Psychology of Self-Control

The Psychology of Self-Control reviews evidence that indicates low self-control is among the most important individual risk factors for criminal offending. A developmental pathway that begins with this risk factor and leads to criminal offending is presented, and treatment recommendations for reducing the risk that low self-control poses for criminal offending are discussed. Following this, the authors seek to explain why young adolescents have an increased likelihood of becoming involved in a troublesome youth group. Social developmental, personal, and situational risk factors are combined under the umbrella of an integrated theoretical framework that stresses the importance of the moral sense as an important mediator in the relationship between adverse developmental conditions, juvenile delinquency, and troublesome youth group involvement. The authors also test the interaction between choosing a violent response, the inability to resist temptation, and exposure to scenario-criminogeneity using a web-based randomized scenario study. The results indicate that individuals who are able to resist temptation are unlikely to choose a violent response independent of scenario criminogeneity. In the penultimate chapter, the psychological and physiological components of self-control are explored. Then, the developmental aspects of self-control, with a special focus on adolescence, are briefly presented. In conclusion, this collection reviews recent research from McCarter and Winn about the role of stakes in English auctions over Amazon.com gift cards, consumer products on eBay, and items in the behavioral laboratory. Then, the results of an experiment manipulating stakes in penny auctions are reported.