P/PS/39. Why is it hard to resist a temptation?

The paper looks at the behavioural aspects of self control arguing that we can only misbehave when we can afford it. The cases of external and internal imposition are discussed in terms of preference reversals and affordable misbehavior. Examples of externally imposed behavior are given in relation to various social practices stressing the necessity of estimating future behavior to avoid externally imposed self control. Internally imposed self control is discussed in relation to enhancing willpower and abolishing the urge to misbehave. The paper outlines the mechanisms that increase desire and reduce the ability to resist temptation and concludes that we should realistically estimate ourselves.