Conflict and control at different levels of self-regulation

Traditionally, self-control conflicts have been defined as conflicts between some immediate, short-term gratification versus some delayed, long-term gain. Although this is certainly a self-control issue, we argue that a focus on this definition of self-control has obscured the broader self-control issue: self-control is about resolving and managing conflict. In this chapter, we take a broad view of defining self-control within the self-regulatory system by considering how conflicts and control are represented within a self-regulatory hierarchy. Specifically, we suggest that self-control involves managing conflicts at multiple levels: managing conflicts between and within the levels of behaviors, tactics, strategies, and goals. In particular, we suggest that self-control conflicts can exist both between and within multiple levels in a hierarchy. Vertical conflicts occur between levels in a self-regulatory hierarchy (e.g., between higher-order and lower-order concerns, between goal orientations and strategies, between strategies and tactics). Horizontal conflicts occur within levels in a self-regulatory hierarchy (e.g., between goals, between strategies, between tactics, between behaviors). We review evidence that individuals exert self-control both horizontally and vertically at the goal and strategic levels of the self-regulatory hierarchy. We end by discussing the possibility that conflict representations are malleable. Representing the same conflict in different ways (e.g., vertically vs. horizontally) may have significant implications for interventions.