Individual Differences In Self-regulation Research Articles

Are perfectionistic strivings beneficial or detrimental to well-being and achievement? Tests of procrastination and emotion regulation as moderators.

Researchers have called for an approach that examines the conditions under which perfectionistic strivings (PS) may be beneficial or detrimental to psychological functioning. We adopted a self-regulation perspective and tested whether individual differences in self-regulation (procrastination, emotion regulation) moderate PS's relationships with achievement and well-being in an academic/work-related achievement context. A sample of 183 preservice teachers participated in a study that combined "traditional" longitudinal assessment (six performance situations over a 9-month period) with repeated ambulatory assessment (measuring well-being, procrastination, and emotion regulation during a total of 910 preparation phases that preceded performance situations). Mean levels of achievement, well-being, and emotion regulation were found to be stable over time, whereas procrastination decreased on average across preparation phases. Results from latent variable interaction models indicated that individual differences in intraindividual change in procrastination over time moderated the relationship between PS and well-being (but not achievement) in the expected direction: The less individuals decreased in procrastination over time, the more negative the relationship between PS and well-being was. Contrary to expectations, we found no evidence of a moderating effect of emotion regulation. The study contributes to a nuanced perspective on the adaptiveness of PS.

CHARACTERISTICS OF LONELINESS EXPERIENCE AMONG ADOLESCENTS WITH DIFFERENT LEVELS OF SELF-REGULATION

The paper examines the characteristics of adolescents’ loneliness experience via the lens of individual differences in self-regulation. The study included 82 participants aged 13 to 14. The levels of self-regulation were identified by means of cluster analysis. To investigate the specifics of loneliness experience in the groups of respondents with the outlined levels of self-regulation, a Kruskal–Wallis H test was used. The study found statistically significant differences in the characteristics of loneliness experience among adolescent respondents with high, medium, and low levels of self-regulation.

Predicting Effortful Control at 3 Years of Age from Measures of Attention and Home Environment in Infancy: A Machine Learning Approach.

Effortful control (EC) is a dimension of temperament that encompass individual differences in self-regulation and the control of reactivity. Much research suggests that EC has a strong foundation on the development of executive attention, but increasing evidence also shows a significant contribution of the rearing environment to individual differences in EC. The aim of the current study was to predict the development of EC at 36 months of age from early attentional and environmental measures taken in infancy using a machine learning approach. A sample of 78 infants participated in a longitudinal study running three waves of data collection at 6, 9, and 36 months of age. Attentional tasks were administered at 6 months of age, with two additional measures (i.e., one attentional measure and another self-restraint measure) being collected at 9 months of age. Parents reported household environment variables during wave 1, and their child's EC at 36 months. A machine-learning algorithm was implemented to identify children with low EC scores at 36 months of age. An "attention only" model showed greater predictive sensitivity than the "environmental only" model. However, a model including both attentional and environmental variables was able to classify the groups (Low-EC vs. Average-to-High EC) with 100% accuracy. Sensitivity analyses indicate that socio-economic variables together with attention control processes at 6 months, and self-restraint capacity at 9 months, are the most important predictors of EC. Results suggest a foundational role of executive attention processes in the development of EC in complex interactions with household environments and provide a new tool to identify early markers of socio-emotional regulation development.

Conceptualizing neurodiversity as individual differences in self-regulation

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Self-regulation and frontal EEG alpha activity during infancy and early childhood: A multilevel meta-analysis.

