planning Flashcards
self regulation
the capacity of humans to alter their responses
it is the process by which people attempt to constrain unwanted impulses
what is motivation
any sort of drive or inclination to do something
* urges and impulses - inclination to respond a certain way in a particular situation on a particular occasion - are manifestations of general motives
how badly you want it/how committed you are
ego depletion
a state in which the self does not have all the resources it normally has
related to a drop in fuel levels
* begins to be conserved almost immediately
self control takes energy
self-regulation ingredients
standards: how things should be
monitoring: awareness and evaluation of self and actions against relevant standards
internal strength: resources that operate like energy to self-regulate
motivation: general drive or inclination to do something
the self-regulation context
motivational conflict: a discrepancy between wants/needs and a standard
people want to belong and there is a series of behaviour that would result in them being rejected
motivational conflict
is the reason for self-regulation
it is a feedback loop model
why is self-regulation important?
enabled people to adjust their actions to a broad range of social and situational demands
much of self regulation is used for the purpose of restraining selfish motivations in order to serve the goal of being accepted by others
self regulation failure
under-regulation
mis-regulation
over-regulation
under-regulation
failure to exert control over oneself
lack of standards, monitoring, internal strength or motivation
mis-regulation
exerting control in a way that fails to bring about desired result or that leads to an alternative result
over-regulation
a special case where an unusual amount of effort is devoted to the pursuit of a self-regulatory goal
under-regulations - problems related to standard aimlessness
not setting goals
need long term goals and short term goals to reach long term goals
long-term: help transcend the immediate situation and unpleasant demands or distracting temptations: gives person direction and increases intrinsic motivation
– students with LT goals have higher GPAs
short-term: avoid feeling helpless in day-to-day operations
* gives meaning to present; provide opportunities to increase SE, increase persistence; increase positive expectations for success
under-regulation problems related to monitoring
problems related to monitoring
– inadequate monitoring
– impaired monitoring
maybe you have good goals but aren’t paying attention to your behaviour
if you’re not monitoring, you wouldn’t know if you need to adjust something
– like watching a movie and realizing you ate all the popcorn
but, can be good during exercise bc can distract you and make the workout go faster, like watching TV while running
under-regulation problems related to internal strength and motivation
ego depletion
- physical tiredness
- stressful life circumstances (exams)
- self-regulation of lifestyle behaviour may cause problems in self-regulation in other areas of one’s life (can’t regulate everything at once)
mis-regulation - 3 main causes
mis-understood contingencies (not understanding what the standard is)
trying to control the uncontrollable
too much emphasis on emotional control
mis-understood contingencies
false beliefs about self & world
ex: speed vs accuracy: when trying for a record, basketball players increased speed but got worse on accuracy measures
false beliefs about emotions
- overgeneralization: what works for one problem will work for another
- thinking that venting is good, but it actually makes you relive those emotions again
trying to control the uncontrollable
“don’t think about a white polar bear”
thought suppression (ironic thought process theory)
—deliberate attempts to suppress certain thoughts makes them more likely to surface
gambler’s fallacy
— people think they have some sort of effect on the outcome
too much emphasis on emotional control
an overemphasis on regulating negative moods rather than dealing with the task at hand
strong emotions can keep people from considering the long term implications of their actions
conclusion
motivation is fundamental to life
self-regulation is essential to manage conflicts between inner motives and external constraints
successful self-regulation depends on adequate standards, self-monitoring, internal strength, and motivation
lapse vs relapse
lapse is a small, temporary slip in change efforts
relapse is a return to previous habits
relapse chain
high risk situations –> no plan for the situation –> small lapse occurs –> negative thinking and no plan for lapse –> another lapse and no comeback plan –> full relapse
high risk situations
emotional: everyday events that lead to distress
interruption to routine: extraordinary events that disrupt a regular schedule
social: social situations/events/interactions
behavioural strategies for relapse prevention
relapse planning
goal setting
incentives
contracting
realistic self-talk
relapse planning
identify high-risk situations
for each high-risk situation, think of three things you can do to handle the situation
example: high-risk situation - afternoon coffee
