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 nonresource-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.
The shifting-priorities process model describes ego depletion as a type of mental fatigue that occurs after engaging in any effortful, unrewarding task. Both humans and nonhuman animals are evolutionarily incentivized to properly balance between their immediate and long-term needs; excessive attention to future preparations can hurt immediate survival, but sometimes delaying gratification is advantageous. The balance between seeking immediate rewards and seeking resources for the future can be seen in foraging decisions (exploitation vs. exploration) as well as trade-offs between labor and leisure, and between have-to and want-to goals. The effortfulness of a task is determined not only by the use of executive functions, but also by the degree of immediate enjoyment produced by the task, and this effortfulness drives the feeling of fatigue. After experiencing an activity as unrewarding and effortful, people’s attention and motivation shift away from continuing effortful future-oriented tasks and toward gratifying stimuli; these changes are seen both behaviorally and neurologically.
Nice, but the second paper is less on track, as the idea is more “people, society etc. coerce you to do things you don’t want” than “long vs short term preferences”.
My model says that people coerce themselves to do long term tasks because they don’t know how to naturally motivate themselves using tools like mental contrasting. So the coercion is still there, but it’s internal.
Papers that make a somewhat related argument:
Why self-control seems (but may not be) limited (2014):
Proximate and Ultimate Causes of Ego Depletion (2016):
Nice, but the second paper is less on track, as the idea is more “people, society etc. coerce you to do things you don’t want” than “long vs short term preferences”.
My model says that people coerce themselves to do long term tasks because they don’t know how to naturally motivate themselves using tools like mental contrasting. So the coercion is still there, but it’s internal.