‘Willpower’ over the life span: decomposing self-regulation

Abstract

In the 1960s, Mischel and colleagues developed a simple 'marshmallow test' to measure preschoolers' ability to delay gratification. In numerous follow-up studies over 40 years, this 'test' proved to have surprisingly significant predictive validity for consequential social, cognitive and mental health outcomes over the life course. In this article, we review key findings from the longitudinal work and from earlier delay-of-gratification experiments examining the cognitive appraisal and attention control strategies that underlie this ability. Further, we outline a set of hypotheses that emerge from the intersection of these findings with research on 'cognitive control' mechanisms and their neural bases. We discuss implications of these hypotheses for decomposing the phenomena of 'willpower' and the lifelong individual differences in self-regulatory ability that were identified in the earlier research and that are currently being pursued.

Prefrontal–striatal pathway underlies cognitive regulation of craving

“…Here, we showed that craving could be curbed effectively via a single, clinically relevant strategy that involved cognitively reinterpreting the meaning of an initially craved substance in terms that highlighted its potential longer-term deleterious effects on one's health. In general, such cognitive strategies are known to be effective for regulating emotion in the laboratory and field (26,49), in children and adults (1,26), and for treating psychiatric (50) as well as substance use disorders (18,51).…”

“…In so doing, this study provides a methodological tool and conceptual foundation for studying this ability across substance using populations and developing more effective treatments for substance use disorders. T he ability to resist immediate gratification by controlling the impulse to consume a desirable-but, in the long run, unhealthy-substance is critical to both mental and physical health (1). This ability is perhaps no more important than for individuals with substance use disorders (SUDs), which are chronic relapsing conditions (2, 3) with staggering social costs (4).…”

“…We have shown previously that smokers report robust cue-induced cravings in this condition (38). On regulation trials modeled after prior work on delay of gratification, cognitive reappraisal, and CBT treatments for SUDs (1,38,41), the instruction "LATER" directed participants to think about the long-term consequences associated with smoking and eating high-fat foods. We have shown previously that smokers are able to decrease their craving for cigarettes and food using this strategy (38).…”

Neuroscience and education: prime time to build the bridge

“…Cognitive control during childhood is a strong predictor of school and social competence 57 , which seems to be a good argument to stimulate bilingualism. However, the reduction in vocabulary and lexical access may have a negative effect on academic performance.…”

Preterm Toddlers' Inhibitory Control Abilities Predict Attention Regulation and Academic Achievement at Age 8 Years

“…The inhibition of such behaviors that are driven by emotions has been coined "hot" effortful control. Children's performance in such emotionally valenced inhibitory tasks assessing has been shown to predict life-long academic attainment and achievement outcomes, even after controlling for cognitive ability and socioeconomic status [17][18][19].…”