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Is there a limit to willpower?
Last reviewed: 01.07.2025
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Sometimes we don't even notice how we limit and restrain ourselves, refusing another piece of cake, walking past store windows, and getting ready for work instead of lying on the couch and watching TV.
Self-control helps us maintain a healthy lifestyle and do things that are good for us. But what is self-control really? How does it work?
In the journal Perspectives on Psychological Science, researchers Michael Inzlicht of the University of Toronto and Brandon Schmeichel of the University of Texas argue that the prevailing model of self-control is not as clear-cut and precise as previously thought.
Self-control most likely represents motivation and concentration.
According to a model proposed by researcher Roy Baumeister and his colleagues, self-control that requires effort reduces the already limited potential of willpower. For example, according to the scientists' findings, a person who has refused a second piece of cake will no longer have the self-control to refuse shopping or to overcome himself in other ways.
Research has shown that people who manage their emotions (for example, forcing themselves to eat a vegetable instead of chocolate) give up faster when faced with a puzzle.
However, according to the authors of the new study, these findings do not align with the results obtained, which do not support the idea of exhaustible self-control resources.
Stimuli, tasks that a person sets for himself, difficulties, personal opinions about willpower and mood swings - all this affects our ability to control ourselves.
To reconcile and organize these data, and to understand the mechanism underlying self-control, scientists have proposed an alternative model that describes self-control as a process that involves motivation and attention.
“Self-control is hard work that involves thinking, paying attention, and being alert,” the authors say. “If we exercise willpower and resist another piece of cake, we can then justify ourselves later when we succumb to temptation. This is roughly what the self-control mechanism proposed earlier looks like. But this is not necessarily true; we justify our weakness on a mental level and turn off self-control. At the same time, our attention switches, and we do not notice the signals that are necessary to “turn on” self-control (cake = useless calories). Our attention is focused elsewhere – cake = pleasure – on the signals that promise a reward for eating a piece.”
The idea that self-control is a finite resource has merit, but there are many other alternative theories that also make sense.
Identifying the mechanisms that drive us to exercise self-control and willpower could help us understand behaviors that are linked to a wide range of problems, such as obesity, impulsive behavior, gambling, and even drug addiction. The authors of the study hope that this knowledge could ultimately inform the development of effective methods to improve self-control.
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