Modes of Self‐Regulation

Abstract

In a general sense, the notion of self-regulation refers to the governing and directing of attention, resources, or actions towards one's adopted goals. This is consistent with the everyday conception of goal-directed action, in which a person is thought to evaluate available pursuits, select the most desirable option, and engage in behaviors designed to attain the goal. For example, a person may consider various potential life paths following graduation from high school and ultimately decide that he or she would like to earn a bachelors degree, which would then lead to behaviors such as attending (often boring) lectures and reading (often dry) textbooks. Such understanding of self-regulation makes two functions apparent. First, the person assesses the value of potential goals and the various means that serve each goal. Second, the individual locomotes, or moves away from, the current state towards a desired goal state. As such, assessment and locomotion as a body form part and parcel of all self-regulatory activity.Assessment refers to a determination of the rate, amount, size, value, or importance of something; it concerns critical appraisal for the purpose of understanding or interpreting, or as a guide in taking action. Thus the value or importance of both the current state and the end state can be independently assessed, and so can the value or utility of the means used to move toward or away from that end state. According to regulatory mode theory, assessment "constitutes the comparative aspect of selfregulation concerned with critically evaluating entities or states, such as goals or means in relation to alternatives in order to judge relative quality" (Kruglanski et al., 2000, p. 794). For example, an individual may assess preferences among alternatives, and how well he or she performed in the past. Individuals strong in assessment mode are preoccupied with these kinds of comparative judgments. Handbook of Personality and Self-RegulationEdited by Rick H. Hoyle

Sequential and Concurrent Strategies of Multiple Goal Pursuit

“…One factor that is especially important to this decision is the relative importance placed on instrumentality versus value considerations. According to regulatory mode theory (Higgins, Kruglanski & Pierro, 2003;Kruglanski et al, 2000;Kruglanski, Orehek, Higgins, Pierro, & Shalev, 2010), individuals operating in a locomotion regulatory mode are primarily concerned with moving toward goals by making swift and steady progress. Therefore, locomotion tendencies should lead to a preference for means that are unifinal, because they are perceived to be more instrumental, thereby affording the movement locomotors crave.…”

A Multi-Sample Investigation of the Assessment and Locomotion Scales in a Population of Secondary School Students

“…Assessment is “the comparative aspect of self-regulation concerned with critically evaluating entities or states, such as goals or means, in relation to alternatives in order to judge relative quality” (Kruglanski et al, 2000, p. 794). Having a strong assessment orientation is positively associated with (a) striving for truth effectiveness, (b) preference for critical evaluations, (c) ability to prioritize among competing goals, (d) extrinsic motivation, (e) performance orientation, (f) sensitivity to social norms and standards, and (g) vulnerability to negative affect and emotional instability (Higgins, 2012b; Higgins, Kruglanski, & Pierro, 2003; Kruglanski, Orehek, Higgins, Pierro, & Shalev, 2010; Kruglanski et al, 2000; Pierro, Kruglanski, & Higgins, 2006).…”

Practice Benefits Locomotors

“…Past theories of self-regulation have generally considered assessment and locomotion as inseparable parts of the self-regulation process (e.g., Carver & Scheier, 1990; Miller, Galanter, & Pribram, 1960; Powers, 1973). In contrast, regulatory mode theory proposes that either locomotion or assessment can receive primary emphasis during goal pursuit (Higgins et al, 2003; Kruglanski, Orehek, Higgins, Pierro, & Shalev, 2009: Kruglanski et al, 2013). The independence assumption implies that there are several possible combinations of locomotion and assessment levels that can be emphasized by different individuals: In other words, persons can be low on both, high on both, or high on one and low on the other.…”