Why self-control seems (but may not be) limited

doi:10.1016/j.tics.2013.12.009

Trends in Cognitive Sciences

Volume 18, Issue 3, March 2014, Pages 127-133

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2013.12.009 Get rights and content

Highlights

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Self-control has a refractory period during which control is less likely.
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The dominant view is that control is based on some limited resource or energy.
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We highlight theoretical and empirical problems with this resource model of control.
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We advance a competing, non-resource-based account of self-control.
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We suggest that control failure reflects the motivated switching of task priorities.

Self-control refers to the mental processes that allow people to override thoughts and emotions, thus enabling behavior to vary adaptively from moment to moment. Dominating contemporary research on this topic is the viewpoint that self-control relies upon a limited resource, such that engaging in acts of restraint depletes this inner capacity and undermines subsequent attempts at control (i.e., ego depletion). Noting theoretical and empirical problems with this view, here we advance a competing model that develops a non-resource-based account of self-control. We suggest that apparent regulatory failures reflect the motivated switching of task priorities as people strive to strike an optimal balance between engaging cognitive labor to pursue ‘have-to’ goals versus preferring cognitive leisure in the pursuit of ‘want-to’ goals.

Section snippets

Why self-control seems (but may not be) limited

Self-control refers to the mental processes that allow people to override their thoughts, emotions, and behaviors to keep them in line with overarching goals [1]. Whereas cognitive control relies on at least three separate (yet related) executive functions [2] – task switching, working-memory, and inhibition – at its heart, self-control is most clearly related to inhibitory cognitive control, whereby people restrain or inhibit dominant response tendencies, thereby allowing other more

Problems with the resource model of self-control

Nearly 30 years ago, David Navon tried to dispatch the concept of resources as it was then used in the psychology of attention [21]. He called resources ‘theoretical soup stones’, which are theoretical constructs that seem essential to understanding a phenomenon, but are actually unnecessary and provide little to no explanatory power (similar to how the stone was not needed to make soup in the fable of the hungry travelers). According to Navon, resources are seductive concepts that are easy to

The process model of self-control depletion

Extending and elaborating our earlier work on the topic [40], the process model integrates ideas from multiple lines of research and theory, including the opportunity cost model of performance [39], labor/leisure tradeoffs in cognitive control [20], and the psychology of fatigue [41]. What is noteworthy about our elaborated process model is that it addresses the apparent limits of control at multiple levels of analysis [42] (Figure 1). When asking why engaging in self-control at Time 1

Cognitive control without resources

Although not as immediately appealing as the resource model, our account is biologically plausible and consistent with current understanding of how the brain works. Although many pressing questions remain (Box 3), our model can accommodate most of the findings that are incompatible with the resource account [40]. For example, it suggests that watching TV, smoking cigarettes, and affirming core values all undermine depletion because they act as rewards that counteract the decreasing marginal

Acknowledgments

This research was supported by grants from the Ontario Ministry of Research and Innovation and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council to M.I. We thank Jennifer Gutsell, Joseph Forgas, Eddie Harmon-Jones, Alexa Tullett, and Naomi Sarah Ball for insights and help along the way.

Glossary

Ego depletion: a state in which people are temporarily less successful at self-control. Although ego depletion is typically attributed to a short-term loss of mental energy due to previous efforts at control, we propose that ego depletion may instead be driven by effort-induced shifts in motivation, attention, and emotion.
Glucose: an important carbohydrate or sugar that is absorbed directly into the bloodstream during digestion. Glucose is widely used by many organisms as a cellular source of

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Trends in Cognitive Sciences

OpinionWhy self-control seems (but may not be) limited

Highlights

Section snippets

Why self-control seems (but may not be) limited

Problems with the resource model of self-control

The process model of self-control depletion

Cognitive control without resources

Acknowledgments

Glossary

Cogn. Psychol.

Trends Cogn. Sci.

J. Consum. Psychol.

Organ. Behav. Hum. Decis. Process.

J. Exp. Soc. Psychol.

J. Exp. Soc. Psychol.

Biol. Psychol.

J. Exp. Soc. Psychol.

J. Exp. Soc. Psychol.

The strength model of self-control

Curr. Dir. Psychol.

Control yourself or just eat what you like? Weight gain over a year is predicted by an interactive effect of response inhibition and implicit preference for snack foods

Health Psychol.

How can you resist? Executive control helps romantically involved individuals to stay faithful

J. Pers. Soc. Psychol.

Executive functioning and gambling: performance on the trail making test is associated with gambling problems in older adult gamblers

Aging Neuropsychol. Cogn.

Error-related negativity predicts academic performance

Psychophysiology

Executive functions and self-regulation

Trends Cogn. Sci.

Self-regulation failure: an overview

Psychol. Inq.

Self-regulation and depletion of limited resources: does self-control resemble a muscle?

Psychol. Bull.

Working Memory, Thought, and Action

Directed attention as a common resource for executive functioning and self-regulation

Perspect. Psychol. Sci.

The relation between fluid intelligence and self-regulatory depletion

Cogn. Emot.

Animal Spirits: Affective and Deliberative Processes in Economic Behavior

Deciding without resources: resource depletion and choice in context

J. Mark. Res.

Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength

Should I stay or should I go? How the human brain manages the trade-off between exploitation and exploration

Philos. Trans. R. Soc. B: Biol. Sci.

A labor/leisure tradeoff in cognitive control

J. Exp. Psychol. Gen.

Resources – a theoretical soup stone?

Psychol. Rev.

Ego depletion and the strength model of self-control: a meta-analysis

Psychol. Bull.

Attention control, memory updating, and emotion regulation temporarily reduce the capacity for executive control

J. Exp. Psychol. Gen.

Running on empty neural signals for self-control failure

Psychol. Sci.

Self-control relies on glucose as a limited energy source: willpower is more than a metaphor

J. Pers. Soc. Psychol.

The physiology of willpower: linking blood glucose to self-control

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Does the brain consume additional glucose during self-control tasks?

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The role of glucose in self-control: another look at the evidence and an alternative conceptualization

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The ironic effect of significant results on the credibility of multiple-study articles

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Beliefs about willpower determine the impact of glucose on self-control

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Mechanisms of self-control failure: motivation and limited resources

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When perception is more than reality: the effects of perceived versus actual resource depletion on self-regulatory behavior

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Ego depletion – is it all in your head? Implicit theories about willpower affect self-regulation

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The restorative effects of smoking upon self-control resources: a negative reinforcement pathway

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Energized by television: familiar fictional worlds restore self-control

Soc. Psychol. Pers. Sci.

Opinion
Why self-control seems (but may not be) limited