More than resisting temptation
Beneficial habits mediate the relationship between self-control and positive life outcomes
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6202459 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Brian M Galla (0000-0003-4895-6311), Angela L Duckworth (0000-0002-2644-3729, University of Pennsylvania) |
| Year | 2015 |
| Volume | 109 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 508-525 |
| Publication date | 2015-09-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0022-3514 • E-ISSN: 1939-1315 |
| Publisher | American Psychological Association (APA) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1037/pspp0000026 |
| PMID | 25643222 |
| OpenAlex | W2126678797 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 121 |
| References cited | 39 |
Why does self-control predict such a wide array of positive life outcomes? Conventional wisdom holds that self-control is used to effortfully inhibit maladaptive impulses, yet this view conflicts with emerging evidence that self-control is associated with less inhibition in daily life. We propose that one of the reasons individuals with better self-control use less effortful inhibition, yet make better progress on their goals is that they rely on beneficial habits. Across 6 studies (total N = 2,274), we found support for this hypothesis. In Study 1, habits for eating healthy snacks, exercising, and getting consistent sleep mediated the effect of self-control on both increased automaticity and lower reported effortful inhibition in enacting those behaviors. In Studies 2 and 3, study habits mediated the effect of self-control on reduced motivational interference during a work-leisure conflict and on greater ability to study even under difficult circumstances. In Study 4, homework habits mediated the effect of self-control on classroom engagement and homework completion. Study 5 was a prospective longitudinal study of teenage youth who participated in a 5-day meditation retreat. Better self-control before the retreat predicted stronger meditation habits 3 months after the retreat, and habits mediated the effect of self-control on successfully accomplishing meditation practice goals. Finally, in Study 6, study habits mediated the effect of self-control on homework completion and 2 objectively measured long-term academic outcomes: grade point average and first-year college persistence. Collectively, these results suggest that beneficial habits-perhaps more so than effortful inhibition-are an important factor linking self-control with positive life outcomes
Automaticity · Cognition · Developmental psychology · Ego Depletion · Meditation · Self-control · Temptation · Behavioral Health and Interventions · Clinical Psychology · Environmental Education and Sustainability · Mental Health Research Topics · Psychology · Social Psychology
Who Achieves Long‐Term Goals? Development and Validation of the DPR Conceptualization of Trait Self‐Control and the DPR Self‐Control Scale
Self-regulatory strategy use in exam preparation
Examining socio-cognitive factors and beliefs about mindful eating in healthy adults with differing practice experience
Media Use and Child Development
Longitudinal and daily associations between adolescent self-control and digital technology use
Healthy Eating as a New Way of Life
Self-Control and Academic Achievement
The Effort Paradox
Psychology of Habit
Beyond Willpower
Effectiveness of Universal Self-regulation–Based Interventions in Children and Adolescents
Parenting and Self-Control Across Early to Late Adolescence
Attitudes, Habits, and Behavior Change
The Mythical Number Two
Integrating Models of Self-Regulation
Situational Strategies for Self-Control
The Willpower Scale for emerging adults
Situational Cues in Thoughts About the Future
The Impact of Physical Activity on College Students’ Mobile Phone Dependence
The contribution and interplay of implicit and explicit processes on physical activity behavior
The impact of relevant versus irrelevant media multitasking on academic performance during online learning
Bias Toward Drug-Related Stimuli Is Affected by Loading Working Memory in Abstinent Ex-Methamphetamine Users
Effects of physical activity on smartphone addiction in Chinese college students-chain mediation of self-control and stress perception
An Analysis of the Relationship between the Modified Theory of Planned Behavior and Leisure Rumination of Korean Employees
The Role of Study Habits in the Relationships Among Self-Esteem, Self-Control, and Academic Performance
Efecto de los rasgos de personalidad sobre el autocontrol en estudiantes universitarios de Argentina
No Pain, no Gain? Investigating motivational mechanisms of game elements in cognitive tasks
Making autonomy an instrument
The wellbeing framework for consumer experiences in the circular economy of the textile industry
Conflict Mediation, Emotional Regulation and Coping Strategies in the Educational Field
Exercise or lie down? The impact of fitness app use on users' wellbeing
Enablers of students’ health-promoting lifestyle
The Willpower Paradox
Examining the Associations of Trait Self-control with Hedonic and Eudaimonic Well-being
Alcohol Use and Abstinence throughout Adolescence
Moralization and self-control strategy selection
“Teach it” or “Embed it”? A Comparative Study of Psycho-Educational vs. Cultural-Educational Approaches on Students’ Positive Development
The power of habit
Financial incentives overcome ego-depletion effect in the waste separation task
Are older individuals predisposed to habitual control more resilient
It’s the thought that counts
The role of fear of negative evaluation on the effects of self-control on affective states and life satisfaction
Continence, temperance, and motivational conflict
Adolescent Self-Control and Career Ambivalence
Make it a habit
