Republic of the Philippines Course Code: FP 1

LUGAIT COLLEGE Course Title: Values Development Program

UPPER TALACOGON, LUGAIT, MISAMIS ORIENTAL Unit: 3 (lecture)

1st Semester AY 2020 – 2021

Instructor: Dr. Manny B. Abong, M.Div., D.Min. Subject Schedule:

 MW-1:00 pm – 2:30 pm
 MW-2:30 pm – 4:00 pm
Mobile Number: 0936 243 8991  MW-10:30 am – 12:00 am

Messenger Group Chat:

e-mail: mannyabong1982@gmail.com
 LC- FP 1 BSBA block A
 LC- FP 1 BSBA block B
Contact Schedule: Monday – Friday [9AM – 3PM  LC- FP 1 BSBA block C

Module 6

Topic: Desired Learning Outcomes:

Self-Control At the end of the week the students will be able to:
 evaluate behaviors that give them negative emotions and ways to
overcome them;
Duration: 3 hours  justify the causes and effects of these negative emotions;
 modify behavior when situations inflict negative emotions.

Self-control
Questions to ponder:
 What is self – control?
 In your own idea why we need self – control?

Self-control, an aspect of inhibitory control, is the ability to regulate one's emotions, thoughts, and behavior in the face of
temptations and impulses. As an executive function, it is a cognitive process that is necessary for regulating one's behavior in order
to achieve specific goals.

A related concept in psychology is emotional self-regulation. Self-control is thought to be like a muscle. According to studies, self-
regulation, whether emotional or behavioral, was proven to be a limited resource which functions like energy. In the short term,
overuse of self-control will lead to depletion. However, in the long term, the use of self-control can strengthen and improve over
time. To summarize what psychologists determined is: "firstly it’s the ability to control behaviors and so as to avoid temptations and
then to be able to achieve long-term goals. Secondly the ability to delay gratification and put-up resistance against unwanted
behaviors or urges. Lastly it is a limited resource that can be depleted but can strengthen over time".

Self-control is also a key concept in the general theory of crime, a major theory in criminology. The theory was developed by
Michael Gottfredson and Travis Hirschi in their book titled A General Theory of Crime, published in 1990. Gottfredson and Hirschi
define self-control as the differential tendency of individuals to avoid criminal acts independent of the situations in which they find
themselves. Individuals with low self-control tend to be impulsive, insensitive towards others, risk takers, short-sighted, and
nonverbal. About 70% of the variance in questionnaire data operationalizing one construct of Self-control had been found to be
genetic.

 Inhibitory control, also known as response inhibition, is a cognitive process and more specifically, an executive function –
that permits an individual to inhibit their impulses and natural, habitual, or dominant behavioral responses to stimuli (a.k.a.
prepotent responses) in order to select a more appropriate behavior that is consistent with completing their goals.
 Emotional self-regulation or emotion regulation is the ability to respond to the ongoing demands of experience with the
range of emotions in a manner that is socially tolerable and sufficiently flexible to permit spontaneous reactions as well as
the ability to delay spontaneous reactions as needed.
 The self-control theory of crime, often referred to as the general theory of crime, is a criminological theory about the lack
of individual self-control as the main factor behind criminal behavior.

Physiology of behavior

Many things affect one's ability to exert self-control, but it seems that self-control requires sufficient glucose levels in the brain.
Exerting self-control depletes glucose. Reduced glucose, and poor glucose tolerance (reduced ability to transport glucose to the
brain) are correlated with lower performance in tests of self-control, particularly in difficult new situations. Self-control demands
that an individual work to overcome thoughts, emotions, and automatic responses/impulses. These strong efforts require higher
blood glucose levels. Lower blood glucose levels can lead to unsuccessful self-control abilities. Alcohol causes a decrease of glucose
levels in both the brain and the body, and it also has an impairing effect on many forms of self-control. Furthermore, failure of self-
control occurs most likely during times of the day when glucose is used least effectively. Self-control thus appears highly susceptible
to glucose.

