ABSTRACT
This chapter describes two types of self-control processes: proactive and reactive self-control. It reviews what research reveals about the psychological mechanisms and behavioral strategies involved in each type and how these ultimately lead to or undermine self-control success. Supporting the assertion that reactive inhibition is a resource-intensive process, research suggests that decrements in the resources needed to inhibit temptation impulses lead to self-control failure. Even when avoiding a temptation entirely is impossible, self-control can still be made easier if one avoids attending to the tempting stimulus. For example, young children instructed to actively avoid paying attention to a gift and other attention-drawing temptations are better able to resist the temptation than children who are just asked to focus on their task. Most research on self-control has assumed that self-control requires processes that are willfully initiated and executed by the person. Another way to promote self-control is by bolstering the value of the globally motivated goals relative to locally motivated temptations.
