title: Does self-control improve with practice? Evidence from a six-week training program.
abstract: Can self-control be improved through practice? Several studies have found that repeated practice of tasks involving self-control improves performance on other tasks relevant to self-control. However, in many of these studies, improvements after training could be attributable to methodological factors (e.g., passive control conditions). Moreover, the extent to which the effects of training transfer to real-life settings is not yet clear. In the present research, participants (N = 174) completed a 6-week training program of either cognitive or behavioral self-control tasks. We then tested the effects of practice on a range of measures of self-control, including lab-based and real-world tasks. Training was compared with both active and no-contact control conditions. Despite high levels of adherence to the training tasks, there was no effect of training on any measure of self-control. Trained participants did not, for example, show reduced ego depletion effects, become better at overcoming their habits, or report exerting more self-control in everyday life. Moderation analyses found no evidence that training was effective only among particular groups of participants. Bayesian analyses suggested that the data were more consistent with a null effect of training on self-control than with previous estimates of the effect of practice. The implication is that training self-control through repeated practice does not result in generalized improvements in self-control. (PsycINFO Database Record
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, University of Sussex.
authors.forename: Eleanor
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Miles
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
authors.forename: Paschal
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sheeran
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Sheffield.
authors.forename: Harriet
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Baird
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Sheffield.
authors.forename: Ian
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Macdonald
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Sheffield.
authors.forename: Thomas L
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Webb
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, University of Sussex.
authors.forename: Peter R
authors.initials: PR
authors.lastname: Harris
mesh_terms: D001499:Bayes Theorem; D001521:Behavior Therapy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011214:Practice, Psychological; D000068356:Self-Control; D016896:Treatment Outcome