Self-control is easier to exert at an activity’s early stages than once compelled
Evidence
In the sequential gradient of controllability, it is easier to exercise control at incipient phases of an activity than after finding oneself forced by compelling circumstances to behave otherwise. For example, a heavy drinker has a good chance of arriving home sober after an evening meeting by picking a barless route home rather than a route with inviting bars that present the challenge of having to resist a brief stopover and the even tougher task of controlling the amount drunk, should the drinker choose to go in. What is seemingly uncontrollable under compelling circumstances is controllable at its incipient points. — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 328
Categorization
Category: Causal Relationships
- XREF: Connects to behavioral design / choice architecture work (Thaler & Sunstein) — structuring environments to make good choices easy rather than relying on willpower.