Self-Regulation

Definition

Self-regulation refers to the self exerting control over itself. In particular, self-regulation consists of deliberate efforts by the self to alter its own states and responses, including behavior, thoughts, impulses or appetites, emotions, and task performance. The concept of self-regulation is close to the colloquial terms self-control and self-discipline, and many social psychologists use the terms interchangeably.

History and Background

Early social psychologists did not use the term selfRegulation and, if they thought about it at all, regarded it as a minor, obscure, technical problem. However, as the study of the self expanded and researchers became more interested in inner processes, interest in self-regulation expanded. By the 1990s, self-regulation had become widely recognized as a central function of the self, with both practical and theoretical importance, and a broad range of research sought to contribute to the rapidly expanding research literature on self-regulation.

[Page 842]Modern self-regulation theory has several roots. One is in the study of animal learning. Skinnerian behaviorists taught that animals learn behaviors based on past rewards and punishments. In that way, behavior patterns are molded by the external environment. Recognizing that human behavior was more complex and internally guided than much animal behavior, thoughtful behaviorists such as Albert Bandura proposed that people self-regulate by administering rewards and punishments to themselves. For example, a person might say, “If I can get this task done by 7 o'clock, I will treat myself to ice cream,” or “If I don't get this paper written today, I won't go to the movies.”

A second root is in research on delay of gratification. In the 1960s, researchers such as Walter Mischel began to study how people would choose between a small immediate reward and a larger, delayed one. For example, a child might be told, “You can have one cookie now, but if you can wait for 20 minutes without eating it, you can have three cookies.” In adult life, most work and study activities depend on the capacity to delay gratification, insofar as work and studying bring delayed rewards but are often not immediately satisfying (as compared with relaxing or engaging in hobbies). This line of research found that successful delaying of gratification depended on overriding immediate impulses and focusing attention away from the immediate gratification. The immediate response to a tempting stimulus is to enjoy it now, so it requires self-regulation to override that response to wait for the delayed but better reward.

A third root is in the study of self-awareness. During the 1970s, researchers began studying how behavior changes when people focus attention on themselves. In 1981, the book Attention and SelfRegulation by Charles Carver and Michael Scheier proposed that one main function of self-awareness is to aid in self-regulation. That is, you reflect on yourself as a way of deciding how and whether improvement would be desirable.

The fourth root of self-regulation theory is in research on human personal problems, many of which revolve around failures at self-control. Across recent decades, research has steadily accumulated to reveal the importance of self-regulation in many spheres of behavior. Eating disorders and obesity partly reflect failures to regulate one's food intake. Alcohol and drug addiction likewise indicate poor regulation of use of these substances. Research on these and related issues has provided much information that self-regulation theorists could use.

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