“Self-regulation” (also self-control or executive functions) stands for the capability to control emotions and habits, to own a well-established working memory and cognitive flexibility to be able to switch between different modes of thinking and acting. Substantial research suggests that these core competencies are crucial for factors of success and happiness in life like health, wealth, etc. This paper summarizes the current status of research in different disciplines on these abilities. International examples for relevant teaching will be given. It will explain its significance for private and business settings as part of self-management. The paper will also include the meaning of this topic for burning social questions. Conclusions for didactic analog and digital methods on different age levels including adults will be outlined.

1. The Game of Life
Self-Regulation
Via Analog Learning and E-Learning
ICELW, June 12 2013, Columbia University, NY
Richard Pircher, Prof. (FH) Dr.
University of Applied Sciences bfi Vienna, Austria
richard.pircher@fh-vie.ac.at
Slides are available at http://richard-pircher.net 1

2. I would like to
offer you a piece
of this
traditional
Viennese wafer
Please
don t eat it!
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3. The Marshmallow Test
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3S0xS2hdi4
The Mature Marshmallow Test:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQvBrEEYS20 3

4. The difficulty to resist
inner temptation
… this video and the Viennese wafer may
serve as a reminder of how difficult it may
be to resist inner temptation
… and there will also be some more
wafers available at the end of the
presentation if you resisted
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5. Self-regulation
“The need to
• delay gratification,
• control impulses, and
• modulate emotional expression
is the earliest and most ubiquitous demand that
societies place on their children”
PNAS | February 15, 2011 | vol. 108 | no. 7 | 2693–2698 www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.1010076108
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6. Self-regulation
• Self-regulation means to be able to
be goal-oriented, context-specific
and to inhibit affective impulses
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7. Self-regulation
• Self-regulation (respectively executive functions)
consists of:
–Inhibition of behaviour and attention – the
ability to pursue a goal despite distracting
stimuli
–Working memory – the ability to memorize
content for further processing
–Cognitive flexibility – the ability to adapt to
new requirements and to change one‘s point
of view regarding people, situations and
abilities
Note: the terms „self-regulation“, „self-control“ and „executive functions“ will not be distinguished here.
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8. PNAS | February 15, 2011 | vol. 108 | no. 7 | 2693–2698
www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.1010076108
8

9. Initial question
Is self-regulation important for the
health, wealth, and public safety of the
population?
PNAS | February 15, 2011 | vol. 108 | no. 7 | 2693–2698 www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.1010076108
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10. Empirical study
• The study followed a cohort of 1,000
children from birth to the age of 32
years.
• The effects of children’s self-control
could be disentangled from their
intelligence and social class as well
as from mistakes they made as
adolescents.
PNAS | February 15, 2011 | vol. 108 | no. 7 | 2693–2698 www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.1010076108
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11. Empirical results
PNAS | February 15, 2011 | vol. 108 | no. 7 | 2693–2698 www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.1010076108
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12. high childhood self-control
Empirical results
high childhood self-control
much lower probability of
poor physical health and drug addiction
much higher probability of
good socioeconomic status and income
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13. Empirical results
PNAS | February 15, 2011 | vol. 108 | no. 7 | 2693–2698 www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.1010076108
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14. Empirical results
high childhood self-control
much lower probability of
single-parent child-rearing
high childhood self-control
much lower probability of
adult criminal conviction
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15. Empirical results
• It is shown that childhood self-control
predicts:
physical health, drug addiction,
personal finances, and criminal offence
outcomes, follow a gradient of self-
control
• Self-control is more important than
intelligence and social class
PNAS | February 15, 2011 | vol. 108 | no. 7 | 2693–2698 www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.1010076108
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16. It´s never too late
• What would happen if we were able to
intervene and improve children’s self-
control. Would an increase in self-
control predict better outcomes?
• Those children who became more self-
controlled from childhood to young
adulthood had better outcomes by the
age of 32 years
PNAS | February 15, 2011 | vol. 108 | no. 7 | 2693–2698 www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.1010076108
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17. Creativity?
My comment on
creativity:
An artist or an innovator
needs to have self-
regulative competencies in
order to be able to finish a
painting, do rehearsals,
excercises, develop an
idea and turn it into a new
product, etc.
Left: Venus of Galgenberg („Fanny“), appr. 30,000 years ago, Museum of Natural History in Vienna, Austria
Top: Head of a Buddha, Northern Qi Dynasty, ca. 570, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Bottom: Pablo Picasso: Gertrud Stein, 1905-6, Metropolitan Museum of Art , New York
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18. Conclusion
If we would support the development of self-
regulation at all ages
this would help to reduce several important social
problems
like poverty, crime, drug addiction and poor health
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19. How to develop self-regulation?
Challenges which require …
• inhibition of impulses
• adjustment to changing rules
• to combine cognitive, physical and social
activities
support the development of
self-regulation
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20. Analog learning for fostering
self-regulation
http://www.znl-fex.de/ http://www.wehrfritz.de (in German)
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21. Analog learning – let´s fex
• One side of the card is shown to the player
• At the same time, the player is given a command:
either to do the same or the opposite
http://www.znl-fex.de/ http://www.wehrfritz.de (in German) 21

22. Analog learning – let´s fex
• Level 1: The player should do what is shown
on the card.
• Level 2: The player should do the opposite
of what is shown on the card.
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23. Analog learning – let´s fex
• Level 3: The player should do what is shown
on the card only if a wooden mascot is raised.
Otherwise she is expected to say “let´s fex”!
• Level 4: The player should do the opposite of
what is shown on the card only if a wooden
mascot is raised. Otherwise she is expected
to say “let´s fex”!
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24. Alien Game: Being a Space Ranger
• Aliens are hungry or thirsty
• The player has to feed aliens according to
their needs
• Some times, the rules defining who needs
what, change
http://psychologie.univie.ac.at/games4resilience http://youtu.be/XkOdke-Llus http://youtu.be/-Spp6VcwVQQ (in German)
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25. Games fostering the development of
self-regulation
These games support the development of
self-regulation because they require …
• inhibition of impulses
• adjustment to changing rules
• the combing of cognitive, physical and
social activities
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26. Summary
• Self-control is a key factor for the
development of individuals and our
societies
• Games and teaching methods may
foster these competencies
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27. Significance for you?
The next time, when you are doing your
work, I would like you to ask yourself the
following question:
Could what I am doing help the
learners to
improve their self-control as well?
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28. Richard Pircher
University of Applied Sciences bfi Vienna, Austria
richard.pircher@fh-vie.ac.at
Slides are available at http://richard-pircher.net
Please feel free to take some more wafers!
I would be happy to answer your
questions!
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