Self-regulatory Failure Research Articles

Paved with Good Intentions: Self-Regulation Breakdown After Altruistic Ethical Transgressions

Unethical pro-organizational behavior (UPB) is the unethical behavior driven by intention to help the organization. Among the first attempts to examine its consequences, we argue that such behavior may induce failure in self-regulation, and thus ironically lead to more counter-productive work behavior (CWB). Building on self-regulation theory, we theorize that breakdown in moral standards, monitoring and discipline are the three key mechanisms that explain the linkage from UPB to CWB. A two-week experience sampling study among 90 hairstylists (Study 1) and a scenario experiment of 126 MBAs (Study 2) supported our model. In sum, transgressions committed with the intentions to help an organization may nonetheless put the organization down “the road to hell”.

Trial-by-Trial Fluctuations in Brain Responses to Stress Predict Subsequent Smoking Decisions That Occur Several Seconds Later

BackgroundTo investigate the neurobiological mechanisms that determine self-regulation of smoking urges when a person encounters stress, we investigated brain network interactions of smoking self-regulation by employing a real-time smoking (nicotine delivery) decision paradigm and a brain-as-predictor neuroimaging approach. MethodsWhile in the functional magnetic resonance imaging scanner, 25 cigarette smokers who abstained from smoking overnight made 200 real smoking decisions regarding whether or not to take a puff of an electronic cigarette during 3 different stress conditions (cognitive stress, emotional stress, and no stress). Cognitive stress was induced by a concurrent working memory load, and emotional stress was induced by manipulating a chance of aversive electric shock. ResultsBehaviorally, both cognitive and emotional stress manipulations increased the probability of making a decision to smoke (i.e., taking a puff). In magnetic resonance imaging trial-by-trial analyses, the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex activity measured at the time of the stress cue significantly predicted future smoking decisions that occurred several seconds later. Furthermore, the influence of dorsolateral prefrontal cortex activity on smoking decisions was mediated by the ventral striatum activity at the time of smoking decisions. ConclusionsOur study demonstrated that brain responses at the time of a stressful moment determine subsequent trial-by-trial smoking decisions by systematically altering brain executive (dorsolateral prefrontal cortex) and reward (ventral striatum) system network activities. Our results further suggest potential translational importance of neuroscientific approaches to predicting self-regulation failures at critical stressful moments.

Exploring students’ explanations for off-task practices in an innovative learning environment (ILE) using a typology of agency as theoretical framework

ABSTRACT Learner agency is a key factor in success with technology-infused Innovative Learning Environments (ILEs). Focussing on informal practices unrelated to the learning agenda (off-task practices) and considered undesirable by students (school–net-conflict), this paper explores how students who experience a school–net-conflict explain their off-task practices using four conceptions of agency as a theoretical framework. An analysis of interview data from focus groups with a purposive sample of Norwegian secondary students suggests the dominance of sovereign conceptions of agency, i.e., off-task practices understood as individual self-regulation failures. Other common explanations included a) a drive-like ‘pull’ of social media (material conception), b) peers’ off-task practices as triggers (relational conception), and c) adjustment to a grade- and test-oriented incentive regime (ecological conception). Findings also suggest a disconnect between students’ explanations (situational nuance/detail) and attributions of ‘blame’ (dispositional default). Implications, limitations and further research are also considered.

Quality Measurement in Assisted Living: Emerging Practices

Quality Measurement in Assisted Living: Emerging Practices

"I'll work out tomorrow": The Procrastination in Exercise Scale.

Exercise procrastination (i.e. the voluntary delay of intended exercise) represents a novel, reasoned route to self-regulatory failure in physical activity. This study sought to develop and evaluate a scale to measure exercise procrastination and assess its relationship with self-reported physical activity. Two surveys were administered to community samples (n = 270, 279). In both samples, the Procrastination in Exercise Scale was positively correlated with general procrastination and predicted lower physical activity after controlling for intentions and general procrastination. Exercise procrastination appears to be a common phenomenon, and better understanding its role in physical activity may lead to novel intervention approaches.

