The comparative science of “self-control”: what are we talking about?

Frontiers in Psychology

Michael J. Beran¹ 

关键词: self-control;    delay of gratification;    comparative cognitive science;    behavioral inhibition;    intertemporal choice;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00051

学科分类：心理学（综合）

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

There has been great interest in comparative cognitive science in a suite of behaviors that have come to be subsumed under the term “self-control.” Historically in comparative psychology self-control was defined behaviorally as the choice of a larger or better but more delayed reinforcer over a smaller or less preferred but less delayed reinforcer (Rachlin and Green, 1972; Ainslie, 1974; Grosch and Neuringer, 1981; Logue, 1988). More recently, however, self-control has been discussed more in terms of being a capacity or ability rather than a behavioral pattern, even to the extent of some researchers suggesting that self-control may be a limited capacity resource that can be depleted, strengthened, or improved with practice (e.g., Baumeister et al., 2007). A terminological morass has emerged in this area, with varying definitions of this term, as well as other perhaps related terms such as patience, willpower, delay of gratification, and intertemporal choice. The goal here is not to untangle that mess of terminology, but to comment on two recent papers in comparative psychology that attempted to provide insights into the “evolution of self-control,” with varying degrees of success. I also will provide the beginnings of a framework for a terminology for assessing these behavioral forms of self-regulation and inhibition.

【 授权许可】

CC BY