Integrating behavioral and neurophysiological measures has created new and advanced ways to understand the development of self-regulation. Electroencephalography (EEG) has been used to examine how self-regulatory processes are related to frontal alpha power during infancy and early childhood. However, findings across previous studies have been inconsistent. To address this issue, the current meta-analysis synthesized all prior literature examining associations between individual differences in self-regulation and frontal EEG alpha power (baseline and/or task). In total, 23 studies consisting of 1275 participants between 1 month and 6 years of age were included, which yielded 149 effect sizes. Findings of the three-level meta-analytic model demonstrated a non-significant overall association between self-regulation and frontal alpha power. Yet, significant moderating effects were found for self-regulation construct (emotion regulation, effortful control, executive function), self-regulation measurement (behavioral task, computer assessment, lab observation, questionnaire), and children's mean age. Self-regulation was only significantly correlated with frontal alpha power when studies focused on the executive functioning construct. Moreover, the use of behavioral tasks or questionnaires and a higher mean age of the children resulted in small but significant effect size estimates. Higher frontal alpha power values were related to higher order top-down mechanisms of self-regulation, indicating that these mechanisms might become stronger when the frontal cortex is sufficiently developed. The findings of the current meta-analysis highlight the importance of longitudinal analyses and multimethod approaches in future work to reach a more comprehensive understanding of the role of frontal EEG alpha activity in the etiology of individual differences in early self-regulation. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS: The first meta-analysis of individual differences in self-regulation and frontal EEG alpha power during infancy and early childhood demonstrated a non-significant overall association. Moderation analyses revealed that variations in frontal alpha power were significantly associated with executive function, but not with effortful control and emotion regulation. Frontal alpha power was related to variations in self-regulation when measured by behavioral tasks and questionnaires, but not via computer assessments and lab observations. The association between individual differences in self-regulation and frontal alpha power becomes significantly stronger with age.

The Relationship of Effortful Control to Academic Achievement via Children’s Learning-Related Behaviors

Effortful control (EC) is a temperamental self-regulatory capacity, defined as the efficiency of executive attention [1], which is related to individual differences in self-regulation. Although effortful control covers some dispositional self-regulatory abilities important to cope with social demands of successful adaptation to school, such as attention regulation, individual differences in EC have recently been associated with school functioning through academic achievement including the efficient use of learning-related behaviors, which have been found to be a necessary precursor of learning and they refer to a set of children’s behaviors that involve organizational skills and appropriate habits of study. Therefore, the aim of this study is to review the literature on EC’s relationship to academic achievement via learning-related behaviors, which reflect the use of metacognitive control processes in kindergarten and elementary school students. The findings indicate that EC affects academic achievement through the facilitation of the efficient use of metacognitive control processes.

ADVANCING RESEARCH ON MECHANISMS OF RESILIENCE (ARMOR) LONGITUDINAL COHORT STUDY OF NEW MILITARY RECRUITS: RESULTS FROM A FEASIBILITY PILOT STUDY

Psychological resilience as a longitudinal process is highly relevant for understanding the functioning outcomes of military populations. Here, we review the extant literature on resilience among military service members, focusing on National Guard Soldiers. Our specific project (Advancing Research on Mechanisms of Resilience, “ARMOR”) aims to develop a comprehensive model of resilience using a multilevel perspective. We report results from our prospective pilot study (n = 103) conducted in preparation for our large-scale longitudinal cohort study of basic combat training (BCT) and its impact on military recruits’ wellbeing. Results support feasibility of the larger study, evidence for a new measure of BCT stressor exposure, and demonstrate preliminary associations with BCT-related stressors and longitudinal changes in adaptive functioning. Future directions for our larger study will utilize data from survey responses, structured clinical interviews, neurobehavioral tasks, and neurobiological measures (functional and structural MRI and electroencephalography [EEG]) to examine individual differences in self-regulation as a predictor of resilience-related processes. ARMOR is well positioned to elucidate mechanisms that could be targeted for promoting wellbeing, preventing psychopathology, and facilitating long-term recovery.

Cognitive regulation outdoes behavior regulation in predicting state standardized test scores over time

Individual differences in self-regulation have been a topic of increased empirical research. However, few investigations have been conducted on how sub-components of self-regulation differentially predict education outcomes over time. We examined cognitive and behavior regulation as predictors of middle-school students’ (n = 127) long-term academic achievement. It has been previously reported that behavior regulation, not cognitive regulation, predicts state standardized test scores in the first year (Modrek et al. 2019). However, here we show that after two years, this pattern flips in that cognitive regulation, not behavior regulation, predicts state standardized test scores for both math and English. We analyzed the mediating role of learning using structural equation modeling, suggesting the differing roles of self-regulation in education where certain facets may or may not affect students’ long-term outcomes.