Self-Regulation Failures in the Field: Investigating Spillovers from Morning Exercise to Food Choice

Choice spillovers across behavioral domains are important for market- ing, as they suggest that interventions in one choice domain may have far-reaching, and countervailing influences, in other domains. Using a novel dataset drawn from a university population, we study individual- level exercise behavior and food choices over the course of a year, and identify one such choice spillover. Specifically, we find that exercise per- formed before lunch is systematically correlated with a less healthy lunch choice: a behavior consistent with self-regulation failure. However, this effect is asymmetric, as a healthier lunch does not appear to have negative spillovers on exercise, instead increasing the probability of gym use later in the day. Survey evidence offers support of a self-licensing mechanism, while substantial timelags between gym use and meals cast doubt on a purely biological mechanism driving our results. We present a theoretical framework, based on reference-dependent preferences, which explain our main empirical findings.

Self-Regulation Failure Reduces the Effect Alcohol Portrayals in Movies on Indirect Attitudes toward Alcohol

We investigated the cognitive mechanisms underlying change in implicit cognitions following exposure to alcohol portrayals. More precisely, we tested in an experimental study whether this change depends on controlled or automatic processes by putting participants in a state of self-regulatory fatigue prior to being exposed to alcohol portrayals. Ninety participants were randomly assigned to a 2 (attitude measure: before vs after) × 2 (alcohol portrayal: yes vs no) × 2 (ego depletion: yes vs no) mixed design to assess whether the effects of alcohol portrayals affected cognitive resources. It was hypothesized that alcohol portrayals would have more of an impact on participants submitted to an ego-depletion task. We found a change in attitudes toward alcohol only for participants that had been exposed to alcohol portrayals, and who had not been cognitively depleted. These results suggest that these changes rely on controlled, resource-dependent processes rather than on purely associative and automatic processes. Implications regarding alcohol advertising effects on public health are discussed.

ACADEMIC SELF-EFFICACY, GENDER AND ACADEMIC PROCRASTINATION

Academic procrastination has been described as a behaviour in which academic tasks such as preparing for exams, preparing term papers, administrative affairs related to school and duty of attendance are postponed till other time. Research findings have supported the fact that this habit occurs as a result of either failure in self-regulation (passive procrastination) or utilitarian purposes (active procrastination). This study therefore explored the prevalence of academic procrastination and prevalent type of procrastinators among the undergraduate students. It also examined the difference in academic self-efficacy of passive and active undergraduate procrastinators, and as well examined gender association between passive and active undergraduate procrastinators. It further determined gender difference in procrastinatory behaviour of university undergraduates. A descriptive survey design was adopted. A total of 200 undergraduate students randomly selected from five faculties from University of Ilorin constituted the sample size for this study. Three research instruments that were used to collect data for this study were College Academic Self-Efficacy Scale (CASES), Tuckman Academic Procrastination Scale (TAPS) and Active Procrastination Scale. Results revealed that 29.0% of the undergraduate students were procrastinators and 51.7% of the procrastinators were passive type. No significant difference was found in academic self-efficacy of passive and active procrastinators, t (56) = 1.038, p > .05, and gender was not significantly associated with passive and active undergraduate procrastinators, χ2 (n = 58) = 1.752, df = 1, p = .186. It was also found that no significant gender difference existed in procrastinatory behaviour of male and female university undergraduates, t (56) = .168, p > .05. This study concludes that most of the university undergraduates that engage in procrastinatory behaviour are passive in nature and neither academic self-efficacy nor gender of the students was a significant factor in their procrastinatory behaviour.

Assessment of procrastination trait among dental students – A preliminary outlook

Background: Procrastination is a form of self-regulation failure characterized by the irrational delay of tasks despite potentially negative consequences. The scenario among dental students is virtually unknown. Aim: The aim was to evaluate the prevalence of trait procrastination among dental students. Materials and Methodology: A cross-sectional questionnaire-based survey was conducted during September 2019 which included BDS final-year students and interns for assessing their procrastination trait. Lay's Procrastination Scale (LPS)-student version was used to collect desired information. The descriptive statistics were computed to evaluate the prevalence of significant procrastination (LPS score ≥60), and inferential statistics was done using SPSS (v21.0 IBM) software. Results: The results showed that interns had significant procrastination prevalence (LPS score ≥60) as compared to BDS final-year students. The procrastination trait among males was found to be at higher extent as compared to females. Conclusion: Because procrastination has been consistently reported to exert an adverse influence on the academic performance of students, the final-year students, to obviate the downscaling in their performance, tend to have significantly lesser procrastination trait than the interns and these findings highlight the need for active measures to reduce the causes and consequences of procrastination in dental education.

