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Self-control
Self-control is an aspect of inhibitory control, one of the core executive functions. Executive functions are cognitive processes that are necessary for regulating one's behavior in order to achieve specific goals.
Defined more independently, self-control is the ability to regulate one's emotions, thoughts, and behavior in the face of temptations and impulses. Thought to be like a muscle, acts of self-control expend a limited resource. In the short term, use of self-control can lead to the depletion of that resource. However, in the long term, the use of self-control can strengthen and improve the ability to control oneself over time.
Self-control is also a key concept in the general theory of crime, a major theory in criminology. The theory was developed by Michael Gottfredson and Travis Hirschi in their book A General Theory of Crime (1990). Gottfredson and Hirschi define self-control as the differentiating tendency of individuals to avoid criminal acts independent of the situations in which they find themselves. Individuals with low self-control tend to be impulsive, inconsiderate towards others, risk takers, short-sighted, and nonverbal oriented. About 70% of the variance in questionnaire data operationalizing one construct of self-control was found to be genetic.
Classically, the virtue of self-control (or "willpower") was called continence, and contrasted with the vice of akrasia, or incontinence.
In certain contexts, self-control manifested as other virtues: in frightening situations as courage, or in the face of aggravating situations as good temper.[citation needed]
Christians may describe the struggle with akrasia as a battle between spirit (which is inclined to God) and flesh (which is mired in sin). The related virtue of temperance, or sophrosyne, has been discussed by philosophers and religious thinkers from Plato and Aristotle to the present day. One of the earliest and most well-known examples of self control as a virtue was Aristotle's virtue of temperance, which concerns having a well-chosen and well-regulated set of desires. The vices associated with Aristotle's temperance are self-indulgence (deficiency) and insensibility (excess). Deficiency or excess is in reference to how much temperance is had, for example, a deficiency of temperance leads to over indulgence, while too much or an excess of temperance leads to insensibility or unreasonable control. Aristotle suggested this analogy: The intemperate person is like a city with bad laws; the person without self-control is like a city that has good laws on the books but that does not enforce them.
Desire is an affectively charged motivation toward a certain object, person, or activity, often, but not limited to, one associated with pleasure or relief from displeasure. Desires differ in their intensity and longevity. A desire becomes a temptation when it impacts or enters the individual's area of self-control, if the behavior resulting from the desire conflicts with an individual's values or other self-regulatory goals. A limitation to research on desire is that people desire different things. In research into what people desire in real world settings, over one week 7,827 self-reports of desires were collected, including differences in desire frequency and strength, degree of conflict between desires and other goals, and the likelihood of resisting desire and success of the resistance. The most common and strongly experienced desires are those related to bodily needs like eating, drinking, and sleeping.
Self-control dilemmas occur when long-term goals clash with short-term outcomes. Counteractive Self-Control Theory states that when presented with such a dilemma, we lessen the significance of the instant rewards while momentarily increasing the importance of our overall values. When asked to rate the perceived appeal of different snacks before making a decision, people valued health bars over chocolate bars. However, when asked to do the rankings after having chosen a snack, there was no significant difference of appeal. Further, when college students completed a questionnaire prior to their course registration deadline, they ranked leisure activities as less important and enjoyable than when they filled out the survey after the deadline passed. The stronger and more available the temptation is, the harsher the devaluation will be.
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Self-control
Self-control is an aspect of inhibitory control, one of the core executive functions. Executive functions are cognitive processes that are necessary for regulating one's behavior in order to achieve specific goals.
Defined more independently, self-control is the ability to regulate one's emotions, thoughts, and behavior in the face of temptations and impulses. Thought to be like a muscle, acts of self-control expend a limited resource. In the short term, use of self-control can lead to the depletion of that resource. However, in the long term, the use of self-control can strengthen and improve the ability to control oneself over time.
Self-control is also a key concept in the general theory of crime, a major theory in criminology. The theory was developed by Michael Gottfredson and Travis Hirschi in their book A General Theory of Crime (1990). Gottfredson and Hirschi define self-control as the differentiating tendency of individuals to avoid criminal acts independent of the situations in which they find themselves. Individuals with low self-control tend to be impulsive, inconsiderate towards others, risk takers, short-sighted, and nonverbal oriented. About 70% of the variance in questionnaire data operationalizing one construct of self-control was found to be genetic.
Classically, the virtue of self-control (or "willpower") was called continence, and contrasted with the vice of akrasia, or incontinence.
In certain contexts, self-control manifested as other virtues: in frightening situations as courage, or in the face of aggravating situations as good temper.[citation needed]
Christians may describe the struggle with akrasia as a battle between spirit (which is inclined to God) and flesh (which is mired in sin). The related virtue of temperance, or sophrosyne, has been discussed by philosophers and religious thinkers from Plato and Aristotle to the present day. One of the earliest and most well-known examples of self control as a virtue was Aristotle's virtue of temperance, which concerns having a well-chosen and well-regulated set of desires. The vices associated with Aristotle's temperance are self-indulgence (deficiency) and insensibility (excess). Deficiency or excess is in reference to how much temperance is had, for example, a deficiency of temperance leads to over indulgence, while too much or an excess of temperance leads to insensibility or unreasonable control. Aristotle suggested this analogy: The intemperate person is like a city with bad laws; the person without self-control is like a city that has good laws on the books but that does not enforce them.
Desire is an affectively charged motivation toward a certain object, person, or activity, often, but not limited to, one associated with pleasure or relief from displeasure. Desires differ in their intensity and longevity. A desire becomes a temptation when it impacts or enters the individual's area of self-control, if the behavior resulting from the desire conflicts with an individual's values or other self-regulatory goals. A limitation to research on desire is that people desire different things. In research into what people desire in real world settings, over one week 7,827 self-reports of desires were collected, including differences in desire frequency and strength, degree of conflict between desires and other goals, and the likelihood of resisting desire and success of the resistance. The most common and strongly experienced desires are those related to bodily needs like eating, drinking, and sleeping.
Self-control dilemmas occur when long-term goals clash with short-term outcomes. Counteractive Self-Control Theory states that when presented with such a dilemma, we lessen the significance of the instant rewards while momentarily increasing the importance of our overall values. When asked to rate the perceived appeal of different snacks before making a decision, people valued health bars over chocolate bars. However, when asked to do the rankings after having chosen a snack, there was no significant difference of appeal. Further, when college students completed a questionnaire prior to their course registration deadline, they ranked leisure activities as less important and enjoyable than when they filled out the survey after the deadline passed. The stronger and more available the temptation is, the harsher the devaluation will be.
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