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from Marv Gandall: <>>From Sunday's NY Times: <> <> When we think of self-control, we don’t normally see it in these terms <> — a reasoned decision to wait or not. In fact, the ability to delay <> gratification has traditionally been seen in large part as an issue of <> willpower: Do you have what it takes to wait it out, to choose a later <> — and, presumably, better — reward over an immediate, though not quite <> as good one? Can you forgo a brownie in service of the larger reward <> of losing weight, give up ready cash in favor of a later investment <> payoff? The immediate option is hot; you can taste it, smell it, feel <> it. The long-term choice is far cooler; it’s hard to picture it with <> quite as much color or power. <> <> In psychological terms, the difference is typically seen as a <> dual-system trade-off: On one hand, you have the deliberative, <> reflective, cool system; on the other, the intuitive, reflexive, hot <> system. The less self-control you have, the further off and cooler the <> future becomes and the hotter the immediate present grows. Brownie? <> Yum. <> <> But what if the reality is a little different? What if the ability to <> delay gratification is actually more like the commuter faced with a <> crowded train platform than like a dieter faced with a freshly baked <> treat? A failure of self-control, suggest the University of <> Pennsylvania neuroscientists Joseph W. Kable and Joseph T. McGuire, <> may not be a failure so much as a reasoned response to the uncertainty <> of time: If we’re not quite sure when the train will get there, why <> invest precious time in continuing to wait? <> <> Mr. Kable, who has been working on the psychology and neuroscience of <> decision making for more than a decade, argues that the truth is that <> in real life, as opposed to the lab, we aren’t nearly as sure we’ll <> get our promised reward, or if we do, of when it will come. <> <> “The timing of real-world events is not always so predictable,” he and <> Mr. McGuire write. “Decision makers routinely wait for buses, job <> offers, weight loss and other outcomes characterized by significant <> temporal uncertainty.” Sometimes everything comes just when we expect <> it to, but sometimes even a usually punctual bus breaks down or an <> all-but-certain job offer falls through. <> <> When we set a self-control goal for ourselves, we often have specific <> time frames in mind: I’ll lose a pound a week; a month from now, I’ll <> no longer get cravings for that cigarette; the bus or train will come <> in 10 minutes (and I’ve committed to taking public transportation as <> part of lessening my carbon footprint, thank you very much). <> <> But what happens if our initial estimate is off? The more time passes <> without the expected reward — it’s been 20 minutes and still nothing; <> I’ve been dieting for a week and a half now and still weigh the same — <> the more uncertain the end becomes. Will I ever get my reward? Ever <> lose weight? Ever get on that stupid train? <> <> In this situation, giving up can be a natural — indeed, a rational — <> response to a time frame that wasn’t properly framed to begin with, <> according to a series of new studies conducted by Mr. Kable’s decision <> neuroscience lab at the University of Pennsylvania and published <> inCognition and Psychological Review. <> <> Full: <> http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/17/opinion/sunday/youre-so-self-controlling.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20131117& <> <