Developing Usable Experiences

Varimax rotation and self-control

February 5th, 2008 7:45 am —  165 views

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Self-control is the study subject this week1. I’m reading an article on the strength model of self-control, on the delaying of gratification in children, and one on the flawed assessment of self2. The first article describes self-control thus:

“Self-control refers to the capacity for altering one’s own responses … to support the pursuit of long-term goals.”3

I cut out the middle of that sentence so it wouldn’t put anybody to sleep. The part I cut-out was important enough to warrant a mention however. The cut-out part alludes to the notion that we alter our behavior because of ideals, values, morals, and social expectations. Isn’t that like saying you do what you believe? Makes me wonder how much is built on belief. Makes me think of J.Krishnamurti going on about how beliefs are what separate people.4

Does belief have to be present as we go about our lives? Is believing that I can complete this graduate program the reason that I change my behavior to get 3.5 hours of sleep most nights? All this thinking on belief makes me wonder how it is we come to possess our beliefs. But alas, no time for that. And talk about boring stuff to read5

While I’m reading all this psychology material that’s getting me all introspective, I’m reading “The Accidental Buddhist.” I’m nearly finished with it and the author is bringing us to his conclusions on attachment, peaceful living, compassion for self and others, and what it might mean to integrate Buddhism into an American lifestyle. The key points he draws aren’t new or original. They are simple: eat your rice, wash your bowl, then go to the bathroom if you need to.

While I’m going about this eating, washing, and..um, other mundane operations, I’m thinking about self and others and what’s shared. The Innernets6 are shared. A lot is shared as a result. Such as the Pain of Loss shared for the family of DK who recently lost a loved one.7

We all have to deal with the challenges of self-control. All the time. One of the papers tries to make a case that self-control is likened to a resource that can get tired when used repeatedly, like a muscle gets tired. If that is true, then it stands to reason that exercising self-control can strengthen it. That might be good.

My self tells me that I have to wrap this musing up and go focus on solving linux system administration problems and writing some NFuse test cases to get another project moving forward.

And “varimax rotation” is a complex means of analysis that I totally don’t understand.

Image: I love macro-mode on my camera. While continually working to improve my “cave” I came across this CPU from an old computer of mine. The date on it is 1989. The paper in the background is the one I refer to a bunch.

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  1. For my class, “Fundamentals of Human Behavior.” [↩]
  2. Subtitle = Implication for Health, Education, and the Workplace. [↩]
  3. Baumeister, Vohs, Tice, 2007 Association for Psychological Science. [↩]
  4. I’ve always felt that this should include words like “strongly held” or “zealously attached.” [↩]
  5. Worry not, I suspect my ramblings on epistemology will get their time in the light. [↩]
  6. Props to the ‘Balancer…where I picked this up…or was it ‘Catrix…hmm. [↩]
  7. Dawn, my heart goes out to your friend and his family. That hurts. [↩]

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One Response to “Varimax rotation and self-control”

  1. Dawn on February 5th, 2008 9:53 am

    Thanks Spike. Yes it hurts to see a family going through the loss of their husband/dad. We (the rest of the running community friends) are trying to figure out what to do for her. Maybe just be there. Maybe more. We’ll see.

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