and place them back. florkle (talk) —Preceding undated comment added 06:33, 16 March 2013 (UTC)

Resources

Interesting article in Science. I haven't had time to really look at it; there's a summary in ScienceDaily. II | (t - c) 18:08, 7 May 2009 (UTC)

• Noticed an interesting article in the New Yorker: Don’t! The secret of self-control. II | (t - c) 06:30, 12 May 2009 (UTC)

• Research shows temptation more powerful than individuals realize. Pretty unsurprising. Article isn't out yet. II | (t - c) 17:02, 10 August 2009 (UTC)

Improving Sel-Control

Brain function has an impact on our ability to practice self-control. The prefrontal cortex is the part of the brain that houses our memory and our ability to make choices. Suggested ways to make this part of our brain healthy and functional are: 1. Don’t let blood sugar get low. 2. Get enough sleep. 3. Write down specific goals for your relationships, work, finances and health. 4. Practice self-control. Tell yourself No 5. Eat a balanced diet. 6. Protect your brain from activities that risk head injuries, or from damage from alcohol and drug use. Amen, Daniel G. Change Your Mind Change Your Life. Three Rivers Press (CA), 1998.Prudence61 (talk) 05:22, 27 July 2009 (UTC)

SELF CONTROL

117.198.228.30 (talk) 16:32, 8 September 2009 (UTC)self control is the thing one must have . Temper is something that can break your very good relations. So, controling the temper and with letting it come out is what called self control If you ask a dress from your parents and they take some time to bring it to you.So you should be patient may be they get a style dress. This is what called"SELF CONTROL"...

Revising of Intro Paragraph

The introduction paragraph needs to include a much wider scope of the term, and remove reference of ego depletion, which needs counter-examples to support its merit, as well as some of the other ideas. Hopefully someone finds the strong counter-argumens to some statements here, and helps update the article, so the reader can be provided with a better background Vulcanlogic (talk) 02:02, 17 December 2009 (UTC)

Science Daily has an article reviewing new research that contests the claim that glucose levels affect self control as mentioned in the introduction. I have not read the actual publication, nor do I know how accepted this relatively new research is, but it bears researching to at least add qualifying comments to the introduction. Or perhaps references to the effects of glucose levels should be moved further down into the body of the article? Tringard (talk) 11:01, 23 February 2011 (UTC)

Overall problems

The article appears to have too many headings and it is unclear why all the people mentioned, e.g. Skinner, are important. Also it seems that the article doesn't do the best job of distinguishing between mainstream ideas and less mainstream ideas in the psychology literature. These are only my uninformed impressions upon reading the article, as I don't have any education in psychology and thus can't really offer much help myself. particle25 (talk) 02:36, 31 December 2009 (EST)

Well Skinner is considered to be one of the most influential psychologists of the last century. But if that's not a sufficient appeal to authority, there are numerous citations to empirical research in peer-reviewed journals (at least for my edits). florkle (talk) —Preceding undated comment added 06:34, 16 March 2013 (UTC)

Outcomes as determining whether a self-control choice is made

I find this somewhat unclear and ambiguous.

Specifically "There tends to be a relationship between the value of the incentive and the desired outcome; the larger the desired outcome, the larger the value." For example, an incentive can directly be the desired outcome. A cake (=outcome)could be an incentive. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 83.250.74.89 (talk) 06:24, 3 March 2010 (UTC)

Point-of-view

Should the point of view be standardized for this article? (In the second-person,third-person sense, not in the opinionated POV sense.) There are instances of "you"s and "they"s and "one"s. --68.193.135.139 (talk) 06:09, 31 May 2010 (UTC)

Self control or self-control

Both are used throughout the article, but only one should be used for the sake of consistency. I am unsure which is correct, but I'm assuming it's self control as it is the article title. 98.203.152.242 (talk) 03:51, 18 June 2010 (UTC)

Good thinking. Lova Falk talk 16:10, 18 June 2010 (UTC)

cleanup tag

What are the specific complaints? 72.228.177.92 (talk) 01:38, 9 April 2011 (UTC)

Do see there are many problems. Addressed a few. 72.228.177.92 (talk) 04:17, 9 April 2011 (UTC)

References Before Rennovation

I propose compiling a list of references to be synthesized before an experienced author rebuilds this article from the group up. Please list suitable articles as per Wikipedia's policies below, with a summary of their usefulness. 121.98.144.156 (talk) 08:04, 1 August 2011 (UTC)

- Recent study highlighting link between childhood self-control and success as an adult: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3041102/

SciAm resource

Sacred Salubriousness New research on self-control explains the link between religion and health in Scientific American December 12, 2011 (page 102). Michael Shermer is publisher of Skeptic magazine (www.skeptic.com) and author of The Believing Brain.

97.87.29.188 (talk) 00:32, 22 November 2011 (UTC)

Some links from the article ... Michael McCullough (psychologist), Roy Baumeister (2011 book Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength with John Tierney), Deferred gratification, Alcoholics Anonymous, Zen meditation, rosary, chant, mantras, Ritual, Oscar Wilde, Augustine of Hippo, Henry Morton Stanley 99.190.83.205 (talk) 05:15, 22 November 2011 (UTC)

See Discipline too. 99.181.134.134 (talk) 04:30, 29 November 2011 (UTC)

split into self-control(behavior analysis)

This article has become too disorganized into conflicting perspectives. The behavior analytic perspective on self-control is self-contained and well documented. The alternate perspectives are conflicting (theoretically) and make this page into a mish-mash. I'm going to split it.