Developing habit-based health behaviour change interventions
Clarifying the importance and moderating roles of temporal self-regulation theory across behaviour types
How habitual is everyday life? An ecological momentary assessment study
Effects of 72-hour abstinence from instant messaging on craving, withdrawal, and affect
How students’ self-control and smartphone-use explain their academic performance
Resisting vs. Persisting
New perspectives on repetitive behaviour
Working from home during the Covid‐19 crisis
Task aversiveness and outcome value mediate the relationship between self-control and academic procrastination among primary school students
Longitudinal associations of self-control with subjective well-being and psychological well-being
Development, acceptability, and perceived effectiveness of a trauma-informed adolescent self-regulation intervention
Low Self-Concept Clarity Inhibits Self-Control
What Makes a Habit? Investigating Potential Determinants of Habit Formation
Harnessing the power of adaptation
The Impact of Home‐School Cooperation on Academic Burnout Among Chinese High School Students
How to do things with sunk costs
Task Enjoyment as an Individual Difference Construct
Avoidance habit learning in adolescents and young women with anorexia nervosa
The challenge of change
Will-powered
Food choice behavior
What’s So Great About Self-Control? Examining the Importance of Effortful Self-Control and Temptation in Predicting Real-Life Depletion and Goal Attainment
The Merits of Goal Support as a Self-Control Strategy
Me or Us? Self-Control Promotes a Healthy Balance Between Personal and Relationship Concerns
Feeling Well, Functioning Well
High Self-Control Individuals Prefer Meaning Over Pleasure
Peer Attachment and Self-Control
Self-regulation and STEM persistence in minority and non-minority students across the first year of college
The Role of Desire, Habit, and Temptation Resistance in the Relation between Trait Self-Control and Goal Success
Associations Between Parent and Adolescent General and Domain‐Specific Self Control
Early family socioeconomic status and later leadership role occupancy
Reliability Generalization Meta-Analysis of the Brief Self-Control Scale (BSCS)
Wellbeing Matters in Kuwait
Determinants of digital well-being
Self-control and the reasons behind our goals
True to which self? Lay rationalism and decision satisfaction in self-control conflicts
Saying “no” to temptation
Self-Control and Crime
Brain mechanisms underlying prospective thinking of sustainable behaviours
Higher trait self-control is associated with less intense visceral states
A Dyadic Score Analysis of How Romantic Partners' Self‐Control Relates to Personal and Relational Well‐Being in Daily Life
How do traits and dispositional constructs relate to intentions and behavior? The trait-informed attitude, cognition, and intention tenet (Tacit)
Looking at self-control development in adolescence through dynamic systems concepts
Schoolwork effort and emotions predict self‐control in a weekly diary study
Examining five pathways on how self‐control is associated with emotion regulation and affective well‐being in daily life
Emotion regulation and self‐control
Aligning the self and reaping the benefits
Mechanisms Linking Self-Regulation and Sexual Behaviors in Never-Married Young Adults
How Gamification Enhances Learning Effectiveness Through Blended Learning and Intrinsic Motivation
Ritual and the logic of self-regulation
Does strong will get drained more rapidly or more slowly? Two longitudinal studies on how trait self‐control relates to stress and fatigue
Efficacy of self-control and patience interventions in adolescents
A qualitative investigation of individuals’ lay representations of habit
Adolescents’ attitudes towards healthy eating
Using Temporal Self-Regulation Theory to understand healthy and unhealthy eating intentions and behaviour
The principles of psychology.
Talks to teachers on psychology--and to students on some of life's ideals.
Reflections on Past Behavior
Residual Effects of Past on Later Behavior
Self-regulation of health behavior
Predicting homework effort
Understanding Impulsive Aggression
The habitual consumer
Promoting habit formation
Habits—A Repeat Performance
Taking Stock of Self-Control
An introduction to modern missing data analyses
Temporal self-regulation theory
Towards parsimony in habit measurement
On Conceptualizing Self-Control as More Than the Effortful Inhibition of Impulses
A new look at habits and the habit-goal interface.
The role of deliberate practice in the acquisition of expert performance.
Missing data
Asymptotic and resampling strategies for assessing and comparing indirect effects in multiple mediator models
The Strength Model of Self-Control
A gradient of childhood self-control predicts health, wealth, and public safety
Mindful Attention Prevents Mindless Impulses
High Self‐Control Predicts Good Adjustment, Less Pathology, Better Grades, and Interpersonal Success
The Emerging Field of Emotion Regulation
A meta-analysis of the convergent validity of self-control measures
How are habits formed
Implementation intentions
Ego depletion
Emotional distress regulation takes precedence over impulse control
Making choices impairs subsequent self-control
Changing circumstances, disrupting habits
Habits in everyday life
Everyday temptations
Intellectual performance and ego depletion
How do people adhere to goals when willpower is low? The profits (and pitfalls) of strong habits
Self-Control in School-Age Children
Self-regulation and depletion of limited resources
Habit and intention in everyday life
Ego depletion and the strength model of self-control
| Unique citing works | 121 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 11 |
| Citation span | 2015 - 2026 (12) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | Yes |
| Citation types | Neutral: 116 |