LITERATURE REVIEW
PAPER:THE INFLUENCE OF
SELF-CONTROL IN EARLY LIFE,
DEFINE THE LATER
LIFE24.02.2023
Behavioural Economics:A Study on
How we Really Act
Aarhus University
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Abstract:
Childhood builds and defines us as people. Studies shows that our self-control can tell and define
where we as people end up in society. Can children possess self-control in their early years?
Children have been followed in their early school years, and were many years later followed up on
where they were in their lives. Here, measures such as health, wealth and public safety have been
used to see how they manage in life. There are clear indications that there is a correlation
between self-control and how one does later in life. So, if you can manage self-control as a child,
you will be better off in the future. Conversely, you will have a greater risk of being exposed to
poor health, crime, etc., if you do not exercise self-control, the studies show. It is therefore
incredibly interesting to ask, if you can improve children's self-control in their early years, to
prevent them later ending up in crime, poor health, financial insecurity, etc.
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Introduction:
For a long time, there has been research into self-control and how this has developed over time,
and how it has thus helped to influence human behavior and development later in our lives.
Initially, self-control was studied in species, but later self-control in humans has been linked to
health, economic, social, and academic performance and is known to be heritable (MacLean et al.,
2014, p. 2140-2148). Moffitt et al. use the term self-control synonymously with conscientiousness,
a large class of personality traits that includes responsibility, industriousness, and orderliness
(Moffitt et al., 2014, page 2693–2698).
Self-control is surprisingly difficult for us humans to manage. We know it's unhealthy to eat
sweets, burgers, etc., and we should be eating vegetables and do exercising. Yet many of us tend
to do the opposite. A major significance may be the lack of self-control. But where does this lack of
self-control come from? This lack of self-control is especially evident in the early years of our lives,
and it can be relatable to our later lives (Adler, 2015, page 10078-10079).
The early lack of self-control leads to an increased likelihood of ending up in crime, having poor
health, and ending up in financial insecurity etc. which of course influent the people it affects, but
it also affects society (Moffitt et al., 2014, page 2693–2698). So, for that reason, policymakers are
considering large-scale programs aimed at self-control to improve citizens health and wealth and
reduce crime, since emerging data suggest that for low-SES youth, self-control may act as a
“double-edged sword” that facilitates academic success and psychosocial adjustment while
undermining physical health. Addressing and doing this will give the society an economic and
sociological benefit (Miller et al., 2015, page 10325-10330).
What distinguishes children with high self-control from children with low self-control, and how
have their lives developed differently? With this research, can society therefore benefit from
teaching children about self-control in school and in their early lives?
This literature review paper will look at how self-control in early life can affect a person's later
development and how they will cope.
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The influence of self-control in early life, define the later life:
The most pertinent sections of the literature addressing issues with self-control and delaying
pleasure are discussed in the following sections of this literature. Although chosen for its
applicability, the literature does not cover everything. Nevertheless, it is thought that the chosen
literature covers the majority of the important aspects of these research fields about self-control.
Self-control:
But what exactly is self-control?
Self-control has been studied for many years. It is one of the most used terms among social
sciences. It is basically about how people can control themselves - “self-control”.
In the early years they studied species where it could be seen that animals, for example, had the
self-control to choose which prey and mate they wanted by "rejecting" these and waiting until
something better might come along (MacLean et al., 2014, page 2140-2148). Today, people of
different ages are researched to see what importance self-control has on them, and what the
importance of having high or low self-control is. Self-control is a vital aspect of human existence
that allows people to manage their emotions, ideas, and actions. It is the capacity to restrain
impulsive or undesirable actions and to act in accordance with one's own objectives, principles,
and standards. Self-control is a challenging skill to master. It has cognitive, emotional, and
motivational components and is essential for a variety of spheres of life, including health,
education, employment, and interpersonal relationships (Duckworth, 2011, page 2639-2640 and
(Moffitt et al., 2014, page 2693–2698).
At the individual level, self-control has been conceptualized as a skill, attribute, or resource that
then changes depending on people and situations. Self-control can be considered a stable and
consistent personality trait that can be seen in the ability to resist temptation and focus on longterm goals (Duckworth, 2011, page 2639-2640). In the long-term, you cannot undo an action you
have done in the past or redo it. An example could be, if the world's oceans suddenly rise much
more than expected due to human being’s lack of attention for the environment and its
development, and it affects the population and world in a negative way, then we cannot go back
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and change our self-control for the better, so that this event will not occur in the future. We have
therefore not had enough self-control, and thus a consequence has occurred. There has therefore
been no self-control present here.