RELIABILITY OF SELF-REGULATION AS A RESOURCE FOR GOAL ACHIEVEMENT IN HIGH-RISK OCCUPATIONS

Relevance. In occupations with high demands for resistance to stress, the reliability of conscious self-regulation is considered an important factor ensuring personnel reliability. This interdisciplinary study takes place at the intersection of general psychology, psychology of self-regulation, labor psychology, professional psychology, and extreme psychology. Objective. To study the reliability of self-regulation as a universal and special resource for achieving goals under stressful conditions in high-risk occupations. Methodology. Representatives of high-risk occupations — sailors (N = 139), pilots (N = 33), rescuers (N = 123) — and low-risk professions (teachers, N = 154) took part in the study. Individual differences in self-regulation and its reliability under stress were assessed by means of the Self-Regulation Profile Questionnaire (V.I. Morosanova & N.G. Kondratyuk, 2011). Results. Self-regulation and its reliability in stressful conditions were found to be significantly greater among the high-risk professions than the low-risk ones. There were no significant differences in self-regulation reliability between the different groups of high-risk professionals. Using one-way ANOVA and Cohen’s effect size measures, differences in self-regulation variables were found between experts and novices for different professional groups. Among sailors and pilots, significant differences were found between experts and novices only for one variable: reliability of self-regulation. Quite the opposite result was obtained for the teachers: Experts differ significantly from novices in all self-regulation parameters except for reliability of self-regulation. Conclusion. The study substantiated the view that reliability of self-regulation is a universal and special regulatory resource for professional goal achievement. The research results allow us to conclude that in high-risk occupations, reliability of self-regulation may serve as a professional resource ensuring efficiency, faultless operation, and safety.

"Same but different": Associations between multiple aspects of self-regulation, cognition, and academic abilities.

Self-regulation describes the ability to control both behaviors and internal states against a backdrop of conflicting or distracting situations, drives, or impulses. In the cognitive psychology tradition, individual differences in self-regulation are commonly measured with performance-based tests of executive functioning, whereas in the personality psychology tradition, individual differences in self-regulation are typically assessed with report-based measures of impulse control, sustained motivation, and perseverance. The goal of this project was (a) to comprehensively examine the structure of associations between multiple self-regulatory constructs stemming from the cognitive and personality psychology traditions; (b) to estimate how these constructs, individually and collectively, related to mathematics and reading ability beyond psychometric measures of processing speed and fluid intelligence; and (c) to estimate the extent to which genetic and environmental factors mediated the observed associations. Data were available for 1,019 child participants from the Texas Twin Project (M age = 10.79, range = 7.8-15.5). Results highlighted the differentiation among cognitive and personality aspects of self-regulation, both at observed and genetic levels. After accounting for processing speed and fluid intelligence, EF remained a significant predictor of reading and mathematics ability. Educationally relevant measures of personality-particularly an openness factor representing curiosity and intellectual self-concept-incrementally contributed to individual differences in reading ability. Collectively, measures of cognition, self-regulation, and other educationally relevant aspects of personality accounted for the entirety of genetic variance in mathematics and reading ability. The current findings point to the important independent role that each construct plays in academic settings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Just a click away: Action-state orientation moderates the impact of task interruptions on initiative.

ObjectiveThe present research examines the role of individual differences in self‐regulation (i.e., demand‐related action–state orientation) on initiative to resume an interrupted task.MethodIn three studies (N 1 = 208, 55% male, M age = 33.2; N 2 = 457, 62% male, M age = 31.7; N 3 = 210, 60% male, M age = 32.6), participants were notified about a network interruption while playing a computer game. Participants could dismiss the interrupting notification by clicking a continue button or wait until the notification timed out. We manipulated demand by presenting notifications during (demand) versus after game rounds (no demand).ResultsDemand‐related action orientation was associated with higher probability to dismiss the notification during a game round, controlling for dismissal after a game round. Findings occurred when controlling for task ability and task motivation, were specific for demand‐ and not threat‐related action orientation, were complemented by shorter dismissal latencies, and were stable across interruption timeouts (Studies 1–3). Exposure through repetition resulted in adaptation (Study 3).ConclusionThe findings suggest that people with lower action orientation have less self‐regulatory ability to initiate goal‐directed action and resume interrupted tasks—even if they are just a click away. Findings are discussed within the framework of Personality Systems Interactions theory.