An alternative explanation of the limited amounts of glucose that are found is that this depends on the allocation of glucose, not on
limited supply of glucose. According to this theory, the brain has sufficient resources of glucose and also has the possibility of
delivering the glucose, but the personal priorities and motivations of the individual cause the glucose to be allocated to other sites.
This theory has not been tested yet.

The Marshmallow Test

In the 1960s, Walter Mischel tested four-year-old children for self-control in "The Marshmallow Test": the children were each given
a marshmallow and told that they can eat it anytime they want, but if they waited 15 minutes, they would receive another
marshmallow. Follow up studies showed that the results correlated well with these children's success levels in later life.

A strategy used in the marshmallow test was the focus on "hot" and "cool" features of an object. The children were encouraged to
think about the marshmallow's "cool features" such as its shape and texture, possibly comparing it to a cotton ball or a cloud. The
"hot features" of the marshmallow would be its sweet, sticky tastiness. These hot features make it more difficult to delay
gratification. By focusing on the cool features, the mind is adverted from the appealing aspects of the marshmallow, and self-control
is more plausible.

Years later Dr. Mischel reached out to the participants of his study who were then in their 40s. He found that those who showed less
self-control by taking the single marshmallow in the initial study were more likely to develop problems with relationships, stress,
and drug abuse later in life. Dr. Mischel carried out the experiment again with the same participants in order to see which parts of the
brain were active during the process of self-control. The participants received scans through M.R.I to show brain activity. The results
showed that those who exhibited lower levels of self-control had higher brain activity in the ventral striatum, the area that deals with
positive rewards.

Reviews concluded that self-control is correlated with various positive life outcomes, such as happiness, adjustment and various
positive psychological factors. [citation needed] Self-control was also negatively correlated with sociotropy which in turn is
correlated with depression.

Ego depletion

There is conflicting evidence about whether willpower is finite, infinite or self-reinforcing resource, a phenomenon sometimes
termed ego depletion or reverse ego depletion. However, belief that willpower is infinite or self-reinforcing is associated with greater
willpower, voluntary executive function.

Exerting self-control through the executive functions in decision making is held in some theories to deplete one's ability to do so in
the future.

There is only one willpower muscle, so different activities will all drain the same willpower muscle, meaning there isn't a will-power
muscle for succeeding in business, reading or for training. Every time you make a conscious decision to control yourself or exert
control over yourself you expend some of your finite self-control energy.

Ego depletion is the view that high self-control requires energy and focus, and over an extended period of self-control demands, this
self-control can lessen. There are ways to help this ego depletion. One way is through rest and relaxation from these high demands.
Additionally, training self-control with certain behaviors can also help to strengthen an individual's self-control, as does motivational
incentives and supplementation of glucose. Training on self-control tasks will help boost our willpower like for example: improving
posture, regulating mood, monitoring eating habits, avoiding colloquial language, studying, exercising and financial monitoring. This
seems to be particularly effective in those who would otherwise have difficulty controlling their impulses in the domain of interest.

Another way to overcome unwanted desires is to change the method with which we approach desire. One study in particular
analyzed the impact of approaching a temptation by defining it in abstract, general terms as opposed to specific, concrete details. For
the purposes of the study, approaching a situation using general terms was defined as the high-level construal condition whereas
using specific details was termed the low-level construal condition.

The study involved 42 college students who were randomly assigned to either the high-level or low-level construal condition. The
participants were then presented with a packet that described five scenarios, each one involving a unique self-control conflict. For
those participants in the high-level construal condition the scenarios were described using only general terms and for those in the
low-level construal condition the scenarios were described using only specific details. After imagining themselves in each scenario,
the participants were asked to indicate how bad they would feel if they indulged in the temptation using a six-point scale ranging
from "not at all bad" to "very bad." The data showed that participants in the high-level construal condition reported greater negative
evaluations of temptations than did participants in the low-level construal conditions. This implies that individuals using high-level
construal are better able to place a temptation in context and properly evaluate its long-term impact, and therefore are more likely to
maintain self-control.

