Self‐Control in Childhood: A Synthesis of Perspectives and Focus on Early Development

Abstract

AbstractIn this article, I describe three prominent developmental science perspectives on self‐control in childhood, discuss differences and areas of consensus, and suggest a comprehensive, early integrative approach to research on this topic. The self‐control perspectives are the self‐regulatory concepts of delay of gratification and willpower, the cognitive neuroscience executive functioning construct of inhibitory control (IC), and the behavioral and emotional temperament dimensions of effortful control and IC. The primary focus of these approaches is similar, and differences are based largely on theory, methods, and the age of the children studied. Therefore, I agree with a synthesis of these perspectives championed by other developmental scientists, and propose comprehensive, multitheoretical, multimethod empirical study that begins when self‐control emerges in toddlerhood.