Testing variability in response to a brief alcohol intervention: The role of self-regulation and the therapeutic relationship.

The current study tests individual differences in response to a mandated brief motivational intervention (BMI) for college student drinking. Participants consisted of 99 (45% female) students who were referred for violating campus alcohol policy. Within-subject analyses suggest that the BMI led to a significant reduction in frequency of drinking and alcohol-related problems at the 1-month follow-up, with a nonsignificant trend in reduction of quantity of drinking and no difference in maximum level of drinking. However, there was a statistically significant amount of variability in response to the BMI across frequency, quantity, maximum, and alcohol-related problems. Individual differences in self-regulation and the strength of the therapeutic relationship were used to predict variability in change associated with participating in the intervention. Lower levels of self-regulation predicted more alcohol-related problems at 1 month following the BMI. A stronger therapeutic relationship predicted lower frequency, quantity, and maximum level of drinking at 1 month following the BMI. At the 12-month follow-up, there was a significant decay in the efficacy of the intervention, with a statistically significant amount of variability across all outcomes. Lower self-regulation was associated with more problems at 12 months. Individual differences in the therapeutic relationship were not associated with decay of efficacy between 1 and 12 months across any of the outcome variables. Results are consistent with both etiological heterogeneity and common factors models of the efficacy of psychotherapy, and extend these models to explaining outcomes of brief alcohol interventions in students mandated to treatment. (PsycINFO Database Record

Development and Validation of a Daily Pain Catastrophizing Scale.

This article describes the development and validation of a daily PCS. This daily measure may facilitate research that aims to characterize pain mechanisms, individual differences in self-regulation, adaptation, and nuanced relationships between catastrophizing, correlates, and pain outcomes.

Influence of the SLC6A3-DAT1 Gene on Multifaceted Measures of Self-regulation in Preschool Children.

Development of self-regulation, the capacity to voluntarily modulate thoughts, emotions and actions is strongly related to the maturation of the dopamine-mediated executive attention network (EAN). The attention control processes associated with the EAN greatly overlap with efficiency of the executive functions and are correlated with measures of effortful control. Regulation of dopamine levels within the EAN, particularly in the basal ganglia is carried out by the action of dopamine transporters. In humans, the SLC6A3/DAT1 gene carries out the synthesis of the DAT protein. The 10-repeat allele has been associated with an enhanced expression of the gene and has been related to ADHD symptoms. Little is known about the impact of DAT1 variations on children's capacity to self-regulate in contexts that impose particular demands of regulatory control such as the school or home. This study defines a multi-domain phenotype of self-regulation and examines whether variations of the DAT1 gene accounts for individual differences in performance in 4–5 year old children. Results show that presence of the 10r allele is related to a diminished ability to exert voluntary regulation of reactivity. These findings shed light on the neurobiological mechanisms underlying individual differences in self-regulation during childhood.

Who suffers from stress? Action-state orientation moderates the effect of external stress on relationship satisfaction

Growing evidence implicates stress as a reliable correlate of relationship satisfaction; yet, existing models fail to address why some relationships are more vulnerable than others to this effect. We draw from the literature on individual differences in self-regulation to predict that individuals who are more action oriented when confronted with aversive demands will buffer themselves and their partners against the detrimental effect of external stress. Using actor–partner interdependence modeling on self-report data from 368 couples, we show that the relationship satisfaction of highly stressed but action-oriented individuals and their partners is compromised less by external stress than that of state-oriented individuals and their partners. These results held after controlling for symptoms of depression and were not moderated by gender or by age, despite sampling couples varying widely in relationship duration. Results support the view that individual differences in self-regulation, and action orientation in particular, might benefit relationships confronted by stress, thus clarifying how dyads might be affected by demands outside their relationship.

