ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the evidence that motivation rather than capacity plays a prominent role in the exercise of self-control. It explores the model of these motivational processes as a system of effort evaluation and allocation and discusses how this framework provides a comprehensive account of people’s experiences of and engagement in self-control. Although this metaphorical strength model of self-control often aptly describes the observed limits of control, research has focused on going beyond such metaphors and better articulating the psychological mechanisms responsible for the experienced difficulty of prolonged control. Baumeister et al.’s strength model of self-regulation postulates a general, but limited, capacity of mental resources that depletes with use. This would readily explain people’s observed struggle to sustain self-regulation. On the whole, the motivated effort-allocation model of self-regulation integrates the newly emerging research on the various motivational influences that determine whether people engage in self-regulation.
