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Manifestations of impulsivity and self-control
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van Baal, Simon Thomas (2022) Manifestations of impulsivity and self-control. PhD thesis, University of Warwick ; Monash University.
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Official URL: http://webcat.warwick.ac.uk/record=b3942550
Abstract
Many decisions and behaviours involve impulsivity and self-control; people deal with urges, cravings, and temptations by deliberating, contemplating counterfactual or future scenarios, and committing themselves to policies for action. People who live in developed economies require more self-control than ever, as our environment relies on consumers succumbing to their impulses; fast food, addictive smartphone apps, one-click online purchasing, and other temptations are ubiquitous.
A vast body of research notwithstanding, we lack a comprehensive theoretical framework for understanding how impulsivity and self-control manifest in decision-making and behaviour. As a result, we are unable to provide a satisfactory answer to the question of how impulsivity and self-control relate to one another: is one the absence of the other, or is the relationship more complex? This gap in understanding limits our research efforts, and thereby our opportunities for implementing systemic change, decision aids and behavioural interventions.
Using methods from philosophy, psychology and economics, this interdisciplinary thesis examines, conceptually and empirically, manifestations of impulsivity and self-control. I develop a conceptual framework of what it is to be impulsive or self-controlled, such that we may better understand how these cognitive processes manifest in people’s lives. The framework reveals conceptual limitations inherent in much theorising and experimental work, pointing to a more nuanced understanding, with the potential to open new avenues of research and intervention.
Aspects of the conceptual framework are then unfolded in empirical studies; I examine the roles of impulsivity, self-control, and deliberation in time preferences. I use ecological momentary assessment to study how people experience and deal with urges in everyday life and I investigate how people balance tending to their wants and needs against prosocial behaviour using survey experiments and an economic game.
I leverage my understanding of impulsivity and self-control to develop and test behavioural interventions designed to help people make better decisions by providing deliberation aids and changes in incentives. Specifically, I assess whether prompting people to contemplate a positive future or consequences to others can change the way they experience urges, and whether eliciting evaluative judgment or meta-preferences can change choice patterns. Moreover, I investigate in a public health setting whether different communication styles and a change in uncertain collective costs can promote prosocial behaviour. Findings reveal that these interventions indeed can have a positive effect on our decision-making, consistent with the conceptual analysis.
Overall, the thesis provides a nuanced picture of how impulsivity and self-control manifest in daily life and tests interventions aimed at helping people deal with their impulses, and with balancing needs and wants against prosociality and goals for the future.
Item Type: | Thesis (PhD) | ||||
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Subjects: | B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology R Medicine > RA Public aspects of medicine |
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Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): | Impulsive personality, Impulse, Self-control, Decision making, Public health | ||||
Official Date: | 2022 | ||||
Dates: |
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Institution: | University of Warwick ; Monash University | ||||
Theses Department: | Department of Psychology | ||||
Thesis Type: | PhD | ||||
Publication Status: | Unpublished | ||||
Supervisor(s)/Advisor: | Hohwy, Jakob ; Walasek, Lukasz ; Verdejo García, Antonio | ||||
Sponsors: | Monash Warwick Alliance | ||||
Format of File: | |||||
Extent: | xv, 221 pages : illustrations | ||||
Language: | eng |
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