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AbstractThis paper highlights current advances and limitations in self-control assessment and suggests several avenues to improve measurement of this construct. We begin by underscoring the importance of assessing self-control capacity as opposed to behavioral outcomes. In addition, we explicitly include in the model an independent consideration of urge intensity (the strength of impulses). Whether one is interested in self-control processes at the state or trait level, in general or with respect to behavior in a specific domain, research questions can be enriched by employing measurement strategies that distinguish among self-control capacity, urge intensity, and outcomes. Such improved assessments can translate into more effective interventions by helping clinicians decide whether to differentially focus on ameliorating urges, enhancing self-control capacity, or both. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Psychology is moving increasingly toward digital sources of data, with Amazon's Mechanical Turk (MTurk) at the forefront of that charge. In 2015, up to an estimated 45% of articles published in the top behavioral and social science journals included at least one study conducted on MTurk. In this article, I summarize my own experience with MTurk and how I deduced that my sample was—at best—only 2.6% valid, by my estimate. I share these results as a warning and call for caution. Recently, I conducted an online study via Amazon's MTurk, eager and excited to collect my own data for the first time as a doctoral student. What resulted has prompted me to write this as a warning: it is indeed too good to be true. This is a summary of how I determined that, at best, I had gathered valid data from 14 human beings—2.6% of my participant sample (N = 529). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]