What Does Willpower Look Like in the Brain?
The science of giving more rather than giving up
People often talk about “recipes for success,” and one of the core ingredients has to be willpower. Evidence suggests that traits such as self-discipline — the ability to control impulsive tendencies — are strong predictors for positive life outcomes. But what principles actually influence willpower? And what is going on in the brain when people feel motivated?
Self-discipline and persistence are primarily about mindset. People naturally vary in their intrinsic perseverance, but particular thinking patterns make it easier or more difficult to keep going. In a 2016 study, around 6,000 online-course students wrote an essay and then assessed the quality of essays by their peers. Students who examined high-quality essays were discouraged by the excellence of their peers, and their final academic grades were worse than the grades of students who examined lower-quality essays. When people see friends and acquaintances performing well, it can sometimes damage their own determination to do well.
The researchers from that study ran a second experiment to better understand why students felt discouraged by peer excellence. They tested their motivation by offering them an opportunity to write a second essay after completing their assessments. While…
