Self Regulation Part 1

Question 1

What is self regulation?

Answer 1

The self’s ability to alter its own responses , including thoughts, emotions, impulses, and behaviours based on standards

Question 2

Definition of standards

Answer 2

Standards: ideas about how something should or shouldn’t be

Question 3

“Self-regulation”is often used interchangeably with

Answer 3

self control

Question 4

what is the self control dilemma?

Answer 4

Conflict between an immediate urge/ desire vs. a higher order standard/goal

Question 5

Research suggests that people spend about ?
hours per day resisting desires and urges

Answer 5

5-6 hours

Question 6

Good self-regulation often involves successfully

Answer 6

resolving self-control dilemmas

Question 7

Marshmallow Test: One of the first measures of self-regulation, specifically testing children’s ability to

Answer 7

delay gratification

Question 8

Study showed that:

Answer 8

Delaying gratification is difficult
*Successful delay of gratification in children depended on the implementation of self-regulation strategies:
*Cognitive strategies, like imagining the marshmallow as something else rather than focusing on how yummy it is
* Distraction
* Not looking at the marshmallow

Question 9

Follow-up on Marshmallow Test: Mischel and colleagues used children’s ability to delay gratification at age 4 to predict outcomes at age

Answer 9

14-15 years old

Question 10

Children who were better at delaying gratification at age 4:

Answer 10

• Did better academically
• Had higher SAT scores
  *Delay of gratification was a better predictor of SAT scores than intelligence at age 4
• Showed better social skills

Question 11

Suggests that better self-regulation is associated with

Answer 11

better outcomes in adolescence

Question 12

New Zealand Study RESULTS: Children with poorer self-control had

Answer 12

worse outcomes as adults, controlling for intelligence and SES background

Question 13

New Zealand Study: Controlling for intelligence and SES, children with poorer self-control
had

Answer 13

worse health and more financial problems

Question 14

New Zealand Study: Controlling for intelligence and SES, children with poorer self-control were more likely to be

Answer 14

single parents and more likely to be convicted of
a crime

Question 15

TOTE Model of Self-Regulation

Answer 15

1. Standard: Identify what is the desired end state of self-regulation (goal)
2. Test: Monitor level of discrepancy between
   the current state and the standard
3. Operate: Control/ adjust behaviour into the desired direction
4. Test: Result of “operate” serves an input for another test
5. Exit: Occurs if current state is in line with desired standard

Question 16

TOTE model highlights that there are 3 main components to good self-regulation:

Answer 16

• Standards
• Monitoring (test)
• Willpower/ capacity for change (operate)

Question 17

Good self-regulation involves the efficient operation of

Answer 17

all 3 of these

Question 18

Difficulties with any one of these 3 components results in

Answer 18

difficulties with self-regulation

Question 19

Expectancy-Value Theory:
How likely we are to achieve a standard/goal depends on:

Answer 19

• Expectancy: whether we expect that we can accomplish the goal if we
  attempt it
  *Value: how much we value the goal/find it worth doing
• 4 factors that influence value

Question 20

We are most likely to achieve standards that are

Answer 20

high expectancy + high value

Question 21

Expectancy: More likely to accomplish a goal if we

Answer 21

believe that it is achievable

• Highlights importance of setting realistic goals

Question 22

Value – Factors that Foster Motivation
1) IMPORTANCE

Answer 22

*How important do you feel it is to do well on the goal?
* Influenced by how central a goal is to self-concept
* If goal = improve grades, more motivating if being a “good student” is central to identity

Question 23

Value – Factors that Foster Motivation
2)INTRINSIC VALUE

Answer 23

To what extent do you want to do the goal for its inherent satisfaction?

Question 24

Value – Factors that Foster Motivation
3)UTILITY

Answer 24

How useful do you find the goal for your life? What’s the benefit?

Question 25

Value – Factor that Hinders Motivation 4) COST

Answer 25

What does the goal cost you? * Time?Money?Boredom?What other things could you be doing? *Procrastination is often due to a goal being costly

Question 26

Relationship between Expectancy and Value: In theory, expectancy and value are

Answer 26

separate dimensions

Question 27

High value, but low expectancy=

Answer 27

hopeless goal

Question 28

Low value, but high expectancy=

Answer 28

easy, but boring goal

Question 29

But, in reality, highly positively correlated, and negatively correlated with ?

Answer 29

cost

Question 30

Factors that Interfere with Setting Good Goals: Lack of self knowledge

Answer 30

* Interferes with setting realistic standards (issue with expectancy) * Lack of clarity on what standards/goals are important and intrinsically motivating (issue with value)

Question 31

Factors that Interfere with Setting Good Goals: Perfectionism

Answer 31

Associated with tendency to set unrealistic goal (issue with expectancy)

Question 32

Factors that Interfere with Setting Good Goals: Self-control dilemma

Answer 32

Increases cost of goal (issue with value)

Question 33

Each of these increase the chance of failing at a goal (3)

Answer 33

1) Lack of self-knowledge 2) Perfectionism 3) Self-control dilemma

Question 34

Definition of Self Awareness

Answer 34

The capacity to direct attention to oneself (self- focused attention) and engage in thoughts about oneself

Question 35

Self-awareness, unlike directing attention to other objects/people, automatically leads to a state of

Answer 35

comparing the self against salient standards

Question 36

increasing self-awareness often leads to

Answer 36

behaving in a way consistent with salient standards

Question 37

The presence of a (?) stimulates self-awareness

Answer 37

mirror

Question 38

People use more

Answer 38

first-person pronouns when sitting infront of a mirror than when not sitting in front of a mirror

Question 39

Halloween Study: Mirror VS No mirror - RESULTS

Answer 39

Children in the mirror condition were more likely to obey the instructions

Question 40

The presence (vs. absence) of a mirror leads people to:

Answer 40

* Work faster and harder on a task when instructed to do so * Behave in more moral ways * Behave less aggressively * Behave in ways that are more consistent with previously stated personal values

Question 41

Suggests that failure to behave in ways consistent with a standard may be due to

Answer 41

lack of self-awareness

Question 42

Alcohol reduces

Answer 42

self-awareness

Question 43

When participants are given alcohol, they use

Answer 43

fewer first-person pronouns than participants who consumed a non-alcoholic drink

Question 44

In lab settings, participants that are given alcohol (vs. non-alcohol drink) tend to:

Answer 44

* Behave more recