This chapter turns to the motivation to exert self-control. There is a crucial difference between being unable and being unwilling to exercise self-control. It is a grave mistake to confound the two, as many psychologists and behavioral economists do. In this chapter, I argue that the motivation to exert self-control derives from one’s overall time orientation: One’s general propensity to be moved and motivated by either immediate or future rewards (as indexed by one’s “delay discounting rate”). I show how differences in time orientation are correlated with differences in working memory capacity, and discuss two recent bodies of research that are particularly relevant: the psychology of “mental time travel” and “life history theory.” The conclusion is that people who grow up in harsh and unpredictable circumstances are more likely to develop a present-oriented personality, and thus tend to be less motivated to exert self-control.

Self-control problems are ubiquitous and a frequent target of behavior change interventions. From a theoretical perspective, self-control is not a unitary phenomenon but rather encompasses a vast and complex set of interacting aspects or key components. As the science of self-control keeps growing, the integration of these key components becomes increasingly important. To this end, an integrative self-control theory (integrative self-control theory) is proposed – a mid-level theory that connects seven psychological components or “hubs” of self-control: (1) desire; (2) self-control goal; (3) self-control conflict; (4) self-control motivation; (5) self-control capacity; (6) self-control effort; and (7) constraints. This chapter addresses the issue of behavior change from the perspective of this integrative theory of self-control. A brief introduction to the theory is followed by demonstrations on how it can be used to identify and classify various behavior change techniques in the self-control domain. Moreover, differences and similarities of integrative self-control theory next to more general frameworks such as the commitment-opportunity-motivation behavior model (Michie, Atkins, & West, 2014) are outlined, avenues for future research highlighted, and general recommendations for behavior change from the perspective integrative self-control theory provided.