People that believe willpower is an unlimited resource with a pathway to attaining success in achieving one’s goals are overestimating one of the principal laws of science. Baumeister and Vohs, ( 2016 ), studied the limits to how long you can last and how far you can go using only your willpower to succeed. Over time, they say, the effects of resource depletion impact everyone regardless of any willpower beliefs. In reality, everyone has limited resources, and as depletion increases from mild to severe, the effect on performance can no longer be concealed. Eventually, we all run out of fuel, physically or psychologically, so it would be smart to accept that reality and find a better way to achieve one’s goals.

It’s common for people to believe that self-control, also suggesting energy is consumed in acts of volition. But how much faith and trust can you put in willpower to achieve your goals? Resnick, B., 2018 ) said —“ in a specific situation you can muster the willpower to stop falling back into a bad habit. But relying on willpower alone to accomplish your goal is like relying on an emergency brake when you are driving your car. You should focus on what drives you toward your goals rather than trying to stop obstacles in your way. Using willpower like an emergency brake is bound to fail and in some cases causing you to crash. “

Baumeister and Vohs, ( 2016 ) also presented research to explain willpower and its relationship to self-control. The Strength Model bears some resemblance to lay intuitions and folk notions of willpower, a presumptive source of energy that can be devoted to some undertaking or withheld according to conscious decisions by the individual.

Another reason for failing to implement successful self-control strategies was cited by Resnick, ( 2018 ), “ It turns out that self-control and all the benefits from it may not be related to inhibiting impulses at all and once we cast aside the idea of willpower, we can better understand what actually works to accomplish goals. “  Baumeister and Vohs. ( 2016 ) The Strength Model of Self-Control;  Resnick B. ( 2018 ) Why willpower is overrated ?

The most recent literature has found that self-control is dependent on the successful ability to form and break habits. Baummeister & Ahlquist, ( 2009 ). Self-regulation as a limited resource: Strength Model of control and depletion;  Gillebaart M. ( 2018 ). The operational definition of self-control.

Sleep has been studied across two variables, the quality of sleep and quantity of sleep. Baumeister et al., ( 2018 ) arrived at several conclusions. “ One, quantity of sleep mattered less than quality, though quantity still made a significant difference.  “

Peraccia and Curcio, ( 2018 ), found recent evidences suggest that exposure to video games ( VG ) at bedtime can be a pre-sleep activity, particularly disruptive for teenagers.

Halstead et al. ( 2021 )  studied sleep disturbance and patterns in children with neurodevelopmental conditions and reported similar conclusions – “ insufficient sleep has been found to adversely impact developing children’s cognitive functioning, including memory, attention, and learning, which often leads to the exacerbation of challenging behavior and family stress. “

Multiple studies link poor sleep to self-control failure. Baumeister. et al., ( 2018 ). Self-control “  in the wild;  Peracchia, Sara, Curcio. And Giuseppe, ( 2018 ). Exposure to video games, effects on sleep on post-sleep cognitive abilities, a systemic review of experimental evidences, Halstead E.J. et al., ( 2021 ). Sleep disturbances and patterns in children with neurodevelopmental conditions.

When people do not have the financial resources they need to get by and survive, they live in a state of chronic uncertainty, ( i.e. poverty ) , and such conditions lead to self-control failure. Resnick B. ( 2018 ) expressed “ it is easier to have self-control when you are wealthy because when you are poor the future is less certain. “ Living in an unstable chronic uncertainty about poverty conditions can lead to self-control failure. Resnick B. ( 2018 ),  Why willpower is overrated?

Defensive processing refers to the act of dismissing input or relevant information before reaching a more reasoned conclusion. The APA Dictionary ( 2022 ) states, “ defensive processing is the seeking out, attending to, encoding, interpreting, or elaborating of attitude-resistant information to support or confirm one’s initial attitude. For example, defensive processing can involve avoiding attitude and consistent information in a highly critical fashion in order to refute it. “

Dillard, et al. ( 2018 ) offered the following insight –  “ Defensive reactions offer an explanation for why people reject persuasive messages. A better understanding of defensive reactions requires more precise delineation of the focal construct, the results provide support for a taxonomy of defensive reactions in which factors retain distinctive conceptual status vis-a-vis one another. “ Defensive reactions to threatening health messages: alternative structures and next questions ( 2018 ).

