Using Free Will Wisely

Abstract Self-concordance research has come a long way since the turn of the millennium. This chapter revisits the original thinking and data regarding the model, selectively reviews more recent research on the model, and outlines some interesting new theoretical developments and research possibilities. Self-concordance research addresses a complex combination of factors: self-as-agent versus self-as-story, system 1 versus system 2 processes, implicit versus explicit processes, “I” versus “me” processes, defensive versus growth processes, deliberative versus implemental processes, and more. This chapter also connects self-concordance to the free will versus determinism debate and shows how the process of becoming more self-concordant can be conceptualized in terms of Wallas’s (1926) four stage model of the creative process.