Lecture 8- regulatory Mode Theory

Question 1

What is regulatory mode theory? (Kruglanski et al., 2000; Higgins et al., 2003)

Answer 1

Assumption:
Because of differences in temperament and socialization , different individuals can develop different degrees of concern for locomotion or assessment.
Models are considered orthogonal to /independent of each other: the “why” for craving movement - Locomotion -isn’t necessarily related to the “why” of being concerned with certain standards or critical evaluation - Assessment

Regulatory mode questionnaire; Kruglanski et al., 2000
locomotion vs assessment mode
locomotion mode
-Constitutes the aspect of self-regulation that is concerned with movement from state to state and committing psychological resources that will initiate and maintain goal related or any movement without undue delay.
Involves movement: psychologically, not necessarily behavioral
Just do it
Orientation for change, or something different-change of state is its own reward
Situation example: time pressure

assessment mode
-Assessment constitutes the comparative aspect of self-regulation that includes critically evaluating entities or states, such as the goals or means in relation to alternatives in order to judge relative quality.
Involves measuring, interpreting, or evaluating something through comparing one thing to another
Do it right
Concerned with making comparisons
Situation example: important evaluation

Question 2

Manipulation (Avnet & Higgins, 2003)
Locomotion vs assessment mode

Answer 2

Locomotion
-think back to the times when you acted like a doer
-Think back to the times when you’re finished one project and did not wait long before you started a new one
-think back to the times when you decided to do something and you cannot wait to get started

Assessment
-Think back to the times when you have compared yourself with other people
- think back to the times when you thought about your positive and negative characteristics
-Think back to the times when you critiqued work done by others or yourself

Question 3

What are the main concerns? Locomotion VS assessment

Answer 3

Locomotion
activity flow concerns
-decisiveness
Need for cognitive closure
-Flow
Attentional control , conscientiousness, vitality..
-Stronger intrinsic motivation
Engagement in activity for its own sake
-Activity involvement
Also includes job involvement
-Openess to change
Better coping with organizational change
benefits
Quicker action
Stronger involvement in action
Adapt more easily
Costs
Resources might be wrongly allocated
Just do something
Not necessarily leads to a higher achievement

Assessment
Self evaluative concerns
-Self consciousness and social comparison
Public and private self-consciousness, the need for social comparison
-Sensitivity to social appraisal and norms
Sensitivity to criticism, anxiety in social interactions, subjective norms (what others think should be done) leads to intentions
-Self appraisal vulnerability
Continuous evaluation - likely to fall short on some standards… depression, low self-esteem
-Emotional instability (NEO- Five)
Success and failure with high and low standards
-Discomfort with ambiguity
-Performance rather than mastery goals
benefits
Open to consider alternatives
More realistic and accurate self-evaluation, more knowledge, where to self improve
costs
Increasing failure experiences from self comparisons to high standard
Increasing emotional instability from comparing to high /low standard

Question 4

Consequences? Locomotion VS assessment

Answer 4

locomotion
Intrinsic motivation
Multitasking
Timeliness
Higher levels of subjective well-being
Associated with partner affirmation -couple adjustment
Speed (but less accuracy) in info-integration task

assessment
Rumination and counterfactual thinking
Procrastination and loss of time
Higher levels of negative feelings and anxiety
Accuracy (but slower) in info-integration task

Question 5

Consequences: judgment and decision making?
Locomotion VS assessment

Answer 5

1. Strategic preferences
   Full comparison strategy (assessment) VS progressive elimination strategy (locomotion)
2. Strategic preference is target of others social influence
   Advisory/participative/transaction leadership style (assessment) VS forceful/directive/transformational leadership style (locomotion)
3. Emphasizing expectancy VS value in decisions
   Strong focus on value (assessment) VS strong focus on expectancy (locomotion)
4. Speed and number in generating decision alternatives
   Higher number of means generated (assessment) VS, quicker choice of means (locomotion)
5. Heterogeneity vs homogeneity of judgment
   High (vs low) assessment should show more variance in judgment and a lower self-esteem (more critical of themselves and others)
   High (vs low) Locomotion should show less variance in judgments and higher self esteem (less critical of themselves)

Question 6

What is regulatory complementarity? Examples.

Answer 6

-Individuals high on locomotion and assessment orientation do better on elite military training (course completion)
-Individuals high on locomotion and assessment do better in college studies (GPAs)
-Groups composed of assessors and locomotors were as fast as all-locomotor groups, and as accurate as all-assessor groups
-work performance of individuals higher in assessment (VS locomotion) is enhanced when their team members are high in locomotion
-Work performance of individuals higher in locomotion (VS assessment) is enhanced when the team members are high in assessment
-Leaders high on both assessment and locomotion elicit higher performance from their subordinates, than leaders low on one or both of these tendencies