Research confirms that severe-depletion can occur if a person is in chronic pain or suffering from illness. Both factors weaken the body’s immune system which causes the brain and body to compete for limited resources that need to be allocated for self-control or to ending the pain/illness. Baumeister et al, ( 2018 ) presented research to support this finding. “ Insofar as glucose is also used for self-control, the body would presumably prefer to allocate its limited resources to fighting illness, rather than exerting self-control and therefore demands for self-control should be felt as more depleting than normally.” One view extrapolated from this research opined illness and painful injuries  – “ engage the immune system which when highly active consumes considerably more glucose than normal – possibly leaving less for self-control. “

According to Baumeister and Heatherton, ( 1996 ), anger plays a role in self-control failure. It is also well established that anger elicits feelings of fear and acquired fear can become a conditioned response. Acquired fear is a conditioned stimulus, CS, associated with a fearsome, unconditioned stimulus, US, generates learned fear. Acquired fear is at the root of a variety of disorders, among which phobias, generalized anxiety, and the post-traumatic stress disorder( PTSD ). Izquierdo, Cammarota, Viana, Bevilaqua ( 2004 ).

Under-regulation is a self-control strategy that fails. It refers to not exerting adequate effort to do a task. Under-regulation can occur when a lapse or minor transgression is perceived to be catastrophic rather than a minor slip. This perception leads a person to the abdication of all self-control. This is also referred to as Marlott’s model ( Marlott & Gordon, 1985 ). Mis-regulation is an effortful attempt that fails due to unforeseen reasons, ( i.e. beliefs in unlimited willpower ).

In acquiescence failing to exert sufficient self-control defaults to self-control failure.

DeRidler et al. ( 2011 ). Taking Stock of Self-Control.

Gottfredson & Hirschi, ( 1990 ), are widely respected for their work in criminology. Self-control is the primary cause of all antisocial behavior. Other examples of deviant behavior in children include self-injuring, Wojohowski, ( 2017; Taylor and Ibanez, 2015 ). Antisocial behavior is studied in criminal and juvenile delinquency through self-control theory. Gottredson and Hirschi, (1990 ) A General Theory of Crime.

Scientific discovery entered a new age thanks to the invention of functional magnetic resonance imaging technology, (fMRI). In studies we have learned that impairments in regions of the brain do result in the loss of self-control.  Kelly et al., ( 2015 ), have discussed how specific brain structures impact human behavior – “ Self-control is also an executive function; a higher-order cognitive process associated with the dotsolateral prefrontal cortex ( dlPFC ). The activation of the dlPFC during self-co0ntrol has been well documented using fMRI with reduced activation during weakened self-control”

We also now know- “  medial prefrontal cortex damage results in the loss of behavioral control.  “  Eun Joe Kim and Jeansock J. Kim, ( 2019 ).

The prefrontal cortex impairment can result in self-control failure. Behavior is automatically altered by stress effects, which could be an important factor beyond the boundaries of self-control ( Kelly, C.L.,Sunram, Lea, S.I., and Crawford, T.S., 2015 ). The role of motivation, glucose and self-control in the Antisaccade task ( Lerner, JS, et al., 2015 ) Emotion and Decision Making.

People with low trait self-control are more likely to experience feelings of depletion that can result in self-control failure, and into dysfunctional interpersonal relationships. Baumerister, ( 2016 ).

Baumeister and Voles, ( 2017 ), found that when we deplete limited resources, it can lead to unpreventable negative consequences. We know of no findings overcoming severe depletion. This indicates poor decisions by a parent or by a child might be the consequence of severe depletion, a psychological process. Baumeister and Vohs, ( 2016), offered an explanation how this occurs.

It is also understood that depletion increases vulnerability to negative emotion, presumably because defences are weakened, therefore – depletion reduces top-down control.

Depletion of a limited resource, ( i.e. glucose ), leads to many adverse outcomes, ( e.g. a reduction in top-down control, an increased range of impulsive behavior, impairments in logical reasoning, extrapolation ). It would be hard to argue that automatic processes are not depleting. In fact, some recent evidence indicates that automatic emotion regulation, non-conscious, non-deliberate processes that alter emotional states, such as dampening negative affect, can also be depleting ( Pu, Schmeichel and DeMaree, 2010 ).

Beedie & Lane, ( 2011 ), said that depletion effects are modified by the ingestion of glucose. “ These findings suggest a common self-control resource. And collectively, the findings suggest not only that self-control across. “

Beedie & Lane, ( 2011 ), also argued the risk of the body depleting its stores of glucose is all but impossible, except in cases of near death. Depletion effects, they say, depends on the urgent needs of an individual and how blood glucose is transported or used for self-control.

In a smaller body of research several studies found compelling evidence of parental self-control having a major impact on parenting practices and family functioning. Verhoeven et al., ( 2007 ) found, parents who scored lower on the Grasmick, Tittle, Bursic and Arneklev Self-Control Scale ( 1993 ), were more likely to use psychological control more often. In addition, children who have parents who are lower in self-control are likely to be exposed to hostile and less nurturing family environments.

