Research on self-control: An integrating framework

TLDR

Self‑control is defined as preferring a larger, delayed reinforcer over a smaller, immediate one, and has been studied across three distinct traditions: Mischel’s social‑learning theory, Herrnstein’s matching law, and optimal‑foraging theory. The study proposes a framework that integrates research from all three traditions. This framework comprises a procedural analysis that establishes common terminology, a causal analysis that links self‑control to reinforcer values and other factors, and a theoretical analysis that situates these effects within evolutionary theory. The authors find that self‑control is directly driven by reinforcer amount and delay, modulated by past experiences and other factors, and that the integrated framework provides a more predictive description of self‑control.

Abstract

Abstract The tendency to choose a larger, more delayed reinforcer over a smaller, less delayed one has frequently been termed “selfcontrol.” Three very different research traditions – two models emphasizing the control of local contingencies of reinforcement (Mischel's social learning theory and Herrnstein's matching law) and molar maximization models (specifically optimal foraging theory) – have all investigated behavior within the self-control paradigm. A framework is proposed to integrate research from all three research areas. This framework consists of three parts: a procedural analysis, a causal analysis, and a theoretical analysis. The procedural analysis provides a common procedural terminology for all three areas. The causal analysis establishes that, in all three research traditions, self-control varies directly with the current physical values of the reinforcers; that is, choices increase with reinforcer amount and decrease with reinforcer delay. But self-control also varies according to past events to which a subject has been exposed, and according to current factors other than the reinforcers. Each of the three models has therefore incorporated these indirect effects on self-control by postulating unobservable mechanisms. In all three cases, these mechanisms represent a subject's behavior as a function of a perceived environment. The theoretical analysis demonstrates that evolutionary theory can encompass the research from all three areas by considering differences in the adaptiveness of self-control in different situations. This integration provides a better and more predictive description of self-control.