Furthermore, it’s displayed in the counteractive control theory (CCT) that short-term results are
related to self-control. Self-control efforts can help to influence the effect of short-term results, as
it can induce self-control efforts, which thus counteract the effect of short-term results, so that
one may instead be inclined to choose the long-term. CCT therefore assumes that people exercise
self-control to achieve long-term results (Trope et al., 2000, page 493-506).
However, new research shows that the ability to possess self-control will strengthen throughout
life, in fact well beyond one's childhood and possibly into middle and later adulthood. Self-control
will therefore be a factor throughout life. From childhood and throughout your whole life. As
children, however, we are more likely to have low self-control, and there will also be a big
difference in children's degree of self-control at the same age and gender. Self-control usually gets
stronger the older we get, but there will also be a difference in the degree of older people at the
same age and gender. People who have good self-control have the ability to resist temptation if
they can see the point and something better of the long-term goal. They will also be able to create
and maintain a behavior that makes it easier for them to achieve the desired long-term goals
(Miller et al., 2015, page 10325-10330).
In addition, various researchers in various specialties have proven many more things that affect
and are influenced by self-control. For example, behavioral geneticists have shown that selfcontrol is affected in several ways. It is genetic, but it is also influenced by the environment one
moves in. Psychologists have shown how we continuously develop self-control skills throughout
the course of life. Health researchers report that self-control can predict unhealthy behavior,
psychological distress, and even early mortality. Sociologists say that it can predict unemployment
and that low self-control leads to higher crime. Even economists can see the impact of self-control
in the economic composition of a country, as low self-control leads to higher crime and economic
insecurity (Moffitt et al., 2014, page 2693–2698).
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Self-control is therefore in all people. We all use it every single day, and the degree of self-control
we possess has a major impact on our actions and thoughts. It helps determine what we want to
do now here with a view to a long-term goal. Low and high levels of self-control can help define
how our lives and the world will look in the future.
Self-control in early life:
It has been described earlier in this paper review, that self-control has a great importance in one's
childhood and upgrowing. It can help to define what the future for the individual person maybe
will look like, which can be traced back to one's early years of life. So now we will look at what is
self-control and what influences it in one's early life.
So, self-control is defined right from childhood. Without us even knowing it. The older we get
through childhood and into our youth, the more aware we become of our self-control and the
more it defines and affects our lives and acts. The ability of children to manage their emotions,
impulses, and conduct in order to accomplish a desired result or goal is referred to as self-control.
It involves the capacity to control annoyance or rage, defer gratification, and resist temptation.
As mentioned before, early in life, self-control is frequently inconsistent and still growing. Young
children frequently depend on outside cues or guidelines established by caregivers to assist us in
controlling our behavior. A parent might, for instance, employ a timer to teach their child to wait
their turn or a sticker system to reward excellent behavior. Children's capacity for self-regulation
normally grows as they age because of their developing brains. Yet, some kids could find it more
difficult than others, and temperamental variations between people and contextual conditions can
also have an impact on self-control (Miller et al,. 2015, page 10325-10330 and Richmond-Rakerd
et al., 2021, page 1-11).
Another important factor that greatly influences self-control, and was tested on children, is the
delay of gratification. Within this, one of the first and most well-known experiments, is the simple
"marshmallow test", that was done by Mischel et al. It was supposed to investigate whether
children in school had the ability to delay gratification and thus manage their self-control.
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They wanted to test how long a child could resist the temptation of this marshmallow, which was
the object of a reward. The result of this test was that children who were able to create selfdistraction could wait longer than children who focused on the reward, marshmallow. So now
many questions arose around delay of gratification and self-control. You could now ask, what skills
were required to be able to achieve the ability to delay this gratification and the ability to have
high self-control. However, the sample size for the test was not very large and there were some
flaws in the execution. However, the test has been a foundation for much research regarding selfcontrol and this test has been modified and redone several times since Mischel et al. made it for
the first time. (Mischel W. et al., 1972, page 204-218).