-F — Preceding unsigned comment added by 208.69.42.53 (talk) 01:59, 21 March 2012 (UTC)

Well, it can't do any harm. This is one of the worst articles I have seen on Wikipedia. Regards, Looie496 (talk) 20:07, 21 March 2012 (UTC)

Cool. florkle (talk) —Preceding undated comment added 04:21, 15 March 2013 (UTC)

Article name

Isn't it more appropriate to use Self-control? Like Self-esteem, Self-determination, Self-denial, Self-confidence. Regards, Sun Creator^(talk) 03:15, 19 September 2012 (UTC)

Plan for educational assignment

We want to add more information directly related to desire and self-control. Most of the information on this page focuses on traditional behavioral models, and is only a brief overview of multiple subtopics. It doesn't focus on the underlying reasons behind the emergence of self-control. We want to go into more depth on what is already on this page, but also focus in on some important aspects surrounding the interaction of desire and self-control and how it emerges.

This article talks about the things people actually desire: Hagger, M.S., Wood, C., Stiff, C., & Chatzisarantis, N.D. (2010). Ego depletion and the strength model of self-control: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 136(4), 495-525. doi:10.1037/a0019486

This article is about cravings and why they persist. Individuals develop mental images of the thing they want which increases the awareness of the deficit. This in turn dominates cognitive function, making the person unable to focus on anything else. May, J., Andrade, J., Panabokke, N., & Kavanagh, D. (2004). Images of Desire: Cognitive Models of Craving. Memory, 12, 447-461.

Algillespy (talk) 01:36, 28 October 2013 (UTC)

I agree to this plan of action for the group. 03:19, 30 November 2013 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by Telacks (talk • contribs)

I also agree to this plan. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Oliver92 (talk • contribs) 05:05, 30 November 2013 (UTC)

Self-control as a muscle

This is currently controversial statement as many studies show that there is no effect for the ego depletion (this can be found at https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ego_depletion&action=edit&section=17) For this reason, I think the statement that "self-control is like a muscle" should be removed from the second paragraph and the whole self-control as a muscle/ego depletion theory listed as possible explanation (but with criticism) — Preceding unsigned comment added by 128.163.236.28 (talk) 23:36, 19 March 2017 (UTC)

Fruit of the Holy Spirit

The article is categorized has a "Fruit of the Holy Spirit". Is there a reason for that? In the article there is no reference to the Holy Spirit. Did I miss something?--Hydrogaz (talk) 06:54, 13 July 2018 (UTC)

I removed it. That rather bizarre category was added back in 2016, and apparently nobody noticed. Looie496 (talk) 15:21, 13 July 2018 (UTC)

Wordiness

I removed two sentences from the "counteractive" section. They were among many that could/should be removed from the article. Some of this article is extremely wordy in a way that doesn't contribute to the article -- or even detracts from it.

I want to address this here in the talk section, and see if there is agreement, before I remove anything else. I will leave the article alone without some agreement and I am okay with someone else making the edits. This is the second article I've noticed in this category today where it is more like a term paper or a journal article than it is like a WP article.

One example is the lead where it mentions that the topic of self-control comes up in the theories of crime and criminology. That's fine. Since both of those are links to their respective articles is the rest of the paragraph needed? There is the title of some book, the names of the authors then finally their perspective on the topic.

Another (random) example is the "counteractive" section. It seems like one well done paragraph would cover the most significant parts of the three paragraphs there now.

Arbalest Mike (talk) 22:45, 5 March 2019 (UTC)

Section on ego depletion doesn't reflect current understanding

The bulk of this section assumes that ego depletion is a real phenomenon, which (as is made clear on the ego depletion page) is generally no longer considered the case, since large-scale preregistered trials and meta-analyses have failed to replicate it. I'll try to circle back next week to edit the section; mentioning here first in case anyone wants to chime in (or better yet get to it before I do ;) ). eggsyntax (talk) 17:35, 22 December 2022 (UTC)

Wiki Education assignment: PSYC 115 General Psychology

This article was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment, between 30 August 2023 and 15 December 2023. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): Clay Collison, Jlornelles22 (article contribs).

— Assignment last updated by TIME137TSS (talk) 00:55, 9 December 2023 (UTC)

Wikipedia Assignment Lead Section Changes

The first paragraph of the lead section is difficult to read as the ideas don't build off of one another and seem to be sporadically thrown together. We will reorganize the information so that it is coherent and flows well.

The lead section falsely claims that self control is an executive function. Earlier it mentions inhibitory control (an executive function), and I believe the author meant to say that self control is AN ASPECT of the executive function, inhibitory control. We will fix this.

The lead section includes information describing self control that is meant to define executive functions. We will make clear the distinction between executive functions and self control and explain how self control relates to the concept of executive functions.

The lead contains a paragraph about self control and its connection to the Theory of Crime that isn't relevant to the article. We plan to cut this paragraph.

--Jlornelles22 (talk) 19:37, 20 November 2023 (UTC)