Self- Control

Self- Control

Introduction

The term self-control has been most often applied, in the field of behavior modification, to explain different types of self-guided treatment that seek out to change the probability of preferred, habitual, or promptly reinforced thoughts, behaviors, or emotional reactions when their long-term impacts are in conflict with their instantaneous effects (i.e., when they implicate contradictory contingencies ). This paper provides a summary of three articles on self- control.

Summary of Articles

Article 1: Procrastination, Deadlines, and Performance: Self-Control by Pre-commitment

It was once said by Oscar Wilde, “I never put off till tomorrow what I can do the day after.” When there are inconsistencies among preferences across context or time, then self-control problem comes up. In their article, Ariely & Wertenbroch (2002) discuss that people at times try to regulate their procrastination by means of setting deadlines for themselves. They seek out three research questions in their study: whether people self-impose costly or meaningful deadlines on tasks so as to deal with procrastination successfully; whether self-imposed deadlines effectual in enhancement of task performance; and whether people set their deadlines optimally for maximum improvement of performance. The pilot study took place at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, within the context of a summer long course. The students took part in the study. It is found by the study that people have issues of self-control; however, they realize those issues, and seek to curb those problems by self-imposing meaningful deadlines. Though, these deadlines help individuals regulate procrastination; however, they are not as effectual as some externally imposed deadlines in improving task performance.

Article 1: Don't! The Secret of Self-Control

In his article don't! The secret of control, Jonah Lehrer described the self-control skill. He explained the issue with the example of a marshmallow test, conducted by a psychologist,Walter Mischel, serving at Stanford University, in 1960. ...