Categorization, Measurement, and Effortlessness of Daily Self-Control Strategies

Background Recent research on self-control has shifted in focus from the effortful inhibition of desire to the broader process and more effortless mechanisms of self-control. With this trend, self-control strategies have received increasing attention from researchers.However, the categorization and measurement of self-control strategies remains inadequate for balancing theoretical and ecological validity, especially for the Chinese context; thus, a valid conceptual basis and a deeper understanding of the inherent properties of self-control strategies are lacking for further exploration of the effects of, and interventions for, different strategy types. Methods The present research established a taxonomy of self-control strategies by collecting and coding people’s daily experiences (Study 1) and assessed the psychometric properties of both this classification framework and its corresponding measurement tool across three independent samples (Study 2). Considering the strategy intervention, the study also preliminarily compared the degree of effortlessness among different strategies in an attempt to clarify whether the degree of effortlessness was equal for individuals with different levels of self-control (Study 3). Results Results established a four-category taxonomy of self-control strategies , synthesizing two foundational models (the P-I model and the process model of self-control) while generating novel strategy classes. A psychometrically robust Self-Control Strategies Questionnaire (SCSQ) was developed. The effortlessness across categories diverged from theoretical predictions, primarily modulated by executants' self-control function. Discussion Contrasting this structure with extant theories and measures clarified inter-model relationships and proposed three mechanistic dimensions underpinning strategy categorization. Further discussions include: (a) propounding the anticipatory mechanism of interventive strategies—previously overlooked; (b) reinterpreting the effortlessness of the strategies; (c) demonstrating SCSQ’s practical utility; and (d) delineating future research trajectories. Conclusions Daily self-control strategies can be categorized into four types (Interventive, Temptation-Oriented, Goal-Oriented Preventive, and Interpersonal Preventive strategies), representing three key dimensions: (a) the preventive-interventive dichotomy (as proposed in the P-I model); (b) the goal-temptation dichotomy (central to traditional self-control theories); and (c) the intrapersonal-interpersonal dichotomy (reflecting current frontiers in self-control research). Contrary to theoretical hypotheses, preventive strategies were not more effortless than the interventive strategies. The effortlessness of a strategy is not inherent but modulated by the strategy user's self-control capacity.