Is there a limit to willpower?
Last reviewed: 23.04.2024
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Sometimes we do not even notice how we limit ourselves and restrain ourselves, refusing one more piece of cake, passing by the shop windows, and going to work, instead of lying on the couch and watching TV.
With the help of self-control, we stick to a healthy lifestyle and do what is useful for us. But what is self-control really? How it works?
In the journal Perspectives of Psychological Science, researchers Michael Intslicht of the University of Toronto and Brandon Schmeichel of the University of Texas argue that the prevailing model of self-control is not accurate and clear, as was previously thought.
Self-control, most likely, is a motivation and concentration of attention.
According to the model proposed by the researcher Roy Baumeister and his colleagues, self-control, requiring effort, reduces the already unlimited possibilities of willpower. For example, according to the conclusions of scientists, a person who refused the second piece of cake will not have enough self-control to refuse shopping or to overcome himself in something else.
Studies have shown that people who control their emotions (for example, forcing themselves to eat a vegetable instead of chocolate) face a puzzle, surrender faster.
However, according to the authors of the new study, these conclusions do not correlate with the results obtained, which do not support the idea of exhaustible self-monitoring resources.
Incentives, tasks that a person poses, difficulties, personal opinions about willpower and mood changes all affect our ability to control ourselves.
To harmonize and streamline these data, as well as understand the mechanism that underlies self-control, scientists proposed an alternative model that describes self-monitoring as a process that includes motivation and attention.
"Self-control is hard work, which involves thinking, attention and vigilance," the authors say. - If we showed willpower and did not eat another piece of cake, then later we will be able to justify ourselves later, when we do not stand before the temptation. Approximately this is the mechanism of self-control proposed earlier. But this is not necessarily so, just on a mental level, we justify our weakness and turn off self-control. At the same time, our attention is switched, and we do not notice the signals that are necessary to "turn on" the self-control (cake = useless calories). Our attention is focused on the other - cake = pleasure - on signals that promise a reward for the eaten piece. "
The assumption that self-control is an exhaustible resource has the right to exist, but there are many other alternative theories that also make sense.
Identifying the mechanisms that drive us and compel us to withstand and force will help us understand the causes of behavior that are associated with a wide range of problems, for example, obesity, impulsive behavior, attraction to gambling and even drug addiction. The authors of the study hope that ultimately these knowledge can become the basis for developing effective methods for increasing the level of self-control.
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