Are Believers Better Self Regulators?
Thursday, January 1st, 2009
Self regulation includes the automatic and conscious mental processes we use to manage our emotions, drive states (hungry, thirst, need for sleep, sexual urges), cravings and thoughts in order to control behavior and reach a goal. Self regulation is fundamental for success especially when we need to make and sustain behavior change.
Designing programs, products and services that help people make behavior change is big business and it requires deep insight into the cognition of self-regulation if it is to be done effectively.
Recent research from the University of Miami sheds some new light on the issue by suggesting that religion may have developed, at least in part, because of it ability to help people exercise self control.
But why would the religious be more inclined to self control?
