1. Dan McKinney
11-14
Self- Control Summary
Article #1 - Self-Control Relies on Glucose as a Limited Energy Source: Willpower Is
More than a Metaphor
Self- control is the ability to control or override one’s thoughts, emotions, urges, and
behaviors and is reliant on a limited energy or strength. The article states that when we engage in
an act of self-control it has been proven that we lose energy. The loss of that energy source
makes it difficult to contain self-control in the second or subsequent self-control task.
Our body as a biological organism is an energy system and depends heavily on ingesting
energy to fuel activities and is crucial in our ability to perform certain psychological processes.
Our brain is the key function of those processes and it consumes 20% of the body calories that
we take in. We have to have energy in order to function. When we exert self-control, our energy
source is depleted.
The caloric energy that we take in is glucose. Glucose is a principle circulating sugar in
the blood and is the main energy source of the body and most importantly the brain. Therefore,
glucose is a vital fuel for the brain and its activities and functions. It is important to preserve
normal glucose levels in order to maintain executive functions that require control, effortful
processes in order to maintain self-control.
Subsequently, low glucose levels have been linked to impaired performance on difficult
(incongruent) but not easy (congruent) trials of the Stroop color word interference task.
Therefore, low glucose levels impair controlled effortful processes. They require more glucose
and therefore more energy to carry out those complex processes.

2. In contrary, simpler or automatic processes do not require as much energy such as
glucose to be performed. They are simpler processes that are automatic and therefore require
very little thought and do not deplete a source such as glucose.
In addition, small acts of self-control are sufficient enough to deplete the remaining
glucose available, thereby impairing the control of thought and behavior until the body receives
more glucose.
Article # 2- The Strength Model of Self-Control
The strength model of self-control introduced by Roy Baumeister, compares self-control
and its vulnerability to depletion overtime with exertions, similar to a muscle that gets tired. The
muscle analogy is used and has three main parts where people practice self-control.
1. Just as you exercise muscles to improve strength, you must practice and exercise
using self-control. Self-control can improve willpower strength.
2. When people know that they have to exert self-control on initial and several
subsequent tasks, they tend to conserve that energy or strength. This is done when
future expectations or challenges are anticipated where self-control might be needed.
3. If the stakes in exerting self-control are high enough, they tend to exert self-control
Ex: If a gambler is in a high stakes poker game and the stakes become too high,
they will control and exert self-control.
When glucose enters the body, it is converted into neurotransmitters that are used as fuel
to carry out functions and activities.
In conclusion, self-control is a limited resource based on the amount of blood glucose
that is in our body. Glucose is the main energy source of our body and brain. Without glucose in
our system, it is difficult to perform and exert self-control on subsequent tasks after the initial

3. task of self-control has been performed. After the initial task, our energy (glucose) levels are
depleted. Just as a muscle gets tired after exertion, our glucose levels decrease after self-control
tasks are performed. It is important that in order to maintain self-control we must have plenty of
energy in our brain to carry out controlled effortful processes in self-control tasks. When we
have energy (glucose) in our brain and body, we have the ability to control our urges, thoughts,
emotions and behaviors. With having self-control we can make better decisions and judgments
and sustaining self-control can be deemed as a key in becoming an expert.