The skill of self-control.

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Cognitive Science
• Behavioral Economics

Background:

• Self-control is often conceptualized as a skill, yet the agency enabling its exertion remains unexplained.
• Existing models do not fully address how abstract intentions translate into context-specific self-control strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose the skill model of self-control, explaining skillful agency in managing regulatory strategies.
• To address the guidance problem: transforming abstract intentions into fine-grained control processes for self-control.

Main Methods:

• Borrowing conceptual tools from hierarchical models of motor skills.
• Introducing flexible practical reasoning as a key mechanism for strategy management.
• Integrating non-propositional feedback signals, like mental effort, into strategy revision.

Main Results:

• Self-control involves managing and monitoring regulatory strategies through flexible practical reasoning.
• Implementation intentions and motivation framing literature support the skill model.
• Expert self-control agents develop strategies that prevent contrary motivations, making direct self-control exertion less frequent.

Conclusions:

• The skill model provides a framework for understanding self-control agency and strategy management.
• Flexible practical reasoning is crucial for skilled self-control.
• Expertise in self-control leads to a self-effacing skill, minimizing the need for its direct application.