In some recent studies, Miller et al. finds that self-control regularly predicts positive life outcomes
in prospective studies that follow kids into adulthood. Teenagers with stronger self-control
maintain their academic excellence, make more money, maintain steady employment, and save
more money. These kids are less likely to use drugs, get in trouble with the law and get punished,
or get psychiatric problems. These young people exhibit superior physical health as adults.
Furthermore, these relationships are typically unaffected by confounders like demographic traits,
general IQ, and past mental health issues (Miller et al., 2015, page 10325-10330).
In the United States, children with lower socioeconomic status (SES) experience academic
challenges, are less likely to complete education, have physical problems, become pregnant at a
young age, are limited in their activity, and are more likely to engage in crime. Since disparities in
self-control partly account for this, several researchers are proposing programs that can train the
skills of those with low SES. This is also taken seriously by the government, which is developing
behavioral interventions that can help them with self-control (Miller et al., 2015, page 1032510330 and Adler, 2015, page 10078-10079).
However, Brody et al. followed African American children over the age of 8 in the countryside,
where several lived below the poverty line. Annual assessments of the children's self-control were
made between the ages of 11 and 13 and were then assessed again at the age of 19, when the
children had improved their self-control due to what psychologists call resilience. Although they
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had a low SES, the 19-year-olds had fewer depressive symptoms and less substance abuse. Some
of these individuals had even achieved academic success. There are therefore tests which shows
that some people break with their heritage and do better than what might have been expected of
them (Miller et al., 2015, page 10325-10330).
This can be validated by Adler, that says, a stronger sense of self-control may help low-SES kids see
unclear circumstances as a challenge rather than a threat. Challenge assessments cause distinct,
more benevolent physiological reactions (Adler, 2015, page 10078-10079).
The majority of the findings reported by Miller et al. confirm findings from earlier research that
demonstrates the advantages of self-control. For instance, in the sample of African American high
school pupils in a rural location with low socioeconomic status. The idea that these abilities are
especially important for the most disadvantaged children is supported by the finding that the
reduction in abuse linked with stronger self-control was considerably greater the greater the
degree of adversity (Adler, 2015, page 10078-10079).
In addition to the studies mentioned above, Moffitt et al. carried out experimental and economic
analyses that suggested such government programs might provide favorable results. Hence, they
tracked 1,000 kids from birth to age 32, demonstrating that early self-control predicts adult
physical health, drug addiction, personal financial stability, and the outcome of criminal offenses.
Many children had developed self-control by the age of 10, but others had not. During a period of
30 years, they tracked them, charting the effects of their early restraint on their health, wealth,
and criminal involvement. Increasing self-control may have numerous advantages if it influences
outcomes as various as money, health, and crime (Moffitt et al., 2014, page 2693–2698).
As described above it can be seen that self-control has been investigated in several different
studies by different researchers. It has been tested and experimented with children in focus, and
clear results have been found of when children possess a low or high degree of self-control. The
importance of having this ability is shown by the previous review of the key studies on self-control
and the capacity to possess it. Failing to do so may result in a variety of issues for both the
individual and society. But there are also exceptions that break with the expected.
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Can self-control predict life?:
Now we know what self-control is and how throughout our childhood and youth up through the
teenage years it can affect us and how it might affect and define our future. It is therefore
interesting to look at whether self-control can predict in advance how we as human will act later
in life, and whether it can tell us where we as humans will find ourselves in society. It will be
relevant to find out if you as a country and government can influence your society from an early
age in schools, so that children can master self-control and thus increase their chances of not
ending up in crime, drug addiction, poor health, etc.
As previously mentioned, sociologists have found that self-control can predict unemployment, and
have also found that self-control is a direct cause of crime. And for that reason, economists and
others have made politicians aware of this, in order to reduce it and thereby improve key living
conditions such as health, wealth and crime for the population, since self-control can thus be used
as a preventive instrument. It is discussed when to intervene in order to achieve the best effect,
but it is mentioned that politicians can introduce "opt-out" schemes, so that you get people to eat
healthy food, have a savings and respect the law. It is considered to be able to have a positive
effect on people with a low degree of self-control (Moffitt et al., 2014, page 2693–2698).
Moffit et al. has also followed 1,037 children in a single city from birth to the age of 32. They
examined health outcomes for adults, such as drug addiction, inflammation and metabolic
abnormalities, and wealth outcomes, such as low income, single parenting, credit problems and
poor savings habits, and finally criminal convictions.
