"It is difficult to identify any major personal problems that do not have some element of self-control failure," he said.
Self-control involves suppressing impulses and working to change oneself according to particular ideas or standards and is the focus of Baumeister's most recent book, "Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength."
Although most people associate willpower with practices like dieting and quitting smoking, Baumeister said the benefits of self-control are most helpful in performing well in school and work environments, moderately helpful in relationships and adjustments and weakest with appetite behaviors.
While Baumeister said his research did not point to the existence of any "irresistible" desires, he said that sleep and sex constitute the strongest desires, while tobacco and alcohol present the weakest desires. Addiction to tobacco and alcohol is often the result of other bad habits, Baumeister said.
Willpower, however, is not an unlimited resource, Baumeister said. There is one finite source of willpower that fluctuates in capacity. As willpower is used up, "ego depletion" results, impeding one's ability to successfully resist desire in subsequent situations, according to Baumeister.
In this sense, willpower works like a muscle in that it gets depleted after exertion, starts conserving its resources during depletion and can be strengthened by exercise to improve self-control, according to Baumeister. Exercising willpower in any way will lead to success in different contexts, even as individuals age, he said.
Because willpower is a finite resource, negative effects arise when these resources are depleted. For example, when willpower is depleted in dieters, they will eat more than people whose willpower hasn't been depleted, according to Baumeister.
The use of willpower also plays a role in decision-making, Baumeister said. People who have depleted their self-control will be more prone to avoid making decisions, and will be more likely to resort to a default decision instead of compromising.
Addressing the possibility that willpower is linked to a physical origin, Baumeister noted that nutritionists have found that glucose, which provides the body's basic energy supply and carries energy to the brain, is deficient in people with self-control deficits. While there is no clear and consistent way that willpower depletion manifests itself, research has shown that people tend to feel things more strongly when they are in this state.
Ultimately, willpower may be the greatest human strength, with the virtue of self-control contributing to the development of culture, which has been crucial to the success of the human species, Baumeister said.
Psychology professor Todd Heatherton, who has worked closely with Baumeister, said Baumeister's visit was suggested by College President Jim Yong Kim, who was intrigued by his book. Heatherton said he was "delighted" by Kim and Provost Carol Folt's desire to meet Baumeister.
Graduate student Annie Brown said she attended the event due to its relevance to her research on mood.
"[Baumeister's] a huge deal and has published a lot of influential literature," she said. "I developed some questions that relate mood to self-control. He's a supper witty speaker and very enjoyable, but [the lecture] was also packed with lots of great data."
Baumeister said students must focus on understanding and using self-control to their advantage.
"Improving self-control is one of the best things you can do to improve health, happiness and success in life," he said. "Understand how it works and put it to work for yourself."
