Self-control, an aspect of inhibitory control, is the ability to regulate one's emotions, thoughts, and behavior in the face of temptations and impulses. As an executive function, it is a cognitive process that is necessary for regulating one's behavior in order to achieve specific goals.
A related concept in psychology is emotional self-regulation. Self-regulation, whether emotional or behavioral, is a limited resource which In the short term, overuse of self-control leads to depletion. However, in the long term, the use of self-control can strengthen and improve it over time.
Self-control is also a key concept in the general theory of crime, a major theory in criminology. The theory was developed by Michael Gottfredson and Travis Hirschi in their book A General Theory of Crime (1990). Gottfredson and Hirschi define self-control as the differential tendency of individuals to avoid criminal acts independent of the situations in which they find themselves. Individuals with low self-control tend to be impulsive, insensitive towards others, risk takers, short-sighted, and nonverbal. About 70% of the variance in questionnaire data operationalizing one construct of self-control was found to be genetic.
As a virtue
Classically, the virtue of self-control was usually called "continence" and was contrasted with the vice of or incontinence. "Willpower" is another common synonym.
Sometimes self-control under particular temptations was subsumed by other virtues. For example, self-control in fearful situations as courage, or self-control when angry as good temper.
Christians may describe the struggle with as a battle between spirit (which is inclined to God) and flesh (which is mired in sin). Jesus, as his crucifixion approached, felt himself recoil from this task, and noticed "the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak". Paul the Apostle, in his letter to the Romans, complained, "I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.... I know that the good does not dwell within me, that is, in my flesh. For the desire to do the good lies close at hand, but not the ability". St. Augustine wrote in his Confessions, "As a youth I prayed, 'Give me chastity and continence, but not right away.'"
The related virtue of temperance, or , has been discussed by philosophers and religious thinkers from Plato and Aristotle to the present day, and more recently by psychologists, particularly in the positive psychology field. Temperance concerns having a well-chosen and well-regulated set of desires, while self control concerns responding to ones desires wisely. Aristotle suggested this analogy: The intemperate person is like a city with bad laws; the person without self control is like a city that has good laws on the books but that does not enforce them.
Research
Counteractive
Desire is an affectively charged motivation toward a certain object, person, or activity, often, but not limited to, one associated with pleasure or relief from displeasure. Desires vary in strength and duration. A desire becomes a temptation when it impacts or enters the individual's area of self-control, if the behavior resulting from the desire conflicts with an individual's values or other self-regulatory goals. A limitation to research on desire is that people desire different things. In research into what people desire in real world settings, over one week 7,827 self-reports of desires were collected, including differences in desire frequency and strength, degree of conflict between desires and other goals, and the likelihood of resisting desire and success of the resistance. The most common and strongly experienced desires are those related to bodily needs like eating, drinking, and sleeping.
Self-control dilemmas occur when long-term goals and values clash with short-term temptations. Counteractive Self-Control Theory states that when presented with such a dilemma, we lessen the significance of the instant rewards while momentarily increasing the importance of our overall values. When asked to rate the perceived appeal of different snacks before making a decision, people valued health bars over chocolate bars. However, when asked to do the rankings after having chosen a snack, there was no significant difference of appeal. Further, when college students completed a questionnaire prior to their course registration deadline, they ranked leisure activities as less important and enjoyable than when they filled out the survey after the deadline passed. The stronger and more available the temptation is, the harsher the devaluation will be.