They tested whether children's self-control predicted later health, wealth, and crime similarly at all
points along the self-control gradient, from lowest to highest self-control.
This research aimed to determine whether childhood self-control predicts important adult
outcomes along a population gradient (Moffitt et al., 2014, page 2693–2698).
When the children reached the age of 32, the researchers looked at how childhood self-control
had predicted health, wealth, and crime for the tested group. The test revealed several
remarkable and detailed discoveries. The main conclusions showed that there were several clear
correlations between those who had had low self-control in their childhood and who now did
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worse in their adult lives. They lived unhealthily, were bad at managing and managing their
finances, and so tended to end up in some form of crime. They also saw that children with high
self-control were able to do well in these aspects of life. There were thus several findings that
showed a correlation between low self-control and poor performance later in life (Moffitt et al.,
2014, page 2693–2698).
The test therefore shows that increased self-control early in life can lead to positive output later
on and will thus benefit both the population and society. They were subsequently able to conclude
that the optimal time to start with the children will be between the ages of 3 and 11. This
standardized observational measure of preschoolers' self-control significantly predicted health,
wealth, and beliefs at age 32, although with modest effect sizes (Moffitt et al., 2014, page 2693–
2698).
Furthermore, Casey et al. conducted a 2-experiment study looking at the neutral ground of selfregulation in preschoolers who showed delay of gratification. In their mid-40s, they were tested
on "hot" and "cool" versions of go/no-go tasks to assess whether delay of gratification in one's
childhood can predict impulse control skills and sensitivity to enticing cues, which for example a
happy face. Here, the test showed that the people who were less able to delay gratification in
school and who showed a low degree of self-control in their 20s and 30s did worse than those who
delayed gratification when they had to suppress a response to a happy face, but not on a neutral
or fearful face (Casey, B. J. et al., 2011, page 14998-15003).
Of the 2 experiments, Casey et al. 3 decisive factors. The first is that delay of gratification is a
relatively stable individual difference characteristic. The second factor is that behavioral correlates
of delay ability do not involve cognitive control in general, but in particular in response to positive
persuasive cues. The third and last is being able to resist temptation is supported by ventral front
striatal circuits, where the inferior frontal gyrus shows less recruitment at low delays and the
ventral striatum shows large recruitment at low delays when resisting enticing cues.
With these results, they were able to show that the individuals who had difficulty delaying
gratification and low levels of self-control, as adults, had more difficulty suppressing reactions to
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positive social signals. Based on this, a predictable validity can be seen of delay ability in children
in school and their behavior later in life.
This shows that the ability to delay gratification in the early years can predict how people's
behavior will be later in life. It is therefore both beneficial and important for individuals, society,
and the economy that people can resist temptation in favor of a long-term goal (Casey, B. J. et al.,
2011, page 14998-15003).
This compliments and agrees with previous studies conducted by Posne et al. (2000), Carlson et al.
(2001), Rothbart et al. (1994) and Moffitt et al. (2014).
Miller et al. have, as previously described, also made studies and experiments which say that the
early lack of self-control leads to an increased likelihood of ending up in crime, having poor health,
and ending up in financial insecurity etc. and children with lower socioeconomic status (SES) who
have it more difficult, which confirms and supports the above studies (Miller et al., 2015, page
10325-10330).
From the above studies and experiments, it is clear to see how much of an influence self-control
has. It has great significance for how you are and act as a child during your childhood and
upbringing. It can be seen that the children they have followed up through their upbringing, what
degree of self-control they have had and how this correlates with their later behavior and position
in life. It must therefore be said that the importance of self-control in early life can have an effect
on later life.
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Discussion:
When you look at the reviewed literature review, various research-based experiments and tests
that are used, have been carried out by a large number of people over a long period of time.
One of the foundations of this field is the well-known "marshmallow" test, which investigated the
delay of gratification and self-control. This test can especially be criticized for the small sample size
that had been selected. Since then, however, larger, and more precise experiments have been
carried out.
According to the studies, self-control can predict these results, and early interventions to increase
self-control can have a positive impact on outcomes in the long run. The research does, however,
have certain advantages and disadvantages.
