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We
are each a bio-psycho-social system with a story. From our particular
physiology, personal history, and current social environment emerges an
entity – the Psyche - that is more than the sum of its parts.
Each Psyche has a unique set of attributes. Some have the intellectual
gifts that enable them to predict the likely costs and benefits of different
choices, and so can select paths that lead to good outcomes and avoid those
that lead to harm. Albeit, actually following the path selected despite the
predictable and unpredictable events that might lead one astray requires a
separate attribute: Will.
For example, after considering the costs and benefits of his drinking
history an alcoholic may commit to abstinence. A drinking episode following
such a vow means that his actions were not dependent on his intentions, or
even on his motivation to honor his commitment, but on the local conditions
at the time of the lapse. His behavior was dependent on alcohol rather than
his commitment, and so he is said to be: alcohol dependent. The same holds
true for any incentive [e.g., drug, food, porn, gambling, love] – a Psyche
has become dependent when its behavior is determined not on its intention,
but on an external source of control - e.g., local stressors and
temptations.
Intention Versus Local Influence
Overt behavior in real time is where history is made. . At each moment the
Psyche makes irreversible choices, and by so doing creates its own
biography. The path selected becomes part of the biography, while the
alternatives not chosen fade into oblivion
The Psyche frequently must choose between: The Path of Greatest Advantage
and the Path of Least Resistance. Which one will the Psyche choose? The
course of one's life depends upon what happens at these moments. Two
factors that affect real-time choice:
- Salience
refers to how bright or attention grabbing an incentive is. To continue
with the example of an alcoholic, during a relapse crisis alcohol is highly
salient. On the other hand, the salience of his commitment to abstinence
has faded with time. He may voluntarily select the path that he knows is
self-destructive, because his commitment has become less salient than
stressors and temptations in the local environment.
Recommendation: Periodically review the rationale for the commitment
[e.g., benefits of adhering to it or the penalties of failure].
-
The Problem of Immediate Gratification [the PIG] - It is the immediacy
rather than the magnitude of the payoff that determines how influential an
incentive will be.
 The
PIG says, “The closer you are to the incentive the stronger is its
influence.”
The influence of an incentive [food, drugs, porn] increases exponentially as
proximity increases. Proximity refers to how close the Psyche is to the
incentive in terms of time, space or cognition [thoughts and images of the
incentive]. Even if the salience of the pre-commitment did not decay with
time, its influence, compared with that of the incentive, decreases
dramatically as the incentive nears.
Recommendation: Because the PIG is so potent and so difficult to
recognize at the moment of crisis, any warning signal is likely to be your
last chance to exert will. You must take immediate action to put distance
between you and the incentive - any delay and it will too late!
Cognitive Resources and Will Power
A tennis plays knows that she can only hit the tennis ball in front of her
now - not the ones from the past or the ones that lie in the future. She
remembers her coach reminding her to "Keep your eye on the ball." While
she knows this is good advice, performing as intended in real time is not so
easy. Fatigues, transient emotional states elicited by unforced errors, as
well as other drains on cognitive resources make her vulnerable to fatal
distraction. The ability to maintain focus on the ball despite the influence
of local conditions is a measure of her will power.
Will power is not inexhaustible,1 and
self-management efforts often fall short because of the depletion of the
cognitive resources required to over-ride local distractions. Like muscle power, will power is strengthened by regular
exercise but can be exhausted by factors such as stress and mental load.
To perform intentionally the operator of this bio-psycho-social system has
to prevent the depletion of cognitive resources from undermining one’s
goal-directed behavior.
-
Regular exercise can enhance will power. Here are some:
Self-Hypnosis
Autogenic Training
Martha's Prescription #1
Applied Relaxation
Cognitive Coping Tactics
Performing as Intended
Repeated failures
to adhere to commitments are demoralizing and often cause an individual to
seek external help in the form of treatment. By far the most popular
treatment option for addictive disorders is the 12-Step orientation derived
from Alcoholics Anonymous. Here treatment is based on the idea that
addiction is a disease over which the victim is powerless. The dependent
individual is advised to subordinate his or her will to an external agency
[treatment program, support group, or a higher power]. An alternative to
the 12-Step approach is the model presented here which is focused on
enhancing rather than abandoning Self Determination. For a more
detailed comparison please visit Models.
Elitism notwithstanding, Self-Determination requires
cognitive abilities that are not available to many individuals with
addictive disorders. Even those with intellectual gifts may not be able
to take advantage of them, because of other limitations or frequent
periods of cognitive depletion.
In addition to the intellectual capacity to comprehend the
complex subject matter, Self-Determination requires: the creativity to
apply what has been learned at an abstract level to real-time
circumstance, the courage to go beyond the cheap education of learning by
reading to the more expensive education of learning though direct
experience, and the perseverance to prevent relapse.
Those who have gotten to this point despite the complexity
of the subject matter are self selected; they have demonstrated the
required intellectual traits. What remains to be verified is the
creativity, courage, and perseverance to see this challenge through.
Chronic dependence is a consequence of repeatedly failing to adhere to one's
own commitments. Why would anyone make a commitment and fail to adhere
to it? Several factors that contribute to such failures are
described elsewhere on this web site, including :
The Imp of the Perverse
Karma of Practice
The Problem of Immediate Gratification
The Recursive Trap of Mood Disorders
Footnotes:
1. Muraven, M., & Baumeister, R. F. (2000). Self-regulation and depletion of
limited resources: Does self-control resemble a muscle? Psychological
Bulletin, 126, 247–259.
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