Self-control

• Character
• Grit
• Intervention
• Measurement
• Self-control

• Buyalskaya, A., Ho, H., Milkman, K. L., Li, X., Duckworth, A. L., & Camerer, C. (2023). What can machine learning teach us about habit formation? Evidence from exercise and hygiene. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 120(17), e2216115120. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2216115120.

• Baldwin, C. R., Haimovitz, K., Shankar, P., Gallop, R., Yeager, D., Gross, J. J., & Duckworth, A. L. (2022). Self-Control and SAT outcomes: Evidence from two national field studies. PLoS ONE, 17(9), e0274380. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0274380.

• Leonard, J., Lydon-Staley, D. M., Sharp, S. D. S., Liu, H. Z., Park, A., Bassett, D. S., Duckworth, A. L., & Mackey, A. (2022). Daily fluctuations in young children’s persistence. Child Development, 93(2), e222-e236. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.13717.

• Rai, A., Sharif, M. A., Chang, E. H., Milkman, K. L., & Duckworth, A. L. (2022). A field experiment on subgoal framing to boost volunteering: The tradeoff between goal granularity and flexibility. Journal of Applied Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1037/apl0001040.

• Gross, J. J., & Duckworth, A. L. (2021). Beyond willpower. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 44, e37. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0140525X20000722.

• Milkman, K. L., Patel, M. S., Gandhi, L., Graci, H. N., Gromet, D. M., Ho, H., Kay, J. S., Lee, T. W., Akinola, M., Beshears, J., Bogard, J. E., Buttenheim, A., Chabris, C. F., Chapman, G. B., Choi, J. J., Dai, H., Fox, C. R., Goren, A., Hilchey, M. D., . . . Duckworth, A. L. (2021). A megastudy of text-based nudges encouraging patients to get vaccinated at an upcoming doctor’s appointment. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 118(20), e2101165118. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2101165118.

• Duckworth, A. L., & Gross, J. J. (2020). Behavior change. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 161, 39-49. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.obhdp.2020.09.002.

• Galla, B. M., Tsukayama, E., Yu, A., Park, D., & Duckworth, A. L. (2020). The mindful adolescent: Developmental changes in nonreactivity to inner experiences and its association with emotional well-being. Developmental Psychology, 56(2), 350-363. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0000877.

• Kirgios, E. L., Mandel, G. H., Park, Y., Milkman, K. L., Gromet, D. M., Kay, J. S., & Duckworth, A. L. (2020). Teaching temptation bundling to boost exercise: A field experiment. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 161, 20-35. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.obhdp.2020.09.003.

• Porter, T., Molina, D. C., Blackwell, L., Roberts, S., Quirk, A., Duckworth, A. L., & Trzesniewski, K. (2020). Measuring mastery behaviors at scale: The Persistence, Effort, Resilience and Challenge-Seeking task (PERC). Journal of Learning Analytics, 7(1), 5-18. https://doi.org/10.18608/jla.2020.71.2.

• Zamarro, G., Nichols, M., Duckworth, A. L., & D’Mello, S. K. (2020). Validation of survey effort measures of grit and self-control in a sample of high school students. PLOS One, 15(7), e0235396. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0235396.

• Duckworth, A. L., Milkman, K. L., & Laibson, D. (2019). Beyond willpower: Strategies for reducing failures of self-control. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 19(3), 102-129. https://doi.org/10.1177/1529100618821893.

• Duckworth, A. L., Taxer, J., Eskreis-Winkler, L., Galla, B. M., & Gross, J. J. (2019). Self-control and academic achievement. Annual Review of Psychology, 70, 373-399. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-010418-103230.

• Eskreis-Winkler, L., Milkman, K. L., Gromet, D. M., & Duckworth, A. L. (2019). A large-scale field experiment shows giving advice improves academic outcomes for the advisor. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 116(30), 14808-14810. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1908779116.

• Galla, B. M., Shulman, E. P., Plummer, B. D., Gardner, M., Hutt, S. J., Goyer, J. P., Lejuez, C. W., Mello, S. K., & Duckworth, A. L. (2019). Why high school grades are better predictors of on-time college graduation than are admissions test scores: The roles of self-regulation and cognitive ability. American Educational Research Journal, 56(6), 2077-2115. https://doi.org/10.3102/0002831219843292.

• Grenell, A., Prager, E. O., Schaefer, C., Kross, E., Duckworth, A. L., & Carlson, S. M. (2019). Individual differences in the effectiveness of self-distancing for young children’s emotion regulation. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 37(1), 84-100. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjdp.12259.

• Grenell, A., White, R. E., Prager, E. O., Schaefer, C., Kross, E., Duckworth, A. L., & Carlson, S. M. (2019). Experimental paradigm for measuring the effects of self-distancing in young children. Journal of Visualized Experiments, 145, e59056. https://doi.org/10.3791/59056.

• Eskreis-Winkler, L., Fishbach, A., & Duckworth, A. L. (2018). Dear Abby: Should I give advice or receive it?. Psychological Science, (29)11, 1797-1806. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797618795472.

