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Related Concept Videos

Self-Discrepancy Theory02:45

Self-Discrepancy Theory

One influential perspective on what motivates people's behavior is detailed in Tory Higgin's self-discrepancy theory (Higgins, 1987). He proposed that people hold disagreeing internal representations of themselves that lead to different emotional states.
Self-Regulation01:25

Self-Regulation

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Growth versus Fixed Mindset01:24

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 9, 2026

Multimodal Protocol for Assessing Metacognition and Self-Regulation in Adults with Learning Difficulties
12:55

Multimodal Protocol for Assessing Metacognition and Self-Regulation in Adults with Learning Difficulties

Published on: September 27, 2020

Self-control: changing our perspective on performance.

Harry F Suter1, Andrew N Radford1, Alasdair I Houston1

  • 1School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1TQ, UK.

Proceedings. Biological Sciences
|July 7, 2026
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Animal self-control research using wait times may be flawed. A new model suggests minimizing wait time differences, not maximizing wait duration, is key for fitness and a better cross-species comparison.

Keywords:
cognitive evolutioncognitive performancecomparative cognitionoptimal foraging theoryrate maximizationself-control

More Related Videos

Errors as a Means of Reducing Impulsive Food Choice
07:07

Errors as a Means of Reducing Impulsive Food Choice

Published on: June 5, 2016

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jul 9, 2026

Multimodal Protocol for Assessing Metacognition and Self-Regulation in Adults with Learning Difficulties
12:55

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Published on: September 27, 2020

Errors as a Means of Reducing Impulsive Food Choice
07:07

Errors as a Means of Reducing Impulsive Food Choice

Published on: June 5, 2016

Area of Science:

  • Animal behavior
  • Cognitive evolution
  • Foraging theory

Background:

  • Self-control in animals is typically measured by wait times for larger-later rewards.
  • Longer wait times are assumed to indicate better self-control and higher fitness.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To develop an optimal foraging model to re-evaluate self-control metrics in animals.
  • To propose a novel performance metric for comparing self-control across species.

Main Methods:

  • Developed an optimal foraging model to analyze the relationship between wait times, fitness, and metabolic demands.
  • Generated qualitative predictions to compare with empirical wait time trends across species.

Main Results:

  • Waiting longer for larger-later rewards does not always increase fitness.
  • Minimizing the difference between predicted and observed wait times is a better fitness indicator.
  • Wait times increase with basal metabolic rate, suggesting a link to metabolic demands.

Conclusions:

  • Animal wait times may reflect metabolic needs rather than self-control capacity.
  • The proposed metric offers a more accurate framework for interspecies self-control comparisons.
  • Challenges existing hypotheses in cognitive evolution regarding animal self-control.