Willpower Doesn’t Work. This Does. is the headline of a relatively recent NY Times Op Ed by Angela Duckworth of “grit” fame.
It’s about “situational agency,” which is a new-to-me term referring to removing temptations instead of using willpower to overcome them.
Though the word is new to me, the strategy isn’t. In fact, Dr. Walter Mischel of the famous Marshmallow Experiment talked about some of the children who were most successful in resisting eating the marshmallow were ones who hid it.
And, of course, teachers apply “situational agency” all the time – having students sit apart from friends who might distract them, asking them to put their cellphones in their backpacks so they can’t see them, etc.
I always found a key to making this a successful strategy was talking privately with students about their challenges, inviting them to share their ideas on how to overcome them, and my suggesting ways they could avoid temptations. I’m not sure you can use the word “agency” to describe any strategy that involves a person in authority telling someone else what they should do.
I’m adding this info to Best Posts About Helping Students Develop Their Capacity For Self-Control.
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