IQ tests, in their ideal form, accurately measure intelligence. In the real world, they don’t, for several reasons. First, many portions of an IQ assessment test crystallized knowledge – that is, they test for facts that have already been memorized. Although knowledge is a component of intelligence, intelligence, as it is usually used, means, ‘how fast can this person learn?’ The … Read more

This study tests the hypothesis that report cards and standardized assessments test different things – specifically, that report cards focus more on testing self-control, and standardizes assessments on testing intelligence Their reasoning is that the individual components which build into a report card grade, like paying attention in class, doing homework, and showing effort, primarily require self-control. … Read more

Given the increasing evidence that self-control influences academic performance, it is important to try to increase the self-control of children. Of most interest are motivation strategies which have an immediate impact and don’t require a substantial time investment (e.g. unlike meditation). This study evaluated the impact of mental contrasting on academic performance. Mental contrasting is … Read more

Positive Psychology Scales and Measurements The Brief Self-Control Scale (Tangney et al., 2004) is a 13-item questionnaire, which asks participants to endorse statements on a 5-point scale where 1 = not like me at all and 5 = very much like me (e.g., “I have a hard time breaking bad habits” and “I do certain things … Read more

Through a series of 3 studies, the idea that temptation can be domain-specific is explored. The authors bring up the example of Tiger Woods – of how he displayed paragon level self-discipline in most areas of his life, but was found to have succumbed to temptation over a dozen times in one specific area (Holly Sampson, etc…) … Read more

Given the increasing evidence that self-control influences academic performance, it is important to try to increase the self-control of children. Of most interest are motivation strategies which have an immediate impact and don’t require a substantial time investment (e.g. unlike meditation). This study evaluated the impact of the combination of mental contrasting and implementation intentions on … Read more

Do levels of self-control in young children predict future weight status? Maybe. The level of self-control contained by an eight-grader four years earlier explains 8% of the variance of their weight. But after controlling for their BMI four years earlier, self-control explains just 1% of the variance of their weight. This suggests that self-control starts … Read more

Some combination of personality, intelligence, and environmental factors determine success. Intelligence and environment are usually considered to have a much larger role than personality. This study shows that personality may play a larger factor in academic performance than previously thought. Some background: The research behind IQ and performance in adolescents Greater ability to delay gratification measured at … Read more

Can you predict achievement from self-control? Dozens of studies have already established that personality can influence important life outcomes, like getting a good job, staying married, and doing well in school. However, these studies are rarely if ever experimental. As a consequence, hidden variables could be skewing the results. This study improves the validity of using … Read more