Self-efficacy, procrastination, and burnout in post-secondary faculty: An international longitudinal analysis.

To address the present research gap on relations between motivational beliefs, self-regulation failure, and psychological health in post-secondary faculty, the present study used associative latent growth modeling to longitudinally examine relationships between self-efficacy, procrastination, and burnout (emotional exhaustion) in faculty internationally. Findings from 3,071 faculty participants (70% female, 69 countries) over three time points (5–6 month lags) showed greater self-efficacy at baseline to correspond with lower procrastination and burnout, and procrastination to be positively related to burnout (intercepts). Growth analyses additionally revealed stronger relations between increases in self-efficacy, procrastination, and burnout over time (slopes). Supplemental cross-lagged analyses provided causal evidence of burnout as an antecedent of self-efficacy and procrastination, underscoring intervention and policy efforts to address overwork and exhaustion in post-secondary faculty.

Temporal precedence of self-regulation over depression and alcohol problems: Support for a model of self-regulatory failure.

Alcohol use is highly comorbid with depression, especially among college students, whose rates of both phenomena are higher than in the general population. The self-medication hypothesis (i.e., alcohol use is negatively reinforced via the alleviation of negative affect) has dominated explanatory models of comorbidity. However, self-regulation has also demonstrated cross-sectional relationships with both depression and alcohol problems and may contribute to the development of alternative comorbidity models. Self-regulation introduces three alternative models that can be tested empirically: (a) a depressed regulation model, (b) a central nervous system depressant model, and (c) a self-regulatory failure model. The purpose of this study was to test the utility of these models (in addition to the self-medication hypothesis) by examining the temporal precedence in the relations between self-regulation, depressive symptoms, and alcohol problems among heavy-drinking college students (N = 393) over 5 assessment points (baseline, 1 month, 6 months, 12 months, and 16 months) using an autoregressive cross-lagged model. Lower self-regulation, and higher alcohol problems and depressive symptoms, prospectively predicted higher depressive symptoms. Higher alcohol problems and lower self-regulation prospectively predicted higher alcohol problems. Only self-regulation prospectively predicted self-regulation. These results were consistent across multiple time points. Findings are consistent with a self-regulatory failure model of depressive symptoms and alcohol problems. Therefore, self-regulation may be an important etiological variable and potential intervention target to reduce both alcohol problems and depressive symptoms among college students. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

The Role of Self-regulation Failures and Self-care in the Link Between Daily Sleep Quality and Blood Glucose Among Adults with Type 1 Diabetes.

Sleep, a process that restores the body's ability to self-regulate, may be one important factor affecting self-care behaviors and blood glucose (BG) levels. The link between sleep quality, self-care behaviors, and BG levels may occur by sleep-altering daily self-regulatory failures. This study examined whether the relation between sleep quality and self-care behaviors occurred through self-regulation failures and whether the relation between sleep quality and BG levels occurred through self-regulation failures and self-care behaviors sequentially. One hundred and ninety-nine adults with type 1 diabetes (T1D) completed an online questionnaire for 14 days in which they reported sleep quality, self-regulation failures, and self-care behaviors. BG levels were gathered from glucometers. Analyses involved multilevel mediation models and focused on daily within-person and between-person variability of sleep quality. Better daily sleep quality was associated with higher self-care behaviors at both within-person and between-person levels, and self-regulation failures mediated the association between daily sleep quality and daily self-care behaviors at both within-person and between-person levels. Better daily sleep quality was associated with better BG levels at the within-person level and self-regulation behaviors and self-care behaviors sequentially mediated the association between daily sleep quality and daily BG levels at the within-person level. This study provides a process account of the importance of daily sleep quality of adults with T1D, as well as one potential mechanism-self-regulation-that may explain the effect of sleep quality on diabetes outcomes.

