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Summary of Chapter 1 and 2 of Self-Directed Behavior (Watson & Tharp, 2014)
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Summary of Chapter 1 and 2 of Self-Directed Behavior (Watson & Tharp, 2014)
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Psych 328 Self-Directed Behavior: Self-Modification for Personal Adjustment
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SELF-DIRECTED BEHAVIOR: Self-Modification for Personal Adjustment (Watson & Tharp, 2014)Chapter 1: The Skills of Self-Direction
SELF-REGULATION
Learning Objectives:
• What is self-regulation or self-direction?
• What is the best way to study this book?
• What is the strength model of self-control? What is self-control fatigue?
• What is the difference between brute willpower and planned self-control?
Chapter summary - Self-Regulation:
Self-regulation: controlling or directing your own behaviour according to some principle
We regulate our thoughts, actions, feelings and impulses
Self-regulation can occur over long or short time periods
The more one self-regulates, the more one is capable of gaining desirable goals
Self-regulation is a learned skill. We are better at it in some situations than in others
The strength model of self-control is that it is like a muscle: if you use it, it will get tired. Self-control
fatigue sets in. This applies to brute willpower, unplanned efforts to resist temptation. Well-planned
self-control, taught in this book, reduces the need for brute willpower and thus avoids self-control
fatigue
Section:
To regulate something: control it or direct it by a principle, to regulate our actions to reach many
different goals, make adjustments
Self-regulation: implies the ability to control ourselves, to exert control over our own acts and inner
processes, occurs in short time spans and over long time spans, allows us to modify our behaviour to
gain desirable outcomes
Self-direction & self-regulation emphasize different aspects of the same thing
Self-direct:
• Thoughts
• Feelings
• Impulses
• Behaviours
The capacity of self-control, to direct our own self-modification
The more people self-direct, the better it seems to be for them
High self-control: he or she can successfully self-regulate in a variety of situations
, • Higher self-esteem
• Better health
• Less criminal behavoir
• Less substance dependence
• Better finances
(Moffit et al., 2011)
• Better grades
• Less depressed
• Less anxious
• Higher self-esteem
• Enjoy more satisfying intimate relationships
• More popular
(Tangney, Baumeister & Boone, 2004)
Self-control is more important than IQ in determinining our lives (Duckworth & Seligman, 2005)
Self-control is the hidden dimension of personal competence (Zimmerman & Kitsantas, 2005)
High self-control does not mean a miserable overcontrol. Å high degree of self-control makes i
tpossible to give up control, when it is appropriate and pleasant (Tangney et al., 2004)
Research and theory point to the idea that self-regulation is a learned skill (Petterson & Seligman,
2004), although there may be some inherited elements (Baumeister & Vohs, 2004)
Children learn self-control as they grow and have different experiences (Eisenberg, Smith & Spinrad,
2011)
SELF-CONTROL AND WILLPOWER
Brute self-control: success gained by a deliberate, effortful exercise of willpower (Cervone, Mor,
Orom, Shadel & Scott, 2011) like physical strength, brute self-control is a limited resource (Muraven
& Baumeister, 2000)
Planned or skilled self-control: the execution of an effective coping strategy to deal with temptation
through prior planning and management of the situation
The strenght model of willpower (Bqummeister, Vohs & Tice, 2007; Hagger, Wood, Stiff &
Chatzisarantis, 2010)
Simple statement of the theory:
"Self-control is like a muscle. When used, it gets tired" (McGonigal, 2012, p. 57)
Self-control fatigue: if you have to withstand temptation for a long period, your self-control will
eventually weaken and you will give in
Conclusion: brute self-control weakens with use, just as muscles do. We need to arrange things so
that we don´t rely heavily on brute self-control, for it is likely to weaken.
There is much we can learn to do to develop greater self-control to manage situations successfully. It
is not a matter of will, but of skill:
• Skillful users of self-control don´t let themselves get into situations where massive willpower
is needed
• Planning ahead for temptation → avoid self-control fatigue
, Good, well-planned self-regulation reduces the need for brute self-control (Dvorak & Simons, 2009)
And if you practice self-regulation you become more skilled, so it becomes easier, and self-control
fatigue is less likely to occur (Converse & DeShon, 2009)
THE SKILLS OF SELF-REGULATION
Learning Objectives:
• What are the implications of thinking of self-regulation as a skill?
• What are the important elements of a skill?
• Explain the idea of a person/situation interaction in affecting behavoir
• Explain the purpose of this book
Chapter summary - The Skills of Self-Regulation and the Purpose of This Book:
Self-regulation is a skill
Two important elements of skill are:
• Knowledge
• Practice
You must know that to do, then practice doing it
The purpose of this book is to teach ways to improve your skills in situations where the task is
difficult for you. This reauires a planned effort at self-modification
Section:
A skill: the ability to do something well, developed through knowledge and practice
We may have an aptitude for certain skills (we are able to learn them easily) but in all cases, we
understand that skills have to be learned
The idea of skill implies skill in a specific domain
We do not learn general skills that apply across a wide range of situations but rather specific ones
that apply to specific tasks (Campitelli & Gobet, 2011; Patrick, 1992)
The same thing is true of the skills of self-regulation
Being skilled implies that one can perform some action in spite of the fact that the task varies
(Fischer, 1980)
Self-regulation is not just "muscular" willpower. It is "a skill involving anticipation and cleverness, so
that immediate and tempting rewards do not impede progress toward a long-range goal" (Fisher,
Levenkron, Lowe, Loro & Green, 1982, p. 174)
If self-regulation, or self-direction, is a skill, we must think about both the behavior we need to
perform and the situations in which we will perform it
Our goals for self-regulation are defined in terms of particular behaviors in particular situations
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