1. Self-control in Theological perspectives.

Galatians 5:16 – 24 [ESV-Bible]
16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.
17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each
other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.
18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity,
sensuality,
20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions,
21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit
the kingdom of God.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

If It’s Christian

Alongside love and godliness, self-control serves as a major summary term for Christian conduct in full flower (2 Timothy 1:7;
Titus 2:6, 12; 1 Peter 4:7; 2 Peter 1:6). It is the climactic “fruit of the Spirit” in the apostle’s famous list (Galatians 5:22–23) and
one of the first things that must be characteristic of leaders in the church (1 Timothy 3:2; Titus 1:8). Acts summarizes the apostle’s
reasoning about the Christian gospel and worldview as “righteousness and self-control and the coming judgment” (Acts 24:25). And
Proverbs 25:28 likens “a man without self-control” to “a city broken into and left without walls.”

For starters, the idea of controlling one’s own self presumes at least two things:
 the presence of something within us that needs to be bridled and
 the possibility in us, or through us, for drawing on some source of power to restrain it. For the born-again, our hearts
are new, but the poison of indwelling sin still courses through our veins. Not only are there evil desires to renounce
altogether, but good desires to keep in check and indulge only in appropriate ways.

Christian self-control is multifaceted. It involves both “control over one’s behavior and the impulses and emotions beneath it”
(Philip Towner, Letters to Timothy and Titus, 252). It includes our minds and our emotions — not just our outward actions, but our
internal state.

Heart, Mind, Body, Drink, and Sex

Biblically, self-control, or lack thereof, goes to the deepest part of us: the heart. It begins with control of our emotions, and then
includes our minds as well. Self-control is often paired with “sober-mindedness” (1 Timothy 3:2; Titus 1:8; Titus 2:2; 1 Peter
4:7), and in several places the language of “self-control” applies especially to the mind. Mark 5:15 and Luke 8:35 characterize the
healed demoniac as “clothed and in his right mind.” Paul uses similar language to speak of being in his right mind (2 Corinthians
5:13), as well as not being out of his mind (Acts 26:25). And Romans 12:3 exhorts every Christian “not to think of himself more
highly than he ought to think,” but to exercise a form of self-control: thinking “with sober judgment.”

Self-control is bodily and external as well. The apostle disciplines his body to “keep it under control” (1 Corinthians 9:25–27). It
can mean not being “slaves to much wine” (Titus 2:3–5). And in particular, the language of self-control often has sexual overtones.
Paul instructs Christians to “abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and
honor, not in the passion of lust” (1 Thessalonians 4:3–5). In a charge to women in 1 Timothy 2:9, self-control relates to modesty.
And 1 Corinthians 7 presumes some lack of self-control in married adults that might give Satan some footholds were they to
unnecessarily deprive their spouse sexually for an extended time (1 Corinthians 7:5). God has given some the calling of singleness
and with it, “having his desire under control” (1 Corinthians 7:37); others “burn with passion” and find it better to marry (1
Corinthians 7:9).

The question for the Christian, then, is this: If self-control is so significant — and if indeed it can be taught — then how do I go
about pursuing it as a Christian?

Find Your Source Outside Your Self

Professor Mischel preaches a gospel of distraction and distancing:

The children who succeed turn their backs on the cookie, push it away, pretend it’s something nonedible like a piece of wood, or
invent a song. Instead of staring down the cookie, they transform it into something with less of a throbbing pull on them. If you
change how you think about it, its impact on what you feel and do changes.

This may be a good place to start, but the Bible has more to teach than raw renunciation. Turn your eyes and attention, yes, but not to
a mere diversion, but to the source of true change and real power that is outside yourself, where you can lawfully indulge. The key
to self-control is not inward, but upward.

Gift and Duty

True self-control is a gift from above, produced in and through us by the Holy Spirit. Until we own that it is received from outside
ourselves, rather than whipped up from within, the effort we give to control our own selves will redound to our praise, rather than
God’s.

But we also need to note that self-control is not a gift we receive passively, but actively. We are not the source, but we are intimately
involved. We open the gift and live it. Receiving the grace of self-control means taking it all the way in and then out into the actual
exercise of the grace. “As the Hebrews were promised the land, but had to take it by force, one town at a time,” says Ed Welch, “so
we are promised the gift of self-control, yet we also must take it by force” (“Self-Control: The Battle Against ‘One More’”).

