Pitfalls of self-reported measures of self-control: Surprising insights from extreme debtors.

Our findings suggest that self-reported measures may be more susceptible to psychological distortions than behavioral measures, a pitfall that past research has overlooked. Furthermore, we reveal a double whammy faced by extreme debtors: they have a low capacity to regulate their behavior but hold an illusory perception of high capacity, which may expose them to further debt accumulation. The insights from our study underscore the utility of examining extreme segments of the population for advancing psychological knowledge.