Temptation and self-control

We study a two-period model where ex ante inferior choice may tempt the dec isionmaker in the second period. Individuals have preferences over sets of alternatives that represent second period choices. Our axioms yield a repre sentation that identifies the individual's commitment ranking, temptation r anking, and cost of self-control. An agent has a preference for commitment if she strictly prefers a subset of alternatives to the set itself. An agen t has self-control if she resists temptation and chooses an option with hig her ex ante utility. We introduce comparative measures of preference for co mmitment and self-control and relate them to our representations.