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Is “willpower” a scientific concept? Suppressing temptation contra resolution in the face of adversity
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 26 April 2021
Abstract
The distinction that Ainslie draws among the triple-phenomena “suppression,” “resolve,” and “habit” is a great advance in decision making theory. But the conceptual machinery “willpower,” and its underpinning distinction between small/soon (SS) rewards as opposed to large/later (LL) rewards, provides a faulty framework to understand the triple-phenomena.
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- Open Peer Commentary
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- The target article and response article are works of the U.S. Government and are not subject to copyright protection in the United States.
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- Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press
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Target article
Willpower with and without effort
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