You may be able to trick yourself into some semblance of true self-control. You may be able to drum up the willpower to just say no.
But you alone get the glory for that — which will not prove satisfying enough for the Christian.

We want Jesus to get glory. We want to control ourselves in the power he supplies. We learn to say no, but we don’t just say no. We
admit the inadequacy, and emptiness, of doing it on our own. We pray for Jesus’s help, secure accountability, and craft specific
strategies (“Develop a clear, publicized plan,” counsels Welch). We trust God’s promises to supply the power for every good work
(2 Corinthians 9:8; Philippians 4:19) and then act in faith that he will do it in and through us (Philippians 2:12–13). And then we
thank him for every Spirit-supplied strain and success and step forward in self-control.

Christ-Control

Ultimately, our controlling ourselves is about being controlled by Christ. When “the love of Christ controls us” (2 Corinthians
5:14), when we embrace the truth that he is our sovereign, and God has “left nothing outside his control” (Hebrews 2:8), we can
bask in the freedom that we need not muster our own strength to exercise self-control, but we can find strength in the strength of
another. In the person of Jesus, “the grace of God has appeared . . . training us” — not just “to renounce ungodliness and worldly
passions,” but “to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age” (Titus 2:11–12). Christian self-control is not
finally about bringing our bodily passions under our own control, but under the control of Christ by the power of his Spirit.
Because self-control is a gift, produced in and through us by God’s Spirit, Christians can and should be the people on the planet most
hopeful about growing in self-control. We are, after all, brothers of the most self-controlled man in the history of the world.
All his life he was “without sin” (Hebrews 4:15). “He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth” (1 Peter 2:22). He
stayed the course even when sweat came like drops of blood (Luke 22:44). He could have called twelve legions of angels (Matthew
26:53), but he had the wherewithal to not rebut the false charges (Matthew 27:14) or defend himself (Luke 23:9). When reviled, he
did not revile in return (1 Peter 2:23). They spit in his face and struck him; some slapped him (Matthew 26:67). They scourged him
(Matthew 27:26). In every trial and temptation, “he learned obedience through what he suffered” (Hebrews 5:8), and at the pinnacle
of his self-control he was “obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:8). And he is the one who
strengthens us (1 Timothy 1:12; Philippians 4:13).
In Jesus, we have a source for true self-control far beyond that of our feeble selves.

2. Self – Control in Philosophical views.

History
Stoicism is a school of Hellenistic philosophy founded by Zeno of Citium in Athens in the early 3rd century BC. It is a philosophy of
personal eudaimonic virtue ethics informed by its system of logic and its views on the natural world. Asserting that the practice of
virtue is both necessary and sufficient to achieve eudaimonia - flourishing, by means of living an ethical life. The Stoics identified
the path to eudaimonia with a life spent practicing the cardinal virtues and living in accordance with nature.

The Stoics are especially known for teaching that "virtue is the only good" for human beings, and those external things—such as
health, wealth, and pleasure—are not good or bad in themselves (adiaphora), but have value as "material for virtue to act upon".
Alongside Aristotelian ethics, the Stoic tradition forms one of the major founding approaches to virtue ethics. The Stoics also held
that certain destructive emotions resulted from errors of judgment, and they believed people should aim to maintain a will (called
prohairesis) that is "in accordance with nature". Because of this, the Stoics thought the best indication of an individual's philosophy
was not what a person said but how a person behaved. To live a good life, one had to understand the rules of the natural order since
they thought everything was rooted in nature.

Many Stoics—such as Seneca and Epictetus—emphasized that because "virtue is sufficient for happiness", a sage would be
emotionally resilient to misfortune. This belief is similar to the meaning of the phrase "stoic calm", though the phrase does not
include the traditional Stoic views that only a sage can be considered truly free and that all moral corruptions are equally vicious.

Stoicism flourished throughout the Roman and Greek world until the 3rd century AD, and among its adherents was Emperor Marcus
Aurelius. It experienced a decline after Christianity became the state religion in the 4th century AD. Since then, it has seen revivals,
notably in the Renaissance (Neostoicism) and in the contemporary era (modern Stoicism).

