Would you like to know how you can boost your will power so you can resist temptation and do the “right” thing in just a few seconds?
It turns out that research into a concept called mental construal has the answer.
Construal level theory suggests that people have more will power when thinking abstractly and less will power when thinking concretely.
In one study for example, participants were put into two groups. One group was asked to ponder why we should maintain positive relationships with others to get them to think abstractly. The other group was asked to think about how we maintain good relationships so they’d think concretely.
Next they gave both groups an implicit associations test to see what kinds of unconscious thoughts they now had about apples and candy bars—something completely unrelated to relationships. They did this because thinking abstractly or concretely for a few seconds tends to spill over into your thinking on the next topic.
Members of the abstract thinking group thought of apples positively and candy bars negatively. Those in the concrete group thought of apples negatively and candy bars positively.
Next both groups were asked how much they wanted an apple or a candy bar right now. The concrete thinkers chose the apple over the candy bar only half the time. The abstract thinkers chose the apple 76% of the time.
So by thinking about something in the abstract for just a few seconds you can boost your will power. Other studies have shown that thinking abstractly increases endurance and resistance to pain.
So how can you use this idea to help yourself?
Next time you are tempted to do something that will interfere with your goals, try thinking abstractly. You can do this by thinking about why you want to achieve your goals or by thinking abstractly about anything else.
When you do you’ll find that all-of-a-sudden you’ve gained an increase in will power that will allow you to resist temptation.
Reference to study mentioned above:
7 replies to "Improve Will Power In 30 Seconds With Scientifically Proven Method"
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Very interesting study. The effects of thinking abstractly and concretely seem to have different pay-offs in different contexts. There are other studies that find a higher goal completion rate when a concrete construal versus abstract construal is used. Clearly, knowing what types of thinking (abstract/concrete) work best in what scenarios on a personal level can be very valuable.
The other interesting thing is the drip down effect abstract thinking as on subsequent activities. I can see a ton of implications for that. For instance, a bunch of self help techniques will have one writing/reading/affirming down goals at the start. Whether that goal is articulated in a way that inspires concrete or abstract thinking may effect our day-to-day activities in more ways than one would have thought.
Peter,
Thanks for your comment.
I’ve read some of those studies that talk about how getting concrete can help a person overcome procrastination. F or example, one study on exercise found that asking people to focus on how they would do it was more effective than getting them to focus on the reasons why they would exercise. This supports Gollwitzer’s hypothesis that people need to create implementation intentions that tell when, where and how they will act whenever they are trying to accomplish something difficult for them to do.
However, in this case we are talking about resisting temptation so you can avoid acting on a desire instead of increasing motivation to take action. So I think the findings from the research on procrastination do not contradict the study mentioned above.
Rodney
It’s cool how these two studies come together. If you want to do something, think concretely. If you want not to do something, think abstractly.
Riley,
That’s it exactly. Thanks for commenting.
Rodney
It looks like increasing our ability to reason helps us to do better in life. But behind that would be the education or a knowing factor. You would have to have enough data to reason with.
The apple and candy bar scenario is a simplistic example, but it works to show how this can work on a day to day basis. Also it show how reasoning can work when faced with major decisions.
Sheila,
Fortunately, a person doesn’t need a lot of education to think abstractly. They can just think of reasons why they are doing something or they can think about abstract concepts of any kind – love, justice, peace simplicity etc. Most of our language is abstractions so anyone who can speak like an adult can do this pretty easily.
Thanks for commenting.
Rodney