PsyBlog: How to Improve Your Self-Control - The Diigo Meta page

• 23 Jun 09
  

  Manoj Chandrasekharan

  HOw to improve self control

  psychology self improvement self-control mind brain

  • 3. How to improve your self-control

    
    

    Fujita et al.'s (2006) studies, along with other similar findings reported by Fujita (2008), suggest that self-control can be increased by these related ways of thinking:
    

    • Global processing. This means trying to focus on the wood rather than the trees: seeing the big picture and our specific actions as just one part of a major plan or purpose. For example, someone trying to eat healthily should focus on the ultimate goal and how each individual decision about what to eat contributes (or detracts) from that goal.
    • Abstract reasoning. This means trying to avoid considering the specific details of the situation at hand in favour of thinking about how actions fit into an overall framework - being philosophical. Someone trying to add more self-control to their exercise regime might try to think less about the details of the exercise, and instead focus on an abstract vision of the ideal physical self, or how exercise provides a time to re-connect mind and body.
    • High-level categorisation. This means thinking about high-level concepts rather than specific instances. Any long-term project, whether in business, academia or elsewhere can easily get bogged down by focusing too much on the minutiae of everyday processes and forgetting the ultimate goal. Categorising tasks or project stages conceptually may help an individual or group maintain their focus and achieve greater self-discipline.
    
    

    These are just some examples of specific instances, but with a little creativity the same principles can be applied to many situations in which self-control is required. Ultimately these three ways of thinking are different ways of saying much the same thing: avoid thinking locally and specifically and practice thinking globally, objectively and abstractly, and increased self-control should follow.

• 

  Antonio Roman

  health mind science self control

• 08 Apr 09
  

  lbecker2
• 10 Mar 09
  

  Craig King
  • Global processing. This means trying to focus on the wood rather than the trees: seeing the big picture and our specific actions as just one part of a major plan or purpose. For example, someone trying to eat healthily should focus on the ultimate goal and how each individual decision about what to eat contributes (or detracts) from that goal.
  • Abstract reasoning. This means trying to avoid considering the specific details of the situation at hand in favour of thinking about how actions fit into an overall framework - being philosophical. Someone trying to add more self-control to their exercise regime might try to think less about the details of the exercise, and instead focus on an abstract vision of the ideal physical self, or how exercise provides a time to re-connect mind and body.
• 30 Jan 09
  

  Buthaina Al-Othman

  avoid thinking locally and specifically and practice thinking globally, objectively and abstractly, and increased self-control should follow.

  thinking selfcontrol psychology psyblog

• 30 Nov 08
  

  Tamoor Tanvir
• 19 Oct 08
  

  jeunium jeunium

  self_help

• 06 Oct 08
  

  Leyla Bonilla

  interesante psychology selfcontrol

  • It never ceases to amaze just how different two people's views of exactly the same event can be: one person's freedom fighter is another's terrorist.
  • why they maintain good physical health
  • 10 more annotations...
  • • Participants tended to put answer such as: "To do well in school." This got them thinking about ends rather than means - the ultimate purpose of physical health.
    • how they maintained their physical health. Naturally they responded with things like: "Go exercise". In other words they focused on means rather than ends, the actual process.
    • low-construal thinking condition (thinking about means rather than ends
    • Those participants who had been encouraged to think in high-level, abstract terms demonstrated greater self-control in enduring the discomfort of the handgrip in order to receive more accurate personality profiles.
    • Research reveals that people find it much easier to make decisions that demonstrate self-control when they are thinking about events that are distant in time, for example how much exercise they will do next week or what they will eat tomorrow (Fujita, 2008). Similarly they make much more disciplined decisions on behalf of other people than they do for themselves. People implicitly follow the maxim: do what I say, not what I do.
    • Global processing. This means trying to focus on the wood rather than the trees: seeing the big picture and our specific actions as just one part of a major plan or purpose. For example, someone trying to eat healthily should focus on the ultimate goal and how each individual decision about what to eat contributes (or detracts) from that goal.
    • Abstract reasoning. This means trying to avoid considering the specific details of the situation at hand in favour of thinking about how actions fit into an overall framework
    • Someone trying to add more self-control to their exercise regime might try to think less about the details of the exercise, and instead focus on an abstract vision of the ideal physical self, or how exercise provides a time to re-connect mind and body.
    • Categorising tasks or project stages conceptually may help an individual or group maintain their focus and achieve greater self-discipline.
    • avoid thinking locally and specifically and practice thinking globally, objectively and abstractly, and increased self-control should follow.
• 

  isaac Mao
  • 
  • Temptation comes in many forms, often so potent, so animal, that it seems impossible to resist. Eating too much, drinking too much, spending too much or letting the heart rule the head. We get instant messages from deep in the gut that resonate through the mind, trying to dictate our behaviour.
• 05 Oct 08
  

  Dizzy Dizzy

  selfimprovement self-improvement self-control selfcontrol

• 

  sudhang
  • One of humanity's most useful skills, without which advanced civilisations would not exist, is being able to engage our higher cognitive functions, our self-control, to resist these temptations.
  • Psychologists have found that self-control is strongly associated with what we label success: higher self-esteem, better interpersonal skills, better emotional responses and, perhaps surprisingly, few drawbacks at even very high levels of self-control
  • 7 more annotations...
  • • Dr Fujita and colleagues have proposed that abstract thinking and psychological distance are particularly important in self-control
    • They needed participants to be thinking in either a high-level way (abstract - seeing the whole forest) or a low-level way (concrete - seeing individual trees).
    • psychological distance
    • people find it much easier to make decisions that demonstrate self-control when they are thinking about events that are distant in time
    • Global processing. This means trying to focus on the wood rather than the trees
    • Abstract reasoning. This means trying to avoid considering the specific details of the situation at hand in favour of thinking about how actions fit into an overall framework - being philosophical.
    • High-level categorisation. This means thinking about high-level concepts rather than specific instances.
• 

  FruFru FourOne
• 

  Kent Sin
• 04 Oct 08
  

  jusran mawardi

  psycho

• 30 Sep 08
  

  Geekgirl 397

  psychology logic reason

• 

  Rudy Garns

  New research suggests self-control can be improved using abstract reasoning.

  control psychology grue

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