Epistemology

The Stoics propounded that knowledge can be attained through the use of reason. Truth can be distinguished from fallacy—even if,
in practice, only an approximation can be made. According to the Stoics, the senses constantly receive sensations: pulsations that
pass from objects through the senses to the mind, where they leave an impression in the imagination (phantasiai) (an impression
arising from the mind was called a phantasma).

The mind has the ability to judge (συγκατάθεσις, synkatathesis)—approve or reject—an impression, enabling it to distinguish a true
representation of reality from one that is false. Some impressions can be assented to immediately, but others can achieve only
varying degrees of hesitant approval, which can be labeled belief or opinion (doxa). It is only through reason that we gain clear
comprehension and conviction (katalepsis). Certain and true knowledge (episteme), achievable by the Stoic sage, can be attained
only by verifying the conviction with the expertise of one's peers and the collective judgment of humankind.

Stoicism | The philosophy of self-control and fortitude

Stoicism is a school of Hellenistic philosophy founded in Athens by Zeno of Citium in the early 3rd century BC. The Stoics taught
that destructive emotions resulted from errors in judgment, and the active relationship between cosmic determinism and human
freedom, and the belief that it is virtuous to maintain a will (called prohairesis) that is in accord with nature.

Because of this, the Stoics presented their philosophy as a way of life, and they thought that the best indication of an individual’s
philosophy was not what a person said but how that person behaved. To live a good life, one had to understand the rules of the
natural order since they taught that everything was rooted in nature.

Stoicism teaches the development of self-control and fortitude as a means of overcoming destructive emotions. The philosophy holds
that becoming a clear and unbiased thinker allows one to understand the universal reason. Stoics aim to be free from anger, envy,
and jealousy.

The Stoics propounded that knowledge can be attained through the use of reason. Truth can be distinguished from fallacy – even if,
in practice, only an approximation can be made.

The Stoics did not seek to extinguish emotions; rather, they sought to transform them by a resolute ‘askēsis’ that enables a person to
develop clear judgment and inner calm. Logic, reflection, and concentration were the methods of such self-discipline.

The four cardinal virtues of the Stoic philosophy is a classification derived from the teachings of Plato: wisdom (Sophia), courage
(Andreia), justice (Dikaiosyne), and temperance (Sophrosyne).

The four cardinal virtues (aretai) of Stoic philosophy are a classification derived from the teachings of Plato (Republic IV.
426–35):

 Wisdom (Greek: φρόνησις "phronesis" or σοφία "sophia", Latin: prudentia or sapientia)

 Courage (Greek: ανδρεία "andreia", Latin: fortitudo)
 Justice (Greek: δικαιοσύνη "dikaiosyne", Latin: iustitia)
 Temperance (Greek: σωφροσύνη "sophrosyne", Latin: temperantia)

Assessment: 10 points each.

1. Explain “The key to self-control is not inward, but upward.”

2. In your own analysis these two perspectives about self-control “Theological and Philosophical views”, which of these
two is more applicable in your life? Why?

References:

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-control - Self-control.
 DeLisi M (2014). Chapter 10: Low Self-Control Is a Brain-Based Disorder. SAGE Publications Ltd.
doi:10.4135/9781483349114. ISBN 9781452242255. Retrieved 4 May 2014.
 Diamond A (2013). "Executive functions". Annual Review of Psychology. 64: 135–68. doi:10.1146/annurev-psych-
113011-143750. PMC 4084861. PMID 23020641.
 Willems YE, Dolan CV, van Beijsterveldt CE, de Zeeuw EL, Boomsma DI, Bartels M, Finkenauer C (March 2018).
"Genetic and Environmental Influences on Self-Control: Assessing Self-Control with the ASEBA Self-Control Scale".
Behavior Genetics.
 Self-Control and the Power of Christ - https://www.desiringgod.org Article by David Mathis
Executive Editor, desiringGod.org
 Stoicism | The philosophy of self-control and fortitude - https://www.stptax.com/profit-strategies/stoicism/
 Stoicism - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stoicism