Psych 201 Lecture 16 Weakness of Will

Psych 201, Lecture 16: Weakness of Will

Reminders • Exam 2 is next Wednesday! – 3/30, bring maroon scantron and pencil • Review sessions (all optional) – In class, Monday 3/28, 4 pm – With Allie and Suzanne, Tuesday 3/27, 12: 30 pm, location TBA • Topic review sheet sent last week

Outline • What is willpower? • How important is willpower? • Examples of weakness of the will – Temporal Discounting – Addiction • Components of willpower • Strategies to overcome weakness of the will

What is willpower? • Intentionally behaving in a way that is in line with one’s ultimate goals when tempted to do otherwise.

Behaviors associated with the most common causes of death (USA) • Cardiovascular disease • Cancers • Strokes • Chronic lung disease • Accidents • Diabetes • Pneumonia and influenza • Alzheimer’s Disease • Kidney disease • Septicemia • Suicide • Chronic liver disease (cirrhosis)

Importance of Willpower Weakness of the will (i. e. , giving into temptation) can be very bad “…most major problems, personal and social, center on failure of self-control: compulsive spending and borrowing, impulsive violence, underachievement in school, procrastination at work, alcohol and drug abuse, unhealthy diet, lack of exercise, chronic anxiety, explosive anger…losing friends, being fired, getting divorced, winding up in prison. . . ” Baumeister & Tierney (2011) Temptations are very common (smartphone study): ~25% of waking life spent resisting temptations Most common everyday desires: to eat, sleep, relax, sex Temptations getting more common

Importance of Willpower Happiness

What is the relationship between failures of self-control and happiness? • Every impulse that we strive to strangle broods in the mind and poisons us. (Oscar Wilde) • Capacity for joy admits temptation. (Elizabeth Browning) • Yield to temptation. It may not pass your way again. (Robert Heinlein)

What is the relationship between failures of self-control and happiness? • Every impulse that we strive to strangle broods in the mind and poisons us. (Oscar Wilde) • Capacity for joy admits temptation. (Elizabeth Browning) • Yield to temptation. It may not pass your way again. (Robert Heinlein) • You only live once. (Drake)

Importance of Willpower can be very good for happiness in the long term: Relationships -conscientiousness and long-term relationships -physical attractiveness -exercise/eat healthy Purpose -morality -wealth -academic -creativity (“Genius is patience; ” 10, 000 hour rule) Autonomy/Liberty -less likely to go to jail -less likely to have substance abuse problem -live unassisted for longer

Outline • What is willpower? • How important is willpower? • Examples of weakness of the will – Temporal Discounting – Addiction • Components of willpower • Strategies to overcome weakness of the will

Intertemporal Choice • The study of the relative value people assign to two or more rewards at different time points. $99 now or $100 in a year? Assume no change in your income or purchasing power of $100

Intertemporal Choice • The study of the relative value people assign to two or more rewards at different time points. $40 now or $100 in a year?

Intertemporal Choice • The study of the relative value people assign to two or more rewards at different time points. $40 now or $100 in ten years?

• Temporal Discounting – The devaluation of anticipated outcomes as a function of their anticipated delay – $100 in a year worth about $40 today.

Intertemporal choice in a pigeon…

Immediate

Immediate Delay

10 grains, immediately 10 grains, After 2 sec

9 grains, immediately 10 grains, After 2 sec

8 grains, immediately 10 grains, After 2 sec

1 grain, immediately 10 grains, After 2 sec

7 grains, immediately 10 grains, After 2 sec

7 grains, immediately ≈ 10 grains, After 2 sec Not rationally calculated; evolved mechanism?

Outline • What is willpower/Importance of Willpower • How important is willpower? – Temporal Discounting – Addiction • Components of willpower • Strategies to overcome self-control problems

What is Addiction? DSM Criteria for substance dependence • • Tolerance Withdrawal Taking more than intended Unsuccessful efforts to cut down A lot of time devoted to the substance Giving up other things Continued use despite adverse consequences

Opponent Process Theory and Addiction Recall… 1. Hedonic contrast: Experiencing hedonic change when stimulus presented (“A process”), followed by opposite change (“B process”). 2. Hedonic habituation: Over repeated exposure, reduced hedonic change to stimulus. 3. Hedonic withdrawal: Over time, emergence of a long-lasting, high-amplitude after-reaction that is opposite to the original hedonic change.

Opponent Process Theory and Addiction First few experiences Pos affect Neg affect After many

How prevalent is addiction?

How heritable is addiction? Smoking heritability Sullivan PF, Kendler KS. The genetic epidemiology of smoking. Nicotine Tobacco Res. 1999; 1: S 51 -S 57.