• Meindl, P., Yu, A., Galla, B. M., Quirk, A., Haeck, C., Goyer, J. P., Lejuez, C. W., Mello, S. K., & Duckworth, A. L. (2018). A brief behavioral measure of frustration tolerance predicts academic achievement immediately and two years later. Emotion, 19(6), 1081-1092. https://doi.org/10.1037/emo0000492.

• Park, D., Yu, A., Metz, S. E., Tsukayama, E., Crum, A. J., & Duckworth, A. L. (2018). Beliefs about stress attenuate the relation among adverse life events, perceived distress, and self-control. Child Development, 89(6), 2059-2069. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.12946.

• Robinson, C. D., Pons, G., Duckworth, A. L., & Rogers, T. (2018). Some middle school students want behavior commitment devices (but take-up does not affect their behavior). Frontiers in Psychology, 9(206). https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00206.

• White, R. E., Kuehn, M. M., Duckworth, A. L., Kross, E., & Ayduk, Ö. (2018). Focusing on the future from afar: Self-distancing from future stressors facilitates adaptive coping. Emotion, 19(5), 903–916. https:/doi.org/10.1037/emo0000491.

• Wiese, C. W., Tay, L., Duckworth, A. L., D’Mello, S., Kuykendall, L., Hofmann, W., Baumeister, R. F., & Vohs, K. D. (2018). Too much of a good thing? Exploring the inverted-U relationship between self-control and happiness. Journal of Personality, (86)3, 380-396. https://doi.org/10.1111/jopy.12322.

• Duckworth, A. L., & Seligman, M. (2017). The science and practice of self-control. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 12(5), 715–718. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691617690880.

• Duckworth, A. L., Gendler, T. S., & Gross, J. J. (2016). Situational strategies for self-control. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 11(1), 35-55. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691615623247.

• Duckworth, A. L., White, R. E., Matteucci, A. J., Shearer, A., & Gross, J. J. (2016). A stitch in time: Strategic self-control in high school and college students. Journal of Educational Psychology, 108(3), 329-341. https://doi.org/10.1037/edu0000062.

• Eskreis-Winkler, L., Gross, J. J., & Duckworth, A. L. (2016). Grit: Sustained self-regulation in the service of superordinate goals. In K. D. Vohs & R. F. Baumeister (Eds.), Handbook of self-regulation: Research, theory and applications (3rd ed.). Guilford.

• Galla, B. M., Baelen, R. N., Duckworth, A. L., & Baime, M. J. (2016). Mindfulness, meet self-regulation: Boosting out-of-class meditation practice with brief action plans. Motivation Science 2(4), 220–237. https://doi.org/10.1037/mot0000045.

• Duckworth, A. L., & Steinberg, L. (2015). Unpacking self-control. Child Development Perspectives, 9(1), 32-37. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdep.12107.

• Duckworth, A. L., & Tsukayama, E. (2015). Domain-specificity in self-control. In C. Miller, R. M. Furr, A. Knobel, & W. Fleeson (Eds.), Character: New directions from philosophy, psychology, and theology (pp. 393-411). Oxford University Press.

• Duckworth, A. L., Shulman, E. P., Mastronarde, A. J., Patrick, S. D., Zhang, J., & Druckman, J. (2015). Will not want: Self-control rather than motivation explains the female advantage in report card grades. Learning and Individual Differences, 39, 13-23. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2015.02.006.

• Galla, B. M., & Duckworth, A. L. (2015). More than resisting temptation: Beneficial habits mediate the relationship between self-control and positive life outcomes. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 109(3), 508-525. https://doi.org/10.1037/pspp0000026.

• White, R. E., Kross, E., & Duckworth, A. L. (2015). Spontaneous self-distancing and adaptive self-reflection across adolescence. Child Development, 86(4), 1272–1281. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.12370.

• Duckworth, A. L., & Gross, J. J. (2014). Self-control and grit: Related but separable determinants of success. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 23(5), 319-325. https://doi.org/10.1177/0963721414541462.

• Duckworth, A. L., Gendler, T. S., & Gross, J. J. (2014). Self-control in school-age children. Educational Psychologist, 49(3), 199-217. https://doi.org/10.1080/00461520.2014.926225.

• Eisenberg, N., Duckworth, A. L., Spinrad, T. L., & Valiente, C. (2014). Conscientiousness: Origins in childhood?. Developmental Psychology, 50(5), 1331-1349. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0030977.

• Friedman, H. S., Kern, M. L., Hampson, S. E., & Duckworth, A. L. (2014). A new lifespan approach to conscientiousness and health: Combining the pieces of the causal puzzle. Developmental Psychology, 50(5), 1377-1389. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0030373.

• Galla, B. M., Plummer, B. D., White, R., Meketon, D., D'Mello, S. K., & Duckworth, A. L. (2014). The Academic Diligence Task (ADT): Assessing individual differences in effort on tedious but important schoolwork. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 39(4), 314-325. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2014.08.001.

