Awareness of low self-control: Theory and evidence from a homeless shelter

Survey measures of self-control provide a potential low-cost alternative to incentivized elicitation. However, asking respondents to introspect on their self-control problems may instead measure their awareness of them, especially in populations with low self-control. We illustrate this with the Ameriks, Caplin, Leahy, and Tyler (2007) survey, which captures self-control problems through the deviation between self-reported ideal and predicted behavior (Expected Deviation, ED). Previous empirical evidence from high income or highly educated populations correlates larger ED with worse outcomes. We theoretically show that the reverse will be true in settings where awareness can play a large role: when self-control is low and costly commitment devices are available. We empirically show that, for residents of a homeless shelter, ED is positively correlated to savings in shelter lockboxes, a costly commitment device. This correlation is stronger for those likely to experience more self-control problems: individuals with past addiction problems.     

Quality self-control and co-supervision mechanism of construction agent in public investment project in China

Public investment project (PIP) plays an important role in the China economy. In order to improve the project management performance of public projects, the government is searching for a scientific system to build a construction management supervision mode. This paper introduces the policy background and connotation of Agent Construction System (ACS). As a public investment construction management model, ACS, is gradually being incorporated into the legal framework, it is necessary to improve the construction agent supervision mechanism. This article analyzes the supervision mechanism of construction agent quality management under the principle of two-stage agent mode and establishes an agent quality self-control system and a government co-supervision system. These systems take the contract management as the core and the project quality objective as the guidance. These systems also consist of a two-dimensional framework of vertical self-control and horizontal supervision, which form a quality supervision mechanism. Based on Rough Set theory, the article proposes the idea of building an agent quality self-control and government co-supervision model, and illustrates it with a flow chart for building the model, which paves the way of quantitative research for the future.     

医学生自我控制对主观幸福感的影响：生活节奏和兴趣爱好的作用

在福建省某高校选取704名医学生,采用自编人口学变量问卷、自我控制量表、生活节奏量表、主观幸福感量表进行问卷测试。结果发现自我控制与主观幸福感呈显著正相关（r=0.511,P＜0.01）;自我控制与生活节奏呈显著正相关（r=0.494,P＜0.01）;生活节奏与主观幸福感呈现显著正相关（r=0.409,P＜0.01）。自我控制水平正向预测主观幸福感(β=0.41, P<0.01),自我控制水平能够正向预测生活节奏(β=0.49,P<0.01)。生活节奏正向预测主观幸福感(β=-0.22,P<0.01)。生活节奏在自我控制和主观幸福感中起部分中介作用。中介效应为0.1059,占总效应的20.7％。兴趣爱好在自我控制和主观幸福感中起到调节作用（β=0.084, t=2.73,P<0.01）。     

An approximate dual-self model and paradoxes of choice under risk

We derive a simplified version of the model of Fudenberg and Levine, 2006, Fudenberg and Levine, 2011 and show how this approximate model is useful in explaining choice under risk. We show that in the simple case of three outcomes, the model can generate indifference curves that “fan out” in the Marschak–Machina triangle, and thus can explain the well-known Allais and common ratio paradoxes that models such as prospect theory and regret theory are designed to capture. At the same time, our model is consistent with modern macroeconomic theory and evidence and generates predictions across a much wider set of domains than these models.     

Social dilemmas: When self-control benefits cooperation

Individuals in a social dilemma may experience a self-control conflict between urges to act selfishly and their better judgment to cooperate. Pairing a public goods game with a subtle framing technique, we test whether perception of self-control conflict strengthens the association between self-control and cooperation. Consistent with our hypothesis, cooperative behavior is positively associated with self-control in the treatment that raised the relative likelihood of perceiving conflict, but not associated with self-control in the treatment that lowered the likelihood. These results indicate that it is important to understand the role of self-control in cooperation.     

Balancing the balance: Self-control mechanisms and compulsive buying

Previous research has mainly focused on identifying why compulsive buyers engage in excessive buying, while their attempts to control problematic buying behavior have largely been ignored. The present research examines the self-control attempts of compulsive buyers. Study 1 uses qualitative in-depth interviews to provide initial insights into the self-control attempts of compulsive buyers. Study 2 adopts a quantitative survey approach, and examines how prudent and compulsive buyers differ in their self-control attempts. The studies demonstrate that compulsive buyers engage in self-control, but differ from prudent buyers in how they apply self-control measures. These differences have implications for interventions that aim to enhance the success of compulsive buyers’ self-control.     

Debt out of control: The links between self-control,compulsive buying,and real debts

In a representative sample of the German population (n = 946), we explored the links between self-control, compulsive buying, and debts. Participants completed the self-control scale (Tangney, Boone, & Baumeister, 2004) and the German Addictive Buying Scale (Raab, Neuner, Reisch, & Scherhorn, 2005). Additionally, they gave information about their real debts. It was observed that self-control was negatively related to debts while compulsive buying was positively related to debts. Detailed analyses revealed that the link between self-control and debts was fully mediated by compulsive buying. Finally, there was a gender effect on compulsive buying: women were more prone to compulsive buying than men. Age also was significantly negatively related to compulsive buying and positively linked to self-control. Household income was not linked to self-control, compulsive buying, and debts. Implications for practice, policy, and research are discussed.     

Appetitive and impulsive: Examining alcohol use via the motivational and self-control systems

This study examines how trait differences in the appetitive and defensive systems and how automatic, impulsive and deliberate, reflective responses to alcohol cues predict overall alcohol use. By utilizing a measure of trait motivational activation and measures of implicit and explicit attitudes toward alcohol that indicate the self-control system – impulsive vs. reflective – that determines behavior, this research demonstrates that higher trait appetitive system activity, ASA, and positive impulsive/implicit alcohol attitudes independently predict alcohol use, while trait defensive system activation, DSA, and explicit attitudes toward alcohol did not independently predict use.     

从社会性发展看幼儿自控能力的培养

自我控制是幼儿自我意识的一个方面,同时也是幼儿社会性发展的重要组成部分,幼儿自控能力的发展和养成,将促进幼儿社会性的良好发展,而幼儿自控能力的养成也需要各种社会性品质的支持。从社会性发展这一视角来认识幼儿自控能力的养成,以幼儿的整体发展带动局部能力的优化,需要在游戏中帮助幼儿内化规则意识,在体验中引导幼儿正确调控情绪,在活动中激发幼儿的坚持性,及在实践中养成幼儿的行为习惯。     

The longitudinal effects of parental monitoring and self-control on depression in Korean adolescents: A multivariate latent growth approach

The purpose of this study was to examine the longitudinal effects of parental monitoring and self-control on depression. To address this purpose, this study investigated the interrelationships among depression, perceived parental monitoring, and self-control—as well as their developmental changes from the eighth to the twelfth grades—by repeated assessment of 3449 Korean adolescents. The data from Korea Youth Panel Survey (KYPS) of the eighth graders who were followed for five years were analyzed using latent growth modeling. The univariate latent growth models showed that adolescents experience an increase in both parental monitoring and self-control but a decline in depression over the five years. In addition, the multivariate latent growth model suggested that the initial level of parental monitoring had significant effects, both directly and indirectly through self-control, on the initial level of depression. The linear changes in parental monitoring were associated with the linear changes in self-control; likewise, the linear changes in self-control were related to those in depression. These results imply that parental monitoring and self-control need to be emphasized as a strategy in order to prevent or alleviate adolescents' depression.