From old studies with the marshmallow to the newer ones who have some advantages in a larger
sample sizes and longitudinal design of the studies, which enable researchers to track the effects
of self-control over longer stretches of time, are two of the studies' strengths. The studies also
evaluated self-control using defined metrics, which made it simpler to compare findings between
studies. The research does, however, also contain significant flaws. For some outcomes, they, for
instance, rely on self-reported measurements, which could be biased. It is additionally challenging
to show a causal relationship between self-control and results because research typically
concentrate on correlational relationships. Moreover, some studies only assess self-control using
one metric, which might not adequately account for the nuanced nature of this concept.
Many of the researchers themselves mention in their literature that there have been some form of
uncertainty and anticipated incidents along the way. In addition, many of them subsequently
mention that several variables were omitted, where they could have included some rather than
others.
Overall, the research points to the importance of self-control in predicting a range of outcomes
and suggests that interventions to strengthen self-control may be helpful. Nonetheless, more
investigation is required to comprehend the mechanisms behind these correlations and to create
self-control-improving therapies.
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Conclusion:
In this literature paper review, it has been investigated whether the importance of self-control
early in life can define self-control later in life. First, it was concluded what self-control really is,
after which they looked at self-control in early life and to what extent self-control influenced
children and to what extent they could possess self-control.
Later, it was investigated whether self-control could predict life, when after examining the degree
of this in children, a correlation could be seen between this self-control and their behavior and
position later in life.
The literature review emphasizes the value of developing self-control early in life because it can
have a big impact on one's future. The capacity to control emotions, impulses, and behavior is
frequently learned with the use of external cues like incentives and clocks, and it increases with
age as the brain develops. Researchers are recommending programs to train low SES individuals in
the skills necessary to increase their self-control because studies have shown that self-control is a
predictor of favorable life outcomes.
The text concludes the significance of self-control in early life and how it might impact a person's
future in terms of their health, wealth, and criminal activity. The research referenced in the
literature show that adverse outcomes later in life, can predict poor outcomes later in life, such as
substance abuse and financial instability.
The results also imply that self-control is a skill that can be developed, and that early intervention
can improve a person's future. The best ages to start teaching self-control are between 3 and 11
years old, and behavior early in life can be used to predict later behavior. Overall, the research
points to the importance of self-control in anticipating one's future and the advantages of people's
ability to resist temptation in favor of long-term objectives for themselves, society, and the
economy.
As said, this literature review is not exhaustive for this field and the research. It is based on already
existing literature from some of the most recognized researchers and research experiments. Since
this literature review only covers the most important aspects and does not cover all, it may be
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relevant in the future to make further research on self-control and its effects on various facets of
human existence, including education and careers, as well as subjects like crime and health, will be
relevant. As well as discussing educational initiatives, parental tactics, and public policy initiatives,
it could also cover practical methods for enhancing self-control in both children and adults. One
may also look at how culture and cultural norms influence self-control and how things like trauma,
poverty, and discrimination can affect it. If it turns out that the evidence for importance and
influence of self-control is just growing, it could be wise to try to boost students' levels of selfcontrol in the classroom.
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References:
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Adler, Nancy E., 2015: Disadvantage, self-control, and health, page 10078–10079.
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Carlson, SM et al., 2001: Individual differences in inhibitory control and children’s theory of
mind, page 1032-1053.
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Casey, B. J. et al., 2011: Behavioral and neural correlates of delay of gratification 40 years later,
page 14998-15003.
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Clarkson, Joshua J. et al., 2015: The self-control consequences of political ideology, page 82508253
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Duckworth, Angela L., 2011: The significance of self-control, page 2639-2640
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Maclean, Evan L. et al., 2014: The evolution of self-control, page 2140-2148.
-
Miller, Gregory E. et al., 2015: Self-control forecasts better psychosocial outcomes but faster
epigenetic aging in low-SES youth, page 10325-10330.
-
Mischel, W. et al., 1972: Cognitive and attentional mechanisms in delay of gratification, page
204-218.
-
Moffitt, Terrie E. et al., 2011: A gradient of childhood self- control predicts health, wealth, and
public safety, page 2693–2698.
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Posne, MI et al., 2000: Developing mechanisms of self-regulation, page 427-441.
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Richmond-Rakerd, Leah S. et al., 2021: Childhood self-control forecasts the pace of midlife
aging and preparedness for old age, page 1-11.
-
Rothbart, MK et al., 1994: Temperament and the development of personality, page 55-66.
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Trope, Yaacov et al., 2000: Counteractive Self-Control in Overcoming Temptation, page 493506.
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