This study tests the hypothesis that report cards and standardized assessments test different things – specifically, that report cards focus more on testing self-control, and standardizes assessments on testing intelligence Their reasoning is that the individual components which build into a report card grade, like paying attention in class, doing homework, and showing effort, primarily require self-control. … Read more

Given the increasing evidence that self-control influences academic performance, it is important to try to increase the self-control of children. Of most interest are motivation strategies which have an immediate impact and don’t require a substantial time investment (e.g. unlike meditation). This study evaluated the impact of mental contrasting on academic performance. Mental contrasting is … Read more

Positive Psychology Scales and Measurements The Brief Self-Control Scale (Tangney et al., 2004) is a 13-item questionnaire, which asks participants to endorse statements on a 5-point scale where 1 = not like me at all and 5 = very much like me (e.g., “I have a hard time breaking bad habits” and “I do certain things … Read more

Through a series of 3 studies, the idea that temptation can be domain-specific is explored. The authors bring up the example of Tiger Woods – of how he displayed paragon level self-discipline in most areas of his life, but was found to have succumbed to temptation over a dozen times in one specific area (Holly Sampson, etc…) … Read more

Given the increasing evidence that self-control influences academic performance, it is important to try to increase the self-control of children. Of most interest are motivation strategies which have an immediate impact and don’t require a substantial time investment (e.g. unlike meditation). This study evaluated the impact of the combination of mental contrasting and implementation intentions on … Read more

Do levels of self-control in young children predict future weight status? Maybe. The level of self-control contained by an eight-grader four years earlier explains 8% of the variance of their weight. But after controlling for their BMI four years earlier, self-control explains just 1% of the variance of their weight. This suggests that self-control starts … Read more

Some combination of personality, intelligence, and environmental factors determine success. Intelligence and environment are usually considered to have a much larger role than personality. This study shows that personality may play a larger factor in academic performance than previously thought. Some background: The research behind IQ and performance in adolescents Greater ability to delay gratification measured at … Read more

Can you predict achievement from self-control? Dozens of studies have already established that personality can influence important life outcomes, like getting a good job, staying married, and doing well in school. However, these studies are rarely if ever experimental. As a consequence, hidden variables could be skewing the results. This study improves the validity of using … Read more

The Science of Compassion See the studies behind compassion. Why does compassion help? What can it do? Why does it matter? Discover the science of compassion and how it can make a difference in your life. Many studies are beginning to show not only the positive impact of having more compassion but the effectiveness of techniques to … Read more

The relationship is strong but complicated – it’s not as simple as exercise = happiness. The Role of Depression in Short-Term Mood and Fatigue Responses to Acute Exercise Authors explored the differing impact of one-time, high-intensity exercise on sedentary exercisers and sedentary, depressed exercisers. Acute high intensity exercise resulted in transient immediate improvements in depressed mood among individuals … Read more