In regard to parenting practices, it has been shown that it is actually possible for a parent to degrade a child’s self-control. Low self-control does not simply result from the failure of parents to install high self-control. Parents may also teach children to be low in self-control. They may do this by modeling low self-control such as when they punish their children in a coercive, angry manner or, more generally, when they act in an erratic or impulsive manner in the course of their daily lives ( Meldrum, R.C., Connolly, G.M., Flexon, J., Gueretter, R.T., ( 2016 ), Parental Low Self-Control, Family Environments and Juvenile Delinquency.

Parental Low Self-Control can model and diminish a child’s reservoir of self-control resources leading to self-control failures ( Unnever, JD,, Cullen, FT,, and Agnew, R., 2006 ) Why is bad parenting criminogenic?

Hyperopia is a term referring to people who are overly controlled. Sometimes rejection and or repudiation is justified. For example, if a hyperopic parent is overly critical of the child, ( i.e., calling the child brainwashed to their face, dismissing the child’s feelings, or by expressing parental rejection. )

The American Psychological Association defines parental rejection as persistent denial of approval, affection, or care of a child by one or both parents, sometimes concealed beneath a cover of overindulgence or over protection. The frequent results are a corrosion of the child’s self-image, inability to form attachments to others, tantrums, generalized hostility, and development of psychophysical and emotional disturbances.

Scientific research has made recent advances in understanding how genetics can impact self-control. Resnick, B., ( 2018 ) found, Some people just experience fewer temptations in part because our dispositions are parsimoniously determined by our genetics. People with high levels of conscientiousness win the genetics lottery. Polderman et al., ( 2015 ) conducted a meta-analysis of twin studies published over the last 50 years in 39 different countries and found compelling evidence that all human traits are heritable. Not one trait had a weighted heritability estimate of zero. Polderman, Boesen,, Kinkenauer, & Bartels, ( 2019 ). “ In the last decade, various studies have shown that almost all traits and behavior are at least partly influenced by genetic factors.

In the largest meta-analysis study of heritability of self-control ( Willems, Boesen, Li, Finkenauer & Bartels  2019 ) found – “ 60% of the variation in self-control is due to genetic variation between individuals in the population. Overall, this indicates that there is indeed a robust genetic effect on self-control. “

The research on resiliency is in its infancy, but recent studies can help explain how resiliency plays an important role in self-control. Although resiliency is not a trait, Maul et al. ( 2019 ), found, resilience is undeniably influenced by genetic factors, but very little is known about the exact underlying mechanism. A recent published genome-wide association study on resilience, ( GWAS ), has identified three new susceptibility loci, DCLk2, KLHL36, and KLHL36, and SLC15A5 “ The conclusion of this study stated an individual with a predisposition for low self-control may struggle with the regulation of disposition for higher self-control.

The conclusion of this study stated – “ an individual with a predisposition for low self-control may struggle with the regulation of thoughts, behaviors, and impulses while an individual with a genetic predisposition for high self-control may excel in dealing with self-control challenges. “  ( Willems et al., 2019 ).

This research asserts that self-control partly depends on identifying a self-control conflict and a successful self-control strategy. “ The probability of identifying self-control conflict decreases. “  Also, successful self-control “ is contingent on identifying conflict between temptation and  “ better judgment and on successfully implementing self-control strategies. “  ( Myrseth, Krisstian Ove, & Fishbach, Ayclet 2009 ).

Research distinguishes between state self-control and dispositional self-control Tangney et al. ( 2004 ). State self-control varies across situations and time. Ample empirical evidence confirms that people’s capacity to exert self-control is susceptible to situational influences, including previous attempt at self-control. ( Baumeister et al. 1998; Muraven & Baummeister, 2000 ) mood, ( Fishback & Lebroo,, 2007; Tice, Baumeister, Shmueli, & Muraven, 2007 ) working memory capacity, ( Hofmann, Geschwender, Friese, Wiers, & Schmitt, 2008;  Schmerivhel, 2007 ), and motivation, Muraven, 2007 ).

Dispositional self-control is assumed to be relatively stable across situations and over time, people with high self-control are better than others at controlling their impulses ( Gottfredson and Hirschi, 1990; W. Mischel et al., 1996;  Rothbart, Ellis, Rueda, & Posner, 2003 ).

Self-control failure is sometimes the result of self-control strategies that fail.For example, in a Canadian study ( Resnick, B. 2013 ) found, “ The students who exerted more self-control were not more successful in accomplishing their goals. What’s more, the people who exercised more effortful self-control reported feeling more depleted. So not only were they not meeting their goals, they were also exhausted from trying. “

The classic definitions of self-control focused on effort and inhibition, but did not include any subsequent neurobiological factors.