The authors propose that self-control involves making decisions and behaving in a manner consistent with high-level versus low-level construals of a situation. High-level construals, which capture global and primary features of an event, should lead to greater self-control than low-level construals, which capture local and secondary features. Six experiments using different techniques manipulated construal levels and assessed their effects on self-control and underlying psychological processes. High-level construals led to decreased preferences for immediate over delayed outcomes, greater physical endurance, stronger intentions to exert self-control, and less positive evaluations of temptations. These results support a construal-level analysis of self-control, suggesting that enhancing the tendency to construe a situation at a high level can promote self-control.The authors propose that self-control involves making decisions and behaving in a manner consistent with high-level versus low-level construals of a situation. High-level construals, which capture global and primary features of an event, should lead to greater self-control than low-level construals, which capture local and secondary features. Six experiments using different techniques manipulated construal levels and assessed their effects on self-control and underlying psychological processes. High-level construals led to decreased preferences for immediate over delayed outcomes, greater physical endurance, stronger intentions to exert self-control, and less positive evaluations of temptations. These results support a construal-level analysis of self-control, suggesting that enhancing the tendency to construe a situation at a high level can promote self-control.