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Why Self-Discipline Is Overrated
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Why Self-Discipline Is Overrated

The (Troubling) Theory and Practice of Control from Within

Alfie Kohn, 2008

自动生成的音频
自动生成的音频

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8

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  • Well Structured

Recommendation

Speaker, author and former educator Alfie Kohn’s essay offers compelling reasons to question the virtue of self-discipline. Have too much self-discipline, he argues, and you’re a compulsive automaton. Have too little, and you’re easily sidetracked and wild. Both can be a problem, but the reason educators and parents vilify the latter is because it presents more of a problem for them. For the disciplined individual, too much self-control may limit the fun they have and their innate impulsiveness. getAbstract recommends this summary to parents, educators and anyone who often feels that whatever they are doing, they should be doing something else instead.

Summary

The concept of self-discipline was popularized by the famed “marshmallow experiments.” Researchers told children that they could either have one marshmallow immediately or two marshmallows if they waited an undefined amount of time. Ten years later, the children who were able to wait scored higher on SAT tests and measures of cognitive and social skills.

Educators and parents are often obsessed with the idea of self-discipline because to them it means that their charges will do the right thing without constant supervision. They therefore set about “installing...

About the Author

Alfie Kohn is an author and lecturer in the areas of education, parenting and human behavior.


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