wCHAP.27

(7/17/02)

When the average person in our society talks about self-control, they normally use the term "will-power." This concept lies at the heart of their understanding of human behavior and affects how society treats law-breakers, dieting, saving money, etc. However, as scientists have attempted to better understand and predict human behavior, they have learned that "will-power" has not turned out to be a useful concept.

Great strides have been taken in the past decade in the area of self-control procedures as scientists have found the actual principles and processes involved in self-regulation. Although the area is very complex, and a great deal remains to be learned, current understanding is sufficient to help us all get a better grip on this issue.

Michael J. Mahoney and Carl E. Thoresen, professors at Pennsylvania State University and Stanford University respectively, discuss this issue in depth and present many useful ideas in their book, SELF-CONTROL: POWER TO THE PEOPLE[1]. This is what they say about their book in its foreword, "In this book, we have presented a brief introduction to what may well be the most promising frontier in modern behavioral sciences. We believe that self-control skills -- developed and refined through careful empirical methods -- offer excitingly effective means for the attainment of personally meaningful goals. In this sense, behavioral self-control represents an 'applied humanism' -- a humane and long-awaited technology for giving power to the persons."

Mahoney and Thoresen consider the concept of self control as a function of the ability to discriminate the antecedents and consequences of the target behavior and the ability to alter the environmental factors which influence that behavior. This new way of defining self control has enabled scientists to examine such behavior and develop meaningful information about how to help people develop the ability to be self managing.

There are three important features involved in self control: 1). It always involves two or more behavioral options; 2). these options usually have consequences which conflict; and, 3). environmental factors generally maintain or prompt the self regulating pattern of the behavior.

There are also three processes which are necessary factors in successfully exerting self control to change behavior: 1). The target behavior must be carefully specified; 2). the antecedents and consequences must be identified; and, 3). an action plan which alters some of those antecedents and/or consequences must be implemented.

However, from my perspective we cannot meaningful discuss self control without becoming aware of two concepts: choice and the "I." Both of these concepts are explored in some depth in Volume I, Chapter Two. In that same chapter the THIRD WAY OF WISDOM -- Strive to make the best choices possible -- encourages the person seeking to become an Enlightened Person to strive to make the best choices possible. But talking about the choice process without clarifying the nature of the "I" is a prescription for confusion. The "I" makes choices out of its knowledge and understanding and the relevant aspects of the "I." Mahoney and Thoresen are presenting practical ways to impact these choices by dealing with the way the "I" works. They point out that to achieve self control one must become a good observer of oneself. One must learn to recognize the internal and external cues which elicit the target behavior. One must know how often the behavior occurs and, very specifically, of just what the behavior consists. And one must have clear understanding of the consequences which immediately follow the behavior. In order to accomplish this a person must learn to observe and record behavior accurately. The techniques used in recording the self observations may include behavioral logs, counters, charts, or timers.

Any of these may be used in establishing a base line of the behavior in question. It is important that such records be kept for a sufficient length of time to get a stabilized picture, for it is an interesting feature of self observation that it is both an assessment tool and treatment strategy.

Environmental planning requires that the individual alters the antecedents of the target behavior. Strategies for altering the environment in order to change behavior involve either rearranging the cues which elicit the behavior, or prearranging for the consequences of the behavior to be different. Consequences can be either self rewarding consequences which increase the target behavior, or self punishing consequences which decrease the target behavior. Self monitoring has been found to be most effective in the early stages of behavior change. Self observation requires social reinforcement as a supplement to maintain long term changes. Some form of external control or enforcement is needed both in order to motivate the individual to initiate the behavioral change and to provide support to the individual so the new behaviors can be maintained.

One of the goals of a Wisdom Group might be to help reinforce those behavior changes members desire, but find difficult to achieve.

2. "FREE CHOICE" VS. CHOICE

Will power is directly related to "free will." The above discussion indicates that "will" is an obsolete concept. Therefore, one could not talk about "free will." At most they could only talk about "free choice." However, the idea that one's choices are "free"; i.e., not connected to cause and effect, would take them outside of the natural world. This is a condition to be resisted and only permitted if all other explanations fail.

But when we study choice we find no reason to think that our choices are uncaused. In fact our great personal power is derived just because our choices are caused. The greater our knowledge, the better our choice paradigms and, therefore, the better our choices.

That which passes for free choice is merely an illusion because the individual understands so little why they do what they do and how their brain functions. As we learn more about our "self" and better how to control our environment, it will be possible for us to more and more frequently make the proper decisions/choices. If we do not make proper decisions, it is obvious that ignorance is determining the decisions. (See Third Way of Wisdom.)

Free will says that one is supposed to make the "right" decisions. If we do not, we are revealed as weak-willed, bad, or possessing some other meaningless malady.

To hold oneself in check is not possible. Plato states the case well in THE REPUBLIC when he says, "Is not 'master of oneself' an absurd expression? Persons who were masters of themselves would presumably be also subject to themselves, and the subject would be master; for all these terms apply to the same person." After nicely discarding this idea, though, Plato pulls it back out of the hat again by using the soul to sustain it. However, in reality one is held in check by the belief that we can hold ourself in check. It is our beliefs, knowledge, and other relevant parts of the "I" that guide our choices.

Persons feel that a part of them (the conscious part) is preventing or causing every action they do or fail to do. As discussed in the Third Way of Wisdom our actions are not determined this simply. Although forces are no doubt balanced (perceived subjective advantages against perceived subjective disadvantages), one's total being takes part in their decisions. So we are indeed master and subject of our "I." And only by understanding the "I" do we understand what this means.

The reason a person performs or refrains from performing any act can be broken down into components. Exploring these components might be an enlightening experience.

PARAMETERS OF "WILL-POWER" CAUSING A "RIGHT" DECISION

1. No/A desire to perform the given action.

2. Fear.

3. Conviction that the given action is very good/bad.

4. Childhood conditioning.

5. No opportunity to perform/not perform the given action.

6. Other factors.

The concept of free choice seems to indicate that a person can move in a direction different from the sum of the parameters determining the final decision vector. This is an impossible conclusion. Although the relative importance of decision vectors can be effected by learning and knowledge, the result in a given case can only be their sum. This is why knowledge is so important because it can effect decision vectors in the desirable way. We make choices, but they are not "free" i.e., uncaused.