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Self Control in Society, Mind, and Brain$
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Self Control in Society, Mind, and Brain

Ran Hassin, Kevin Ochsner, and Yaacov Trope

Print publication date: 2010

Print ISBN-13: 9780195391381

Published to Oxford Scholarship Online: May 2010

DOI: 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195391381.001.0001

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Ego Depletion and the Limited Resource Model of Self-Control

Ego Depletion and the Limited Resource Model of Self-Control

Chapter:
(p.375) CHAPTER 20 Ego Depletion and the Limited Resource Model of Self-Control
Source:
Self Control in Society, Mind, and Brain
Author(s):

Nicole L. Mead

Jessica L. Alquist

Roy F. Baumeister

Publisher:
Oxford University Press
DOI:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195391381.003.0020

People break diets, procrastinate in the face of looming deadlines, imbibe too much alcohol the night before a midterm, struggle to save money, and lash out at loved ones and family members. They do all these things despite their best intentions not to. Why do people engage in such personally, interpersonally, and socially destructive behaviors? This chapter suggests that a major reason why people fail at self-control is because it relies on a limited resource. We define self-control as the capacity to alter one's responses; it is what enables people to forego the allure of short-term pleasures to institute responses that bring long-term rewards. One of the core functions of self-control may be to facilitate culture, which often requires that people curtail selfishness for the sake of effective group functioning. The first part of the chapter gives an overview of how self-control operates, including the possible biological basis of self-control. It covers a substantial body of literature suggesting that self-control operates on a limited resource, which becomes depleted with use. The second part of the chapter reviews the benefits of good self-control and the costs of bad self-control across a large variety of domains, such as consumption, self-presentation, decision making, rejection, aggression, and interpersonal relationships.

Keywords:   self-control, ego depletion, willpower, impulse, motivation

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