Meet your goals more easily by changing the way you think about your vices. In four related studies published in the August 2012 Journal of Consumer Research, researchers examined the effect of different wording when using self-talk to resist temptation. When participants framed a refusal as “I don't” (for instance, “I don't eat sugar”) instead of “I can't,” they were more successful at resisting the desire to eat unhealthy foods or skip the gym. Study author Vanessa Patrick, professor of marketing at the University of Houston C. T. Bauer College of Business, says, “I believe that an effective route to self-regulation is by managing one's desire for the temptation, instead of relying solely on willpower.” She also believes that deprivation is an ineffective route to self-control. “Saying ‘I can't’ connotes deprivation, while saying ‘I don't’ makes us feel empowered and better able to resist temptation.

This article was originally published with the title “I Don't” Beats “I Can't” for Self-Control.

4 Comments

1. 1. ajsnyc 11:50 AM 1/1/13

   A great moment in French cinema was when the little girl in Sundays and Cybele says; 'Je ne peux pas'. Her expression was of such force. 'I can't' IS heavy semantically.

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2. 2. vigvamvoo 07:42 AM 1/2/13

   Sounds pretty solid to me dude.
   www.DareAnon.tk

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3. 3. bucketofsquid 04:45 PM 1/4/13

   Framing your mindset and helping others learn to frame their mindsets in empowering ways can make a big difference.

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4. 4. gs_chandy 01:17 AM 1/5/13

   Professor Vanessa Patrick is entirely correct in her beliefs that:
   
   --“...an effective route to self-regulation is by *managing* one's desire for the temptation, instead of relying solely on willpower”; and
   -- that deprivation is an ineffective route to self-control.
   
   It really doesn't take rocket science to figure any of that out: just observe children as they grow up from infanthood.
   
   The underlying issues are:
   -- *HOW* (to manage one's desire for the temptation)?
   -- *HOW* (to enable/ensure 'self-control')?
   -- *HOW* (to ensure that we humans learn to use our own resources of mind and spirit to think *effectively* about the issues that confront us)????
   
   Now THAT demands something more than (or perhaps something different from) rocket science!
   
   Humankind has, after all, successfully sent rockets to the moon, to Mars and beyond.
   
   We nowadays easily (if expensively) travel from one part of the globe to another.
   
   We regularly build towers that reach thousands of feet (metres?) into the sky.
   
   But we are still far from effectively handling ourselves and the way we think and live (individually/in groups) - even on relatively 'trivial' matters!
   
   Witness, for instance:
   -- the poor results in most schools;
   -- the 'fear and loathing' that afflicts most students about math;
   -- the way adults all too often mentally and physically bully children (and, also, each other);
   -- the violence (rape, and worse) committed all too often by men on women and even children;
   -- the high incidence of mass murder (the latest being the killings at Newtown, Connecticut);
   -- the needless violence between communities in practically all nations (my country, India, is a prime example);
   -- the ineffective (even, often) utter incompetence of our governance in most 'nominally democratic' nations;
   -- the bullying that strong nations regularly and consistently do of weaker nations;
   -- the fact that we humans are driving thousands of other species to extinction;
   -- our horrendous record of despoilation (instead of healthy utilization) of this planet's natural resources;
   -- and so on and so forth, practically ad infinitum.
   
   I do wish Scientific American would show some healthy 'scientific' curiosity about practical means available right now that could help us better resolve many of the kinds of issues noted above - instead of this focus seen on 'descriptive science' (such as this article I'm referring to). Let's start work on a 'normative science', which is needed to handle the major individual, organizational and societal problems that afflict us.
   

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