Self-Regulation

Self-regulation is the process that determines how one identifies, conceives, analyzes, plans, directs, manages, evaluates, and adjusts what one does. Self-regulation precedes the development of intrinsic motivation, which in turn energizes the appropriate use of reflective judgment. Ethical dilemmas are often personal and paradoxical problems that need to be solved using a decision-making process that involves choosing among two or more viable [Page 3046]options. Hence, self-regulation in the ethical decision-making process guides how one processes information that is involved in resolving difficult and complex problems that call into question personal values, experiences, and prior learning.

Individuals can be governed either by external forces, such as laws and community norms, or through self-regulation, led by their own sense of values and ethical commitments. Balancing societal norms and ...