Charts on Student Self-Control

The following charts are from a 2006 study in Basic & Applied Social Psychology called Improved Self-Control: The Benefits of a Regular Program of Academic Study. More information on the study can be found here.

In each chart, the first two bars represent the control group with no regular study program (at the beginning and end of each semester), and the second two bars are the group who did have a regular study program (at the beginning and end of each semester). What is interesting is to compare the second and fourth bars, which represent student behaviour during the exam period. The white bar is the non-study group, the shaded bar is the study group.





The charts illustrate that students who did not practice self-control throughout the semester with their study habits, under the stress of exams weakened even further in their self-control and resorted to more alcohol, cigarettes, caffeine and junk food. They could not keep up with their household chores, actually procrastinated more with TV and friends (despite having exams), exercised less and had less control over their impusles.