INTL

Find a Therapist (City or Postcode)

Timothy A Pychyl Ph.D.

Don't Delay

SELF-CONTROL

Self-regulation Failure
(Part 2): Willpower is Like
a Muscle
Procrastination: Why willpower fails us.
Posted February 23, 2009

That's some bicep. If only our willpower looked so well devel‐

oped. Given that recent research portrays willpower like a
muscle, and one easily exhausted it seems, we may need to
learn more about "willpower bodybuilding" or other strategies
to bolster our self-regulatory strength and reduce our pro‐
crastination.

Roy Baumeister, his colleagues (e.g., Matthew Gailliot, Todd

Heatherton, Mark Muraven, Kathleen Vohs) and his students
have been focused on the investigation of self-regulation
strength for the past 10 years, and their research has
spawned related projects such as the one conducted by my
colleague Dr. Joseph Ferrari (DePaul University). Although
there have been many studies done, they share a common
design.

In the typical experiment, research participants are randomly

assigned
We to two
use cookies groups.your
to enhance Both groups
website expect that
experience. they
More Info will OK
participate in two tasks, but there is an important difference
INTL
between the groups in terms of the self-regulation demanded
of them.

Task 1
The experimental group is required to exercise a great deal
of self-control in the first task, whereas the control group is
simply asked to do the task. For example, both groups may
be asked to watch a funny film, but the experimental group is
required to suppress their emotional expression while the
control group is given no specific instructions about how to
react. In another case, the experimental group may be re‐
quired to persist at a very boring task (e.g., doing a very long
sequence of simple arithmetic problems), whereas the con‐
trol group does a task of equal length but does not require
self-regulation to overcome boredom. A final example of this
design is one where both groups arrive hungry, but the ex‐
perimental group is instructed to eat radishes while resisting
a tempting plate of cookies, whereas the control group is al‐
lowed to eat the cookies or the radishes (you guess which is
more popular). In each of these experiments, the experimen‐
tal group exercises self-regulation, while the control group
does not.

Task 2
Once this first task is completed, both groups are then asked
to complete a second task that involves self-regulation. Both
groups need to self-regulate their behavior to achieve suc‐
cess, and the key outcome measure is how persistent each
group is. For example, typical second tasks include things
like: complex figure tracing, solving complex anagrams, drink‐
ing an unpleasant (but not harmful) "sports drink," and, my fa‐
vorite, resisting drinking free beer (even though a driving test
is expected to follow). The main idea is that this second task
requires self-regulation, and the hypothesis is that the experi‐
We use cookies to enhance your website experience. More Info OK
mental group will perform more poorly (not persist as long)
INTL
because they have already exhausted their ability to self-
regulate.

The results
The findings of these studies consistently demonstrate that
the experimental group performs at a lower level than the
control group. Given the difference in the self-regulatory de‐
mands on Task 1, the researchers conclude that the experi‐
mental group has exhausted self-regulatory strength, at least
temporarily, and therefore are unable to muster the self-regu‐
lation required for the second task. In one practical example
of this, one study showed that after coping with a stressful
day at work, people were less likely to exercise and more
likely to do something more passive like watching television.

Willpower is like a muscle

Based on these studies, Baumeister and colleagues have
concluded that willpower is like a muscle. It can be fatigued
with use, so that it can not perform indefinitely.

Actual physical depletion

Some very recent research has indicated that one of the
physical correlates of this self-regulatory depletion is the de‐
pletion of blood glucose, and a drink of juice replenishes
both the glucose levels and the ability to self-regulate. These
are interesting findings that have clear implications for our
self-regulatory goals.

Implications
Self-regulation comes with a cost, and we can only self-regu‐
late so much at any one time. Although willpower is one of
those "invisible" sorts of concepts (unlike muscles which
seem to reveal strength more visibly by size), it still has limits.

We use cookies to enhance your website experience. More Info OK

Of course, drawing on this metaphor that willpower is like a
INTL
muscle, it would make sense that we should be able to de‐
velop this muscle's strength. There are a number of studies
that indicate just that. For example, as Matthew Gailloit has
summarized (see reference below), there is evidence that
even 2-weeks of self-regulation through continuously main‐
taining good posture improved performance in the kind of ex‐
periments discussed above. This little bit of self-regulatory
exercise seems to strengthen the willpower muscle.

THE BASICS

What Is Self-Control?

Find counselling to help with self-control

In fact, other studies provided evidence that physical exercise

programs led to decreased smoking, alcohol, caffeine and
junk food consumption, and even reduced impulsive spend‐
ing, watching television and the tendency to leave dishes
dirty in the sink! You can learn more about strengthening
willpower by listening to this archived NPR broadcast (and if
you look at the bottom of the list you'll find an older interview
with me about procrastination as well).

What interests me most are the studies that show how simple
things like getting better sleep or boosting positive emotions
reduced the effects of self-regulation depletion. In addition,
heightening motivation to self-regulate has also been shown
to be effective.

Next time, I'll reflect a little more about what this motivation
issue might mean.

SELF-CONTROL ESSENTIAL READS

We use cookies to enhance your website experience. More Info OK
 INTL
Why Free Will Is Real

6 Ways to Boost Self-Discipline

References
Ferrari, J. R., & Pychyl, T. A. (2007). Regulating speed, accu‐
racy and judgments by Indecisives: Effects of frequent
choices on self-regulation depletion. Personality and
Individual Differences, 42, 777-787.

A recent summary of self-regulation from a personality per‐

spective and covers all of the topics discussed above is
provided in:

Gailliot, M.T., Mead, N.L., & Baumeister, R.F. (2008). Self-

Regulation, In O.P. John, R.W. Robbins & L.A. Pervin (Eds.),
Handbook of Personality: Theory and Research (pp. 472-491).
New York: The Guilford Press.

Something available at the click of your mouse is:

Baumeister, R.F., & Vohs, K.D. Willpower, choice and self con‐
trol. In George Loewenstein, Daniel Read, Roy F. Baumeister
(Eds.) Time and Decision.

About the Author

Tim Pychyl, Ph.D., is a recently retired

university faculty at Carleton University, he
spent his career researching and writing
about procrastination.
We use cookies to enhance your website experience. More Info OK
 Online: Timothy A. Pychyl, Ph.D.
INTL
Read Next

Why Free Will Is Real

Meeting Deadlines in Work Groups: Implications for the

Workplace

We use cookies to enhance your website experience. More Info OK

 INTL

Find a Therapist
Get the help you need from a therapist near you–a FREE service
from Psychology Today.

City or Postcode

Countries:

Australia New Zealand

Austria Singapore
Belgium South Africa
Canada Sweden
Denmark Switzerland
Hong Kong United Kingdom
Ireland United States

Are you a Therapist? Get Listed Today

We use cookies to enhance your website experience. More Info OK

 INTL

Subscribe Today

About Editorial Process Privacy Terms Accessibility

International

Psychology Today © 2023 Sussex Publishers, LLC

We use cookies to enhance your website experience. More Info OK