Abstract:

The limited resources model (i.e., the Strength Model of Self-control) has been under challenge in recent years. The considerable debate involved the unclear mechanisms of blood glucose, unsatisfying replication results, and the inadequate model lacking psychological factors such as personal willingness and beliefs. Among all other competing models, the reward based model rooted from behavior economics literature offered relatively more plausible explanation in accounting for the results found in behavioral research and the evidence from neuroscience. Based on this model, we suggest that future studies on self-control may further explore the neural mechanisms as well as the nature and nurture factors of trait self-control.

Key words: self-control, ego depletion, limited resources model, reward based model