2020-2021 University Catalog 
    
    Mar 28, 2024  
2020-2021 University Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

CORE 149S - The Scientific Study of Willpower


Willpower allows people to delay gratification, resist temptations, and reach challenging long-term goals. This course is devoted to the study of this unique human capacity to regulate behavior. Students explore the psychological mechanisms underlying willpower from a scientific perspective. While reading relevant theoretical and empirical works, students test the ideas under study through laboratory exercises. Discussions explore the broader implications of research findings and apply these principles to the self-regulatory challenges that one faces every day. Assignments focus on developing strong writing and scientific-reasoning skills, and gaining useful insight into one’s own motivational tendencies. A final research project allows students to investigate empirically an original idea on the nature of willpower.

Credits: 1.00
Corequisite: None
Prerequisites: None
Major/Minor Restrictions: None
Class Restriction: No Junior, Senior
Area of Inquiry: None
Liberal Arts CORE: Scientific Perspectives


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