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Everything about Self-control
Aspect of inhibitory control
Self-control is the ability to manipulate one's own emotions, thoughts, and behavior in the face of temptations and impulses. It is an aspect of inhibitory control, one of the core human executive functions. Executive functions are cognitive processes that are necessary for regulating one's behavior in order to achieve specific goals. Wikipedia →
🧭 Start here: a 6-step reading path
- Read the overview: Self-controlA 5-minute orientation
- Skim a recent paper: Self‐control: An integrative frameworkInfluential work since 2022
- Pick up a classic book: Naked LunchThe most-reprinted book on the subject
- Read the landmark paper: Perceived Behavioral Control, Self‐Efficacy, Locus of Control, and the Theory of Planned Behavior 1Cited 5,868 times
- Go sideways: Delayed gratificationA closely related topic
- Go sideways: ImpulsivityA closely related topic
📖 Definitions
Noun The ability to control one's desires and impulses.
Verb To control oneself or itself.
🏆 Landmark papers (most cited)
Perceived Behavioral Control, Self‐Efficacy, Locus of Control, and the Theory of Planned Behavior 1
Self-tuning control
Building self-control strength: Practicing self-control leads to improved self-control performance
Self-Control
Unpacking Self-Control
Counteractive Self-Control
Self‐control and health‐related behaviour: The role of implicit self‐control, trait self‐control, and lay beliefs in self‐control
Self-Control Without a “Self”?
🆕 Influential since 2022
📚 Books worth reading
Naked LunchWilliam S. Burroughs, William Burroughs · 1959
The 48 Laws of PowerRobert Greene · 1998
Feel the fear and do it anywaySusan J. Jeffers · 1987
Among the BraveMargaret Peterson Haddix · 2004
No excuses!Brian Tracy · 2010
Kids Are Worth It!Barbara Coloroso · 1994
Stillness Is the KeyRyan Holiday · 2019
The PowerRhonda Byrne · 2010
Ranked by number of editions on Open Library, a rough measure of how lasting a book is.
🔗 Related topics
- Delayed gratification Delayed gratification, or deferred gratification, is the ability to resist the temptation of an immediate reward in favor of a more valuable and long-lasting…
- Impulsivity In psychology, impulsivity (or impulsiveness) is a tendency to act on a whim, displaying behavior characterized by little or no forethought, reflection…
- Inhibitory control Inhibitory control, also known as response inhibition, is a cognitive process – and, more specifically, an executive function – that permits an individual…
- Stanford marshmallow experiment The Stanford marshmallow experiment was a study on delayed gratification conducted in 1970 by psychologist Walter Mischel at Stanford University. In this…
- Present bias Present bias is the tendency to settle for a smaller present reward rather than wait for a larger future reward, in a trade-off situation. It describes…
- Gratification Gratification is the pleasurable emotional reaction of happiness in response to a fulfillment of a desire or goal. It is also identified as a response…
- Self-regulation theory Self-regulation theory (SRT) is a system of conscious, personal management that involves the process of guiding one's own thoughts, behaviors and feelings…
- Ego depletion Ego depletion is the idea that self-control or willpower draws upon conscious mental resources that can be taxed to exhaustion when in constant use with…