The Influence of Length of Delay and Task Aversiveness on Procrastination Behaviors

Procrastination is a common form of self-regulatory failure that is not entirely understood. Since procrastination is becoming increasingly prevalent in work and academic environments, it is critical to determine procrastination’s causes in order to mitigate it. In this study, an experiment is conducted to examine whether procrastination is impacted by (1) the amount of time until the task is due or (2) the aversiveness of the task. Results demonstrate that people are more likely to delay on more aversive tasks, but we did not find any significant relationship with the length of delay. Previous findings on the influence of task aversiveness in procrastination are confirmed in the experiment. Findings and future directions for research on procrastination are discussed.

Elderly pedestrians’ self-regulation failures and crash involvement: The development of typologies

The present study aims to identify, study, and develop typologies based on cases of elderly pedestrian collisions with vehicles where the pedestrians subjectively ascribe the collision at least in part to their own self-regulation failures. Semistructured interview surveys were conducted with 18 elderly people who had experienced a crash with a vehicle as a pedestrian aged 65 years or older. Personal construct theory is adopted as the theoretical underpinning, and it is assumed that pedestrians have their own subjective ways of making sense of the crashes they are involved in. It was found that 11 of the 18 participants ascribed the crashes at least in part to their own self-regulation failures. Cognitive maps of the 11 participants had a common structure, and the associated 11 incidents were classified with respect to the following dimensions: (a) self-regulation type, (b) self-regulation motivation, (c) cause of self-regulation failure, and (d) characteristics of the collisions that occurred after the self-regulation failure. Based on these findings, practical implications are found, and corresponding interventions that may reduce elderly pedestrian–vehicle crashes of this type are discussed. Specifically, this study demonstrates the necessity of education or other intervention that goes beyond informing elderly pedestrians of what is right and wrong in traffic environments. Another critical result—the need to motivate elderly pedestrians to respect and adhere to their own highly personal self-regulation, even if it is not against the social norms—is also presented and discussed.

Off-task media use in academic settings: cycles of self-regulation failure

Objective: The effects of off-task media use in academic settings on academic performance have been widely reported. In response, a range of interventions have been proposed. Among these have been calls for the cultivation of more effective self-regulation of media use. Against this backdrop, the present study investigates students’ self-regulation of off-task media in academic settings. Method: A series of focus groups was conducted involving 30 undergraduate students at a large, South African university. A combination of inductive and deductive analysis was conducted on the basis of prominent theories of self-regulation. Results: The presences of off-task media in academic settings create ongoing experiences of goal-conflict and many students become trapped in cycles of repeated self-regulation failure, ultimately culminating in procrastination. Conclusions: We refer to this phenomenon as the media procrastination cycle and argue that it contributes to negative affect, stress, and anxiety among students.

Attenuated brain activity during error processing and punishment anticipation in procrastination \u2013 a monetary Go/No-go fMRI study

Procrastination is a self-regulatory failure in which people voluntarily but irrationally delay important tasks. Trait procrastination is estimated to affect 15–20% of the total population and leads to a significant decrease in performance, satisfaction with achievements, and quality of life. Procrastination is related to impulsivity and reduced executive control, especially in the domain of inhibition. Moreover, procrastinatory tendencies seem to increase with negative affect, suggesting impaired emotion regulation. The aim of this study was to investigate the neuronal mechanisms of inhibition, error processing, and behavioral control under pressure of punishment in procrastinators. Non-student subjects recruited to low (LP) and high procrastination (HP) groups performed an fMRI monetary Go/No-go task. HP showed significantly lower error-related activity in ACC than LP. There was also a significant group by condition interaction in the ACC and right DLPFC suggesting increase of control during the punishment condition in LP but not HP group. These results suggest that procrastinators have impaired error processing mechanisms which may add to the persistence of procrastination through difficulties in correction of faulty behaviors. Procrastination also seems to be related to a decreased ability to intensify self-control in more demanding situations and/or impaired coping in the context of negative situations.

