Blog

A “resolution” is a sort of mand upon oneself which masquerades as a tact. I am not going to smoke for the next three months is not a response to a future event. Its value in self-control lies in the fact that it can be made now when appropriate contingencies, possibly involving aversive events, are powerful, whereas “not smoking for three months” requires three months for its execution, during which time the underlying deprivation or aversive stimulation may change. The resolution creates a set of conditions under which smoking is particularly punished (as “breaking a promise”) either by the speaker himself or by others. The effect is greater if the resolution is publicly announced or, better, conspicuously posted during the period in which it is in force. (p. 444)