Look before you leap: New study examines self-control

May 30th, 2008 in Other Sciences / Other

Reckless decision-making can lead to dire consequences when it comes to food, credit cards, or savings. What's the key to making good decisions? A new study in the Journal of Consumer Research outlines a novel method for measuring people's abilities to consider the consequences of their actions. It also provides hope for consumers who want to make more prudent decisions.




The good news, according to the authors, is that people who aren't inclined to consider the consequences of their actions can be aided by simple interventions, like brochures and advertising that encourage them to think about the dangers of obesity or the benefits of saving for retirement. Scare tactics, it seems, were the most effective. "The consideration of negative consequences has a bigger impact than the consideration of positive consequences," the authors write.

"The importance of studying consumers' self-control is widely recognized, since being unable to regulate one's emotions, impulses, actions and thoughts creates problems, not only for individual consumers, but also for society as a whole," write the authors.

Source: University of Chicago

"Look before you leap: New study examines self-control." May 30th, 2008. http://phys.org/news/2008-05-self-control.html