What makes people want more self-control: A duo of deficiency and necessity.

Self-control is important, but people may only be motivated to improve their self-control under specific conditions. The present study tests the factors that affect the desire for self-control (DSC), expecting that it would be affected by stable level of self-control (deficiency) and by concerns about meeting current goals (necessity). Four studies (total N = 676) tested the above hypothesis. Study 1 examined the nomological network of DSC, and...