The multiple pathways by which self-control predicts behavior

摘要

Good self-control, that is, an individual's capacity to override impulses, urges, temptations, desires, and ingrained habits, is adaptive as it allows people to engage in sustained, effortful behavior to attain long-term outcomes, often at the expense of short-term gains and gratification. Research has shown that good self-control is associated with academic attainment, good health, cohesive relationships, and career progression. In contrast, poor self-control is related to chronic conditions like cardiovascular disease and obesity, alcohol problems, eating disorders, financial debt, and unplanned pregnancy. In a recent meta-analytic review, de Ridder and colleagues (2012) demonstrated a small-to-medium effect for trait measures of self-control on behavioral outcomes across multiple life domains. The review provides evidence that self-control is positively associated with adaptive, desirable outcomes and negatively associated with maladaptive, undesirable outcomes, and most strongly related to behaviors classified as “habitual” or “automatic.”.