Self-Control and Will Power

Although many definitions exist, psychologists define willpower or self-control as the ability to resist short-term temptations in order to meet long-term goals or the basic ability to delay gratification.

Lack of willpower has been cited as the most significant barrier to change as demonstrated by numerous participants across multiple surveys related to the subject across time. So, why does self-control matter?

Self-Control – Can It Impact Success In Life?

Many studies, including a 40-year study of 1,000 children published in The American Scientist, revealed that childhood self-control strongly predicts adult success, regardless of intelligence level or economic status. Adult success has been defined by factors such as income, financial behavior and security, occupational prestige, physical and mental health, substance use, criminal convictions, and more.

Can willpower be learned or is it a character trait we are born with? Although a person’s innate personality may have a lot to do with it, research has shown that self-control and willpower can be learned and strengthened.

Benefits of Delayed Gratification

The “marshmallow test,” conducted more than 40 years ago by Walter Mischel, PhD, a psychologist now at Columbia University, has laid the groundwork for the modern study of self-control. This was a simple but effective test to study self-control in children.

A preschooler was put in a room with marshmallows. The child was told by the researcher that if he/she waited until the researcher returned, then he/she could have two marshmallows. But, if the child simply couldn’t wait, he/she could ring a bell and the researcher would come back but only one marshmallow would be allowed.

Preschoolers with good self-control sacrificed the immediate pleasure of eating the marshmallow so they could indulge in two marshmallows later. What determined the self-control of these kids at such a young age? Mischel hypothesized a “hot-and-cool” system to explain why willpower succeeds or fails.

The cool system is based more on an analytical, reasoning system, with the ability to think through logical thoughts, reminding yourself why you are resisting something. The hot system is more impulsive and emotional, incorporating reflexive responses to certain triggers such as eating the marshmallow without thinking through the implications. The hot system would be like the devil on your shoulder and the cool system like the angel. This susceptibility to emotional responses may influence behavior throughout one’s life.

As the experiment was continued on these preschoolers through life, it was found that the children who had waited longer for the marshmallows as preschoolers were more likely to score higher on the SAT as teenagers, be more successful at handling life stressors and triggers as rated by their parents, and have better jobs later on in life.

Can Self-Control Be Taught?

Historically, behavioral scientists have believed that self-control problems were a normal part of childhood and quickly outgrown. But if that were true, then childhood self-control would have no consequences in adult life. Some scientists agreed that self-control may be influential but did not consider it as a worthwhile area of study because they felt it was impossible to change. However, is that the case?

A preschool called Head Start, a federally funded program of special services was launched in 1965 with the goal to improve the intellectual development of needy children. Although this program had failed to boost IQ scores, it did unexpectedly succeed in lowering the former students’ rates of teen pregnancy, school dropout, delinquency, and work absenteeism. So even though IQ was not increased by Head Start something else evidently was. Economist and Nobel laureate James Heckman and others posed the question in a 2006 paper in Science: Could it be self-control?

If self-control is an adjustable, teachable determinant of success in health, wealth, and crime reduction, then perhaps focusing on policies to enhance it could have broad socioeconomic benefits.

Studies have shown that self-control can change, and better outcomes are possible. Based on all the research, starting broad programs accordingly in early childhood makes the most sense. These programs should benefit everyone, avoid stigmatizing anyone, and attract widespread support. An example includes Sesame Street’s multimedia activity “For me, For you, For later,” which teaches preschoolers to delay gratification by saving money toward a goal.

Programs to enhance young children’s self-control have been developed in schools and many show promise. These include activities such as martial arts, music lessons, computer games, and even learning a second language. Ideally, these programs should be followed up long term through controlled trials to show that they actually produce real change. Also, financial analyses must be done to assess whether the up-front costs of each program are outweighed by their eventual societal effect on costs of healthcare, crime, and financial dependency.

Are Children With Self-Control Happy?

There has been some concern that children with high levels of self-control may be rigid, unspontaneous, and unhappy. So, the question is: Are children with self-control happy? The Dunedin Study participants were followed through for these factors as well. A survey done regarding their life satisfaction in their 40’s showed that 70 percent were somewhat or very satisfied and the most satisfied of all were those who began life with high self-control (nearly 90 percent). Of the participants in the bottom fifth of self-control scorers, 22 percent attempted or died by suicide by age 38 versus only 7 percent in the top fifth of childhood self-control scorers.

Ways To Strengthen Willpower

Adults can also strengthen their self-control by considering it as an exercise and working on it regularly. However, in adults, self-control can be more easily depleted by factors such as stress, intoxication, and fatigue. So it is helpful to address these also. Some helpful tactics have included avoiding temptation, a technique called “implementation intention”, and identifying a specific motivation.

An example of avoiding temptation is based on the “Out of sight, Out of mind” concept. For example, in the Marshmallow experiment, the children who stared directly at the treat were less likely to resist it than the ones who closed their eyes, turned away, or distracted themselves. Implementation intention uses “if-then” statements to help plan for difficult, tempting situations. Studies have shown that having a plan ahead of time may help you make better decisions at the moment without having to draw on your willpower. Reminding yourself of the reason and motivation behind your willpower can also be helpful. Visualizing the goal instead of focusing on the current temptation can help you overcome your self-control.

Newer research is focusing on the interplay of genes and environment and further neuroimaging to assess how the brain processes threat, reward, memories, and self-control.

Is Self-Control Dependent On How You Are Wired?

Willpower An experiment done at the University of Washington by B.J. Casey, PhD, and colleagues examined the brain activity in some research subjects using functional magnetic resonance imaging. What they discovered was that the brain patterns differed from those with low self-control versus those with high self-control. The prefrontal cortex (a part of the brain that controls executive functions, such as making choices) was more active in subjects with higher self-control and the ventral striatum (a part of the brain thought to process desires and rewards) showed higher activity in those with lower self-control.

So, people may be “wired” in different ways. It would be interesting to experiment with further research to examine if these patterns can be altered.

Can Willpower Be Improved?

So, the question is - Can we improve our willpower and is it something worth focusing on? The answer - Yes!

The evidence clearly shows that learning how to improve willpower and self-control leads to eating healthier, less substance abuse, better work performance, and even developing better high quality friendships. In their best-selling book, Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength, psychologist Roy Baumeister and science journalist John Tierney show how self-control helped musician Eric Clapton kick his alcohol and drug addiction and how comedian Drew Carey learned to flourish at his work. Self-control helped magician David Blaine master the significant physical endurance feat of holding his breath underwater for over 17 minutes.