Day two.
The behavioral economics of willpower.
Welcome.
In the last session we explored understanding the psychology of self-control.
Today's objective is to explore the concept of willpower depletion and its impact on decision making.
Today's theoretical approach has one part,
The practice has one segment.
The theory for this section examines the concept of willpower as a deplorable resource.
It speaks of the ego-depletion theory shedding light on how decision fatigue and environmental stimuli can erode self-control.
The behavioral economics of willpower.
The behavioral economics of willpower explores in great detail the intriguing relationship that exists between the economics of self-control and human decision making.
And this discipline integrates knowledge from economics,
Psychology,
And neuroscience to explain how people make decisions,
Control their impulses,
And exercise self-control,
Particularly when short-term desires collide with long-term objectives.
Fundamentally,
Behavioral economics studies how people make decisions by taking into account both irrational and rational factors.
It questions the conventional economic presumption that people make only rational decisions and acknowledges the influence of psychological and environmental factors on decisions.
Key aspects of behavioral economics of willpower.
Number one,
Decision making under uncertainty.
The study of decision making under uncertainty examines how people make decisions in the face of conflicting or incomplete information.
Behavioral economics recognizes that people frequently rely on heuristics or mental shortcuts that can result in biases when making decisions rather than rational calculations.
Here's the exploration.
People frequently steer clear of uncertain situations because they fear losing something or are unsure of what will happen.
And this can make it harder for them to see or to be self-controlling.
Recognizing and reducing uncertainty's impact on impulsive or risk-taking behavior is made easier by having a better understanding of how uncertainty influences decision making.
Number two,
Time preferences and discounting.
Time preferences are the measures by which people compare the present to the future.
Temporal discounting,
A concept of behavioral economics,
Is the process by which individuals reduce the value of future rewards in favor of instant gratification.
Consequences.
Excessive temporal discounting may result in a preference for instant gratification which may affect self-control.
And by discounting of future benefits and overdoing so can be prevented by employing commitment devices or framing future rewards in more concrete terms.
Number three,
Social norms and peer influence.
The study of behavioral economics examines how peer pressure and societal norms impact self-control and decision making.
Individuals frequently modify their behavior in response to peer pressure or social group norms.
Or they conform to societal expectations.
The impact here is that social norms and peer pressure have a big say in how self-control is exercised.
Recognizing when social pressures undermine disciplined behavior and coming up with ways to fend off such influences are made easier with an understanding of these influences.
Number four,
Cognitive biases and heuristic.
The study of behavioral economics explores the different heuristics and cognitive biases that influence judgment.
Making poor decisions can result from biases like confirmation bias,
Which is the search for information to support pre-existing beliefs and anchoring,
Which is the heavy reliance on the first piece of information encountered.
The applications are the following.
Being aware of cognitive biases enables people to take action to mitigate their negative effects on self-control.
Methods such as purposefully pursuing contrasting perspectives or rephrasing data facilitate the making of more rational and well-rounded decisions.
Number five,
Neuroeconomics and neural correlates of self-control.
Neuroeconomics integrates economics,
Psychology,
And neuroscience to comprehend decision-making at the neural level,
And it investigates how the brain makes decisions and regulates impulses and exercises self-control.
Here are the findings.
Researching the neural aspect of this correlates of self-control provides information about how the brain interprets stimuli and restrains impulses and makes decisions,
And this knowledge can result in training plans or interventions that target particular brain areas to improve self-control.
Number six,
Willpower depletion.
The idea of willpower depletion describes how self-control functions as a limited resource that gets less and less with use.
People who practice self-control in one area,
Like avoiding temptations or making disciplined decisions,
Become less capable of exercising self-control in other areas.
Here's the mechanism.
According to research,
Self-control exercises such as making decisions or restraining one's impulses share a common mental pool.
Subsequent acts of self-control get harder as this resource is used up.
Here are the consequences.
Keeping self-control requires an understanding of willpower depletion,
And after extended periods of exercising self-control,
People may find it more difficult to withstand temptations or make moral decisions.
Strategies like making critical decisions early in the day when self-control is stronger,
Taking breaks to refuel mentally,
Or engaging in relaxation exercises can help preserve and replenish self-control resources in the face of willpower depletion.
So let's sum this up plainly.
The main ideas of behavioral economics that are pertinent to self-control are outlined in this section,
And it offers practical guidance on identifying and addressing triggers that may impair self-control.
Gaining an understanding of these facets offers a thorough understanding of the variables affecting self-control,
And people can use techniques to strengthen self-control,
Make more disciplined decisions,
And overcome behavioral biases by understanding the mechanisms underlying willpower depletion,
Decision fatigue,
And environmental influences.
How to self-baseline to measure for success?
Through hands-on activities,
Students can learn how to recognize their own triggers and implement habits,
Habit formation strategies,
And create environments that support self-control.
Congratulations,
We've reached the end of this session,
And in the next session we will discuss emotion regulation as well as self-control a little deeper.
Remember,
The more you think on these concepts,
The faster and easier they may work for you.
Thanks very much for allowing me to serve you,
And as always remember,
It's a great day to be alive.
I'll see you in the next session.
Take care.
Bye for now.
