TY  - RPRT
        AU  - Cobb-Clark, Deborah A.
AU  - Goncalves, Juliana Silva
AU  - Tymula, Agnieszka
AU  - Wang, Xueting
        TI  - The Conceptual Foundations of Self-Control and its Link to Impulsivity and Attention
        PY  - 2026/May/
        PB  - Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)
        CY  - Bonn
        T2  - IZA Discussion Paper
        IS  - 18646
        UR  - https://www.iza.org/publications/dp18646
        AB  - Self-control, attention, and impulsivity jointly support goal-directed behavior yet are often examined in isolation with heterogeneous measures. We integrate validated self-reported scales with a hybrid, incentivized behavioral task that synthesizes two canonical experimental designs and adds novel extensions to measure these constructs in a typical work context. Using data from a preregistered four-session online study (N = 443 adults), we characterize the cross-relationships and the relationships between different measures of self-control, attention, and impulsivity and evaluate their contributions to effort allocation over time. More broadly, the study advances an emerging research program that leverages laboratory settings with well-structured economic incentives to examine the role of personality traits and cognitive limitations in economic decision making.
        KW  - self-control
KW  - impulsivity
KW  - attention
KW  - measurement
        ER  -