Unlocking the self-control toolbox

Catalog description

What is self-control? Can it be learned? Or is it something that people either "have" or "don't have"? This course will explore these questions and others, including which psychological processes and concrete strategies allow people to effectively regulate their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors to meet their goals; to what extent self-control is effortful; and how it works for different people in different situations and cultural contexts. Students will learn about influential theoretical models of self-control and emotion regulation, considering how people can use attention, their mind, the external environment, and social relationships to enact self-control successfully. Students will read empirical, peer-reviewed journal articles throughout this course, learning to synthesize; critically evaluate; and extend them, by asking new questions. Prerequisite: Research Methods and Statistics (PSYC B205 or PSYC H200) and either Psych 208 (Social Psychology), Psych 209 (Clinical) or Psych 224 (Cultural)