• Yeager, D. S., Henderson, M. D., Paunesku, D., Walton, G. M., D’Mello, S., Spitzer, B. J., & Duckworth, A. L. (2014). Boring but important: A self-transcendent purpose for learning fosters academic self-regulation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 107(4), 559-580. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0037637.

• Duckworth, A. L. (2013). Is it really self-control: A critical analysis of the “Marshmallow Test.”. Society of Personality and Social Psychology Connections. Retrieved from https://spsptalks.wordpress.com/2013/11/10/is-it-really-self-control-a-critical-analysis-of-the-marshmallow-test/.

• Duckworth, A. L., & Carlson, S. M. (2013). Self-regulation and school success. In B. W. Sokol, F. M. E. Grouzet, & U. Müller (Eds.), Self-regulation and autonomy: Social and developmental dimensions of human conduct (pp. 208-230). Cambridge University Press.

• Duckworth, A. L., Kim, B., & Tsukayama, E. (2013). Life stress impairs self-control in early adolescence. Frontiers in Psychology, 3(608), 1-12. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2012.00608.

• Duckworth, A. L., Kirby, T. A., Gollwitzer, A., & Oettingen, G. (2013). From fantasy to action: Mental contrasting with implementation intentions (MCII) improves academic performance in children. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 4(6), 745-753. https://doi.org/10.1177/1948550613476307.

• Duckworth, A. L., Tsukayama, E., & Kirby, T. A. (2013). Is it really self-control? Examining the predictive power of the delay of gratification task. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 39(7), 843-855. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167213482589.

• Kurzban, R., Duckworth, A. L., Kable, J. W., & Myers, J. (2013). An opportunity cost model of subjective effort and task performance. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 36(6), 661-679. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0140525X12003196.

• Tsukayama, E., Duckworth, A. L., & Kim, B. (2013). Domain-specific impulsivity in school-age children. Developmental Science, 16(6), 879-893. https://doi.org/10.1111/desc.12067.

• Duckworth, A. L., & Allred, K. M. (2012). Temperament in the classroom. In R. L. Shiner & M. Zentner (Eds.), Handbook of temperament (pp. 627-644). Guilford Press.

• Duckworth, A. L., Quinn, P., & Tsukayama, E. (2012). What No Child Left Behind leaves behind: The roles of IQ and self-control in predicting standardized achievement test scores and report card grades. Journal of Educational Psychology, 104(2), 439-451. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0026280.

• Duckworth, A. L. (2011). The significance of self-control. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 108(7), 2639-2640. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1019725108.

• Duckworth, A. L., & Kern, M. L. (2011). A meta-analysis of the convergent validity of self-control measures. Journal of Research in Personality, 45(3), 259-268. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2011.02.004.

• Duckworth, A. L., Grant, H., Loew, B., Oettingen, G., & Gollwitzer, P. M. (2011). Self-regulation strategies improve self-discipline in adolescents: Benefits of mental contrasting and implementation intentions . Educational Psychology, 31(1), 17-26. https://doi.org/10.1080/01443410.2010.506003.

• Gollwitzer, A., Oettingen, G., Kirby, T. A., Duckworth, A. L., & Mayer, D. (2011). Mental contrasting facilitates academic performance in school children. Motivation and Emotion, 35, 403-412, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11031-011-9222-0.

• Kross, E., Duckworth, A. L., Ayduk, Ö., Tsukayama, E., & Mischel, W. (2011). The effect of self-distancing on adaptive versus maladaptive self-reflection in children. Emotion, 11(5), 1032-1039. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0021787.

• Duckworth, A. L., Tsukayama, E., & Geier, A. B. (2010). Self-controlled children stay leaner in the transition to adolescence. Appetite, 54(2), 304-308. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2009.11.016.

• Duckworth, A. L., Tsukayama, E., & May, H. (2010). Establishing causality using longitudinal hierarchical linear modeling: An illustration predicting achievement from self-control. Social Psychology and Personality Science, 1(4), 311-317. https://doi.org/10.1177/1948550609359707.

• Romer, D., Duckworth, A. L., Sznitman, S., & Park, S. (2010). Can adolescents learn self-control? Delay of gratification in the development of control over risk taking. Prevention Science, 11(3), 319-330. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-010-0171-8.

• Tsukayama, E., Duckworth, A. L. (2010). Domain-specific temporal discounting and temptation. Judgment and Decision Making, 5(2), 72-82.

• Tsukayama, E., Toomey, S. L., Faith, M. S., & Duckworth, A. L. (2010). Self-control as a protective factor against overweight status in the transition to adolescence. Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, 164(7), 631-635. https://doi.org/10.1001/archpediatrics.2010.97.

• Duckworth, A. L., & Seligman, M. E. P. (2006). Self-discipline gives girls the edge: Gender differences in self-discipline, grades, and achievement test scores. Journal of Educational Psychology, 98(1), 198-208. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.98.1.198.

• Duckworth, A. L., & Seligman, M. E. P. (2005). Self-discipline outdoes IQ in predicting academic performance of adolescents. Psychological Science, 16(12), 939-944. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2005.01641.x.

Back to Research Page