Animals do not defer gratification. The problem of delayed gratification is intellectual and philosophically fundamental to human nature. Europeans abandoned Willpower, as a foundational moral virtue in their post-WWII rush toward instant gratification. Americans followed suit, but blamed it on Dr. Spock, whose childcare advised a more flexible and affectionate bringing of their children, instant gratification!

Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength

One of the world's most esteemed and influential psychologists, Roy F. Baumeister, teams with New York Times science writer John Tierney to reveal the secrets of self-control and how to master it. In Willpower , the pioneering researcher Roy F. Baumeister collabor...