Final Reflection

It's hard to say how much I've learned during Writing 340. None of the subjects that were covered were completely "novel" to me, and I feel like I had a pretty strong grasp of the key writing topics from my first semester of writing. That being said, I felt like this semester of writing was more enjoyable simply because I was allowed to write about things that interest me. Research was far less painful, as reading about these topics was actually interesting as opposed to just time consuming.
I've learned that I'm more or less impartial to collaborative learning. The workshops were definitely helpful, and the worksheets were useful in leading us in the right direction and in getting us to think critically. In the past I had generally been against these types of workshops as I didn't really trust my classmates' advice or corrections, but this class provided a good environment and I trusted the opinions and input of everyone. I haven't been a huge fan of this blog assignment, however. I didn't really get much input, and my blog posts didn't really help guide my research. I had all my blog thoughts in my research notes, and posting them to a public forum seems like an unnecessary step. But as far as overall experience, Writing 340 did help me practice my writing and become more organized in my essay writing process.

Out of Control

One aspect of behavioral economics that I cover in my paper is self-control. I only had enough relevant points to cover it briefly, but it's really an interesting topic that many people don't really view as an 'economic' factor. However, it actually ties into hyperbolic discounting a lot--it's far easier for people to think they can control their future purchases than their current purchases. People value having consumer goods in the present rather than the future, so self control is likely to be far lower now than later.
There's another part of self control that I wasn't able to incorporate into my essay but that I find fascinating: ego depletion. This term basically explores the idea that self control is like a muscle that can be depleted. Ego depletion helps explain why dieters often cheat and/or binge eat at night; they've been exerting self control all day, so by nightfall they've completely exhausted their willpower and give in to their wants.

She'll regret this in the morning when her self control "muscle" is replenished

(http://www.diseaseproof.com/uploads/image/DP%20-%20the%20anatomy%20of%20a%20binge.jpg)

Many experiments have been done to test this theory. One involved having participants watch a comedy routine and try to use self control to prevent themselves from laughing, while another group did not undergo this exercise. When both groups were tested on another task involving self control, those who didn't have to control their laughter did more poorly than the other group. 

Of course, this doesn't mean that there is no hope for those with weaker self control "muscles"--like any other muscle, the self control muscle can be "toned" with proper "exercise." Exerting self control on a regular basis can actually improve one's ability to sustain self control for longer.

Sources:
Baumeister, R.F. "Ego Depletion: Is the Active Self a Limited Resource?" Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 1998. 74: 1252-1265.