The good, the bad, and the willpower

How often are you encouraged to show a bit of self-control, a bit of willpower? It might be resisting temptation in the form of a chocolate biscuit, it could be giving up cigarettes, or maybe it is just making yourself get out of bed a half hour early and do some exercise. It all takes willpower but how can you create willpower? According to two new studies you need to get involved in some good or bad behaviour to build up your self-control.

In the first study participants were given a dollar and told to either keep it or give it to charity. They were then asked to hold up a two kilogram weight for as long as they could. On average those who had donated to charity could hold up the weight for ten minutes longer than those who had kept the money. So it might seem that being nice improves endurance and willpower but wait, there’s more.

In a second study the subjects held a weight while writing fictional stories of themselves either helping another, harming another, or doing something that had no impact on others. As in the first study, those who wrote about doing a good deed showed greater willpower in being able to keep the weight help up for longer. However, here’s the wrinkle, those who thought about doing harm to someone showed even greater willpower than those who wrote about doing good deeds.

So a pure heart does not make your arm strong but what is happening here?

The researchers think that there seems to be a power in moral events. It is all theory but somehow by seeing themselves as either good or bad people become empowered to have more self-control and to push themselves to greater endurance.

The researchers call this a “moral transformation” because good deeds, or even naughty deeds, can enhance self-control. Maybe it all comes down to a strong sense of self enabling strong mindedness?

Whatever the psychological mechanism, when you next need to exert some willpower try doing a good deed, or even a slightly naughty one, just beforehand; you might be able to resist that chocolate biscuit after all.

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