If high self-control has a downside, these psychologists couldn ’t find it

By Emma Young Self-control has been dubbed a “master virtue” – one which enables so many others, such as selflessness and perseverance. Indeed, better control of short-term impulses in conflict with long-term goals is linked to everything from greater health to greater wealth. It’s no surprise, then, that schools are adopting strategies designed to improve their students’ self-control, under the assumption that there is no downside. But is there…? Some researchers have argued that there might be. High levels of self-control might promote obsessive-compulsive tendencies, or a dysfunctional kind of perfectionism, in which a person rigidly strives for unreachable standards. Another potential downside has been suggested: “Too much” self-control might lead to “frequent and sometimes unnecessary regulation of emotions, thoughts and behaviours, resulting in a life marked by rigidity and blandness, thereby lowering subjective wellbeing” note the authors of a new paper on the topic, published in the Journal of Personality.  To date, there’s been little actual research to investigate the interplay between changing levels of self-control and wellbeing. So the team – led by Christopher Wiese at Purdue University and including Roy Baumeister of willpower fame and Angela Duckworth, known for her work on “grit” –  ran a series of six studies involving a total of more than 5,000 schoolchildren, college undergraduates and adults aged u...
Source: BPS RESEARCH DIGEST - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Tags: Emotion Source Type: blogs