‘Farsighted impulsivity’ and the new psychology of self-control

‘Farsighted impulsivity’ and the new psychology of self-control

When most people think about happiness, they tend to think about fun and pleasure.

Which is fine, because that’s partly what happiness is about.

But real happiness is also something much deeper, and more meaningful.

And so real happiness requires, at times, self-control and discipline …

via Psyche by Adam Bulley

When people prioritise the present, it’s not because they’re being short-sighted – quite the opposite could be true

In his Confessions, Saint Augustine declared he’d been ‘supremely wretched’ in his youth – an immoral and impulsive sinner. Turning to help from the heavens, he prayed to God: ‘Grant me chastity and continence, but not yet.’

Augustine’s prayer to delay the onset of good behaviour captures the familiar bartering of human willpower – the diet can always start tomorrow; I’ll skip the flossing, but just for tonight. The prayer also captures a frequently overlooked characteristic of self-control. Augustine anticipated that, once he buckled down, he’d be missing out. He used his far-reaching foresight to prioritise the present.

You might be inclined to think of foresight as the polar opposite of impulsivity. Surely, failures to delay gratification reflect poor planning – why else would we splash out on products we don’t need, drink too many cocktails before tomorrow morning’s meeting, or order that extra portion of fries in spite of our diet? A lack of long-term thinking must be the culprit; an inability to appreciate the delayed benefits of patience. This view of self-control as a battle between rash, short-sighted impulsivity and prudent, deliberate foresight has roots in ideas inherited from the ancient Greeks and has become a mainstay in the modern psychology of decision-making.

For instance, the International Society for Research on Impulsivity (an affiliate of the Switzerland-based World Psychiatric Association) defines a preference for smaller rewards available now over larger, but later rewards as a form of impulsivity that involves a ‘lack of planning and lack of regard for future consequences’. Countless academic articles and self-help books sing to the same tune – characterising immediate gratification as a short-sighted hitch while praising the virtues of long-term thinking as a means for overcoming temptation. Many people have heard of the marshmallow tests, where those children most willing to delay gratification for a second marshmallow did better in various domains in life, such as careers and health, when followed up even decades later. To the farsighted go the spoils, or so we’re frequently told.

Yet, for all its intuitive appeal, this story rests on what I think is a false dichotomy between foresight and impulsivity. The fact that people can use their foresight to prioritise the present reveals that many behaviours that seem like failures of willpower are not caused by a disinclination to plan ahead at all. Rather, many supposedly ‘impulsive’ behaviours actually arise from our capacity for long-term thinking. This calls for a rewrite of the conventional story of self-control.

Consider how your decision-making can be influenced by the motivation to avoid future regrets about missing out. The behavioural economist Ran Kivetz and his colleagues have shown this kind of ‘farsighted impulsivity’ in action: to avoid future regret at missing out, consumers will intentionally shirk their savings to splurge on an exciting vacation, gourmet dinner-for-two, or fancy box of Swiss chocolate truffles. Just like Augustine, they’re consciously choosing to prioritise immediate pleasure…

… keep reading the full & original article HERE