“Still covered in sand.looked very old.”—Legal Obligations in the Internet Market for Antiquities

The global internet antiquities market exists in a complex cultural heritage framework, comprised of international law and domestic legislation. In this paper, the questions I seek to answer are the following: how do internet antiquities dealers engage with their legal obligations, and how is this engagement translated to the ethics of their businesses? This paper presents a comparative examination of 45 antiquities dealers split across three categories—internet dealers, eBay dealers and social media dealers—revealing three key insights about the internet antiquities market: firstly, that the level of legal literacy in the market is depicted as being quite poor; secondly, that the performance of legal awareness does not always correspond with ethical dealer practices; and finally, some dealers utilise a suite of justifications for their behaviours, practices and values (known as neutralisation techniques) to undermine their legal obligations. Such results confirm existing claims of the failure of self-regulation in the internet antiquities market and reveal a demand for educational campaigns targeted at raising consumer awareness by challenging misleading market narratives and highlighting the ethical and legal issues involved with the trade of cultural heritage.

The effects of moral disengagement and organizational ethical climate on insiders’ information security policy violation behavior

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to develop a model that integrates moral disengagement (MD) and organizational ethical climate (OEC) to understand information security policy (ISP) violation behavior in the workplace. This study extends prior work by identifying the moderating mechanisms of the ethical culture of OECs in the relationship between employees’ MD and ISP violation behavior intention. Design/methodology/approach By using scenario-based survey data from 433 employees in Chinese enterprises and by applying PLS-based structural equation modeling, the authors test a series of hypotheses. Findings Our empirical results highlight that the concept of MD has a significant effect on employees’ intention to violate ISPs. The authors also find that the OEC has a moderating role in the relationship between MD and ISP violation intention: the moderating role of law-and-rule-oriented OEC is significantly negative, but instrumentalism-oriented OEC positively moderates this relationship. Originality/value This study contributes to the literature on information security behavior by integrating two ethical theory frameworks MD and OECs into one theoretical model, and it calls attention to how ethical factors at the individual cognition level and organizational climate level work together to influence personal information security behavior. This study provides a new perspective of OEC from which to understand policy violation caused by moral self-regulation failure, and empirically explores its moderating role.

Effectiveness of an Integrated Intervention Program for Alcoholism (IIPA) for enhancing self-regulation: Preliminary evidence.

Alcoholism could be a core problem of self-regulatory failure. Several neurocognitive theories have hypothesized hypo-functioning or dysfunction of reflective (executive) system and heightened functioning of reactive (impulsive) system in self-regulatory failure implicated in drug addiction. Similarly, stress and affect dysregulation may breakdown self-regulation. The present study aimed to develop an Integrated Intervention Program for Alcoholism (IIPA) to enhance self-regulation and to test its effectiveness in the treatment of alcoholism. Individuals with early onset alcoholism (n = 50) were recruited after getting written informed consent. The study used randomized case control design. The participants were matched on age (+/-1 year) and education (+/-1 year). The TAU group received usual treatment for alcoholism which included pharmacotherapy, 6 sessions/week yoga and 3 sessions/week group therapy on relapse prevention. The intervention group received IIPA for 18 days along with usual treatment (except yoga sessions). The IIPA included several cognitive remediation tasks and mind-body exercise (Qigong and Tai Chi Chuan). Both groups were assessed on executive function tests and affect regulation scale at pre and post-intervention. The subjects were also followed up for 6 months to compare the abstinence between groups. Both groups were comparable at baseline. At post-intervention, the IIPA group showed a significant improvement compared to the TAU group on executive functioning and affect regulation. Follow-up results showed lower relapses in six months in the IIPA group. Preliminary evidence showed that IIPA is effective in facilitating self-regulation. Further study may examine its utility and feasibility in other clinical conditions.

Religion and behavioral procrastination: Mediating effects of locus of control and content of prayer

Religion is a significant predictor of self-regulatory processes. Procrastination has been described as the very essence of self-regulatory failure. In this study, we examined the relationship between religiousness and procrastination, with locus of control and styles of prayer playing mediating roles. These relationships were tested using data from 196 students. We applied the Centrality of Religiosity Scale, Levenson’s Locus of Control Scale, the God Control Scale, the Content of Prayer Scale, and the Behavioral Procrastination Scale. The results showed that: God control fully mediates the effects of ideology and intellect on procrastination; internal control fully mediates the effect of public prayer and religious experience on procrastination; and passive style of prayer was a mediator in the relationship between centrality of religion and procrastination. Our findings suggest that religious people may give up internal control, believing that their matters are in God’s hands. Being subject to God’s power provides them with a replacement form of control, which reduces problems of self-regulation.