Individual differences in regulatory focus predict neural response to reward

ABSTRACTAlthough goal pursuit is related to both functioning of the brain’s reward circuits and psychological factors, the literatures surrounding these concepts have often been separate. Here, we use the psychological construct of regulatory focus to investigate individual differences in neural response to reward. Regulatory focus theory proposes two motivational orientations for personal goal pursuit: (1) promotion, associated with sensitivity to potential gain, and (2) prevention, associated with sensitivity to potential loss. The monetary incentive delay task was used to manipulate reward circuit function, along with instructional framing corresponding to promotion and prevention in a within-subject design. We observed that the more promotion oriented an individual was, the lower their ventral striatum response to gain cues. Follow-up analyses revealed that greater promotion orientation was associated with decreased ventral striatum response even to no-value cues, suggesting that promotion orientation may be associated with relatively hypoactive reward system function. The findings are also likely to represent an interaction between the cognitive and motivational characteristics of the promotion system with the task demands. Prevention orientation did not correlate with ventral striatum response to gain cues, supporting the discriminant validity of regulatory focus theory. The results highlight a dynamic association between individual differences in self-regulation and reward system function.

Psychometri properties of the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire in a sample of Iranian population

Psychometri properties of the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire in a sample of Iranian population

Family Matters

Individual differences in self-regulation include executive function (EF) components that serve self-regulation of attentive behavior by modulating reactive responses to the environment. These factors run in families. The purpose of this review is to summarize a program of research that addresses familial intergenerational transmission of EF and interpersonal processes in its development. Self-regulation of attentive behavior involves interrelated aspects of EF, including attention, inhibitory control, and working memory. Individual differences in EF skills develop in systematic ways over the course of childhood, resulting in moderately stable differences between people by early adolescence. Through complex gene-environment transactions, EF is transmitted across generations within parent-child relationships that provide powerful socialization and experiential contexts in which EF and related attentive behavior are forged and practiced. Families matter because parents regulate home environments and themselves as best they can while also supporting cognitive self-regulation of attentive behavior in their children.

When you have to climb downhill to reach the top: the effect of action versus state orientation on solvinga goal-subgoal conflict in the Tower of Hanoi task.

Complex problems often include a response conflict between a subgoal and a final goal. The present experiment investigated the roles of situational demands and individual differences in self-regulation on solving goal-subgoal conflicts in a computerized Tower of Hanoi task. Action-oriented versus state-oriented individuals were randomly assigned to a demanding condition in which they deliberated about a personal decision problem, or to a nondemanding control condition. In line with expectations state-oriented individuals had greater difficulties to solve goal-subgoal conflicts in the demanding compared to the nondemanding condition. Action-oriented individuals performed well in both conditions. In line with Personality Systems Interactions theory (Kuhl, 2000) the findings show that complex problem solving depends on how well people are able to deal with situational demands.

Identity Processing Styles and Value Orientations: The Mediational Role of Self-Regulation and Identity Commitment

Recent research has found systematic associations between identity processing styles (how individuals negotiate the process of identity formation) and value orientations (personal views about what values and goals should be pursued). This investigation evaluated the hypothesis that these relationships would at least in part be mediated by individual differences in self-regulation and self-defining commitment. Consistent with previous research, an informational identity style was positively associated with values that transcended selfish interest whereas a normative style was positively associated with values that emphasized security and tradition. A diffuse-avoidant identity style was positively associated with values that highlighted self-interest. As hypothesized, a number of the relationships were mediated by the commitments the participants held and their levels of self-regulatory resources. The more self-defining the participants considered their commitments to be, the more likely they were to endorse traditional values or those that transcended their own self-interest. High levels of self-regulation were associated positively with traditional values and negatively with values that promoted self-indulgence and self-promotion. The role values, commitments, and self-regulatory resources may play in how individuals approach or avoid constructing and maintaining a sense of identity is considered.