Addiction Problems Common in College http: //www. usc. edu/studentaffairs/Health_Center/cs. index. shtml

Outline • What is willpower/Importance of Willpower • How important is willpower? • Examples of weakness of will: – Temporal Discounting – Addiction • Components of willpower: – Delay of gratification – Motivation – Ability • Strategies to overcome self-control problems

We all start out demanding immediate gratification

Delay of Gratification: The Marshmallow Test Walter Mischel • Place ONE marshmallow in front of four year old. Child can eat it any time. • If child waits long enough (~15 min) he or she gets TWO marshmallows. • Majority don’t wait.

Video • http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=Yo 4 WF 3 c. Sd 9 Q&feature=related

Correlations between Delay Times and SAT Scores Traditional Marshmallow Test Exposed SAT verbal SAT quantitative

Correlations between Delay Times and SAT Scores SAT verbal SAT quantitative Traditional Marshmallow Test Exposed. 42*. 57** Stronger predictor than IQ

Components of Willpower • Licking marshmallow is clever, but bad idea. • Distraction is a better idea. • Why?

Components of Willpower • Licking marshmallow is clever, but bad idea. – Increases temptation/reduces motivation – But what would happen if option was one marshmallow now or Toys R’ Us shopping spree in 15 minutes? Component 1: Motivation

Component 1: Motivation • Is a function of immediate value of goal and expectancy of reaching goal. – Immediate value of getting two marshmallows in 15 minutes. • Ooh I’d love to have two of these! – Expectancy of getting two marshmallows in 15 minutes if you wait. • https: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=Js. QMd. ECFn. UQ/ (0: 03 – 2: 41)

Components of Willpower • Distraction seems to be helpful. – Reduces temptation Component 2: Ability

Roy Baumeister Component 2: Ability • Capacity – Willpower as a limited resource (Baumeister, Bratslavsky, Muraven, & Tice, 1998)

Roy Baumeister Component 2: Ability • Baumeister, Bratslavsky, Muraven, & Tice (1998) • Three conditions – Radish (over chocolates) eating condition (selfcontrol) – Cookie eating condition (less self-control) – Control condition (no self-control)

Roy Baumeister Component 2: Ability DV: Persistence task (unsolvable puzzles) Condition Radish Cookie Control Time Attempted (min)

Roy Baumeister Component 2: Ability DV: Persistence task Condition Time Attempted (min) Radish Cookie Control 8. 35

Roy Baumeister Component 2: Ability DV: Persistence task Condition Time Attempted (min) Radish Cookie Control 8. 35 18. 90 20. 86

Roy Baumeister Component 2: Ability Can the willpower muscle be strengthened? Muraven, Baumeister, &Tice (1999) Two week study Four Conditions 1. Good posture 2. Regulate emotions 3. Intricate food diary 4. Control DVs Handgrip task

Roy Baumeister Component 2: Ability Can the willpower muscle be strengthened? Muraven, Baumeister, &Tice (1999) Two week study Conditions 1. Good posture 2. Regulate emotions 3. Intricate food diary 4. Control

Roy Baumeister Component 2: Ability Can the willpower muscle be strengthened? Muraven, Baumeister &Tice (1999) Two week study Conditions 1. Good posture 2. Regulate emotions 3. Intricate food diary 4. Control

Outline • What is willpower/Importance of Willpower • Examples of weakness of the will – Temporal Discounting – Addiction • Components of willpower • Strategies to overcome self-control problems

Combat Temptation Recall… • Hot / cold empathy gap – People in a cold state mispredict how they will behave when in a hot state. People tend to overestimate the strength of their own willpower and/or underestimate the influence of the hot state. • Sexual decision-making (Ariely & Loewenstein, 2006)

Combat Temptation Precommitment – Secure current preferences against future expected temptation by eliminating the future temptation.

Combat Temptation Precommitment -- Secure current preferences against future expected temptation by eliminating the future temptation. • • Don’t buy television Gastric bypass Antabuse Block websites (stayfocusd. com)

Increase Motivation -Side contract

Increase Motivation • Side contract (e. g. , www. stickk. com) • Making resolutions in public • Better goal setting – Set concrete and difficult goals • “Do your best” results in not doing your best. – Breakup large goals into smaller sub-goals – Keep track of accomplished goals

Improve Ability • Increase mind control – Meditation (even short term) • Seems to improve mind control. Not entirely sure why. • Strengthen willpower muscle – In same or different domains of life – Just keep practicing

Reminders • Exam 2 is next Wednesday! – 3/30, bring maroon scantron and pencil • Review sessions (all optional) – In class, Monday 3/28, 4 pm – With Allie and Suzanne, Tuesday 3/27, 12: 30 pm, location TBA • Topic review sheet sent last week