The Science of Self-Control

This book proposes a new science of self-control based on the principles of behavioral psychology and economics. Claiming that insight and self-knowledge are insufficient for controlling ones behavior Howard Rachlin argues that the only way to achieve such control--and ultimately happiness--is through the development of harmonious patterns of behavior. Most personal problems with self-control arise because people have difficulty delaying immediate gratification for a better future reward. The alcoholic prefers to drink now. If she is feeling good a drink will make her feel better. If she is feeling bad a drink will make her feel better. The problem is that drinking will eventually make her feel worse. This sequence--the consistent choice of a highly valued particular act (such as having a drink or a smoke) that leads to a low-valued pattern of acts--is called "the primrose path." To avoid it the author presents a strategy of "soft commitment " consisting of the development of valuable patterns of behavior that bridge over individual temptations. He also proposes from economics the concept of the substitutability of "positive addictions " such as social activity or exercise for "negative addictions " such as drug abuse or overeating. Self-control may be seen as the interaction with ones own future self. Howard Rachlin shows that indeed the value of the whole--of ones whole life--is far greater than the sum of the values of its individual parts.