Beyond Willpower: Strategies for Reducing Failures of Self-Control

Each individual has grown through a moment in their life where one would want to avoid/reduce their failure. Especially, students or individuals who have a heavy scheduled workload might have felt this emotional stress. Self-control failures are consistent factors that might range economically, educationally, or environmentally. Individuals that have a higher self-control have shown a higher status in health, wealth, and other human aspects. However, not all decisions require a self control. This can be described through a "should" (eat healthy, sleep, early, etc) or "want" behavior (stay up late, eat junk food, etc). According to Angela Duckworth, when individuals make a decision with more of an "enduring value" the individual has more self-control. 

Functional MRI (fMRI) shows that when an individual made a self-control choice, the lateral prefrontal cortex of the brain were associated; whereas if the individual did not use self-control, the central striatum and ventromedial cortex were highlighted. Part of this decision making was part of delated and immediate reward. 

An illustrated example showed below, highlighted self-control into four distinctive categories. Since this study can be unreliable through the environment and therapists, specific claims can be made. Results showed that individuals made more self-controlled decisions when it was related to the future. There were three different class of models brought in this experiment. The first class was linked to "dynamically inconsistent preferences" described through the statement " I want a burger right now."  This model is using a hyperbolic which is a special case made by Loewenstein. The second class model combines the first model with an emotion,"I want to eat a burger, yum" or "I want a salad to I can be healthy." The third class model is used to the differences between future and present self. This was tested with children you were in preschool school. A child was given a marshmallow as a treat, but if they waited they were offered a two marshmallows.  However, there are many disadvantages and advantages to this approach. 

Results also claimed that through certain pathways the "self-control" aspect can be controlled. They can be reached through meditation, psychological distancing, self-monitoring, goal setting, and cognitive therapy. 

This article can be related to the insight talk Dr. Salvi had spoken to the class about. Such neural bases can be learned through fMRI and EEG which depicted higher frequencies in the hippocampus and cortices. This insight can also be increased through cognitive therapy and self-monitoring. In her study, the results showed that the prefrontal cortex controlled more of the brain's regions of response. This  Results did show that females had higher insight and analytical thinking than males, but the paper above could not test this claim.  

Below are some strategies to reduce self-control that can be applied to stress eating, especially for students. However more information is needed to support the claim of higher order processing, task memory, goal directing, etc. 

All in all, as an individual living in a very political and competitive world it is ideal to focus on our self-control. Whether it is for healthy or social reasons, these psychological features can improve one's daily life by reducing stress, anxiety, and even depression. This was shown through a case study with a difficult married couple that sough out for self-control help to improve their relationship. 

Duckworth, A. L., Milkman, K. L., & Laibson, D. (2018). Beyond Willpower: Strategies for Reducing Failures of Self-Control. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 19(3), 102–129. https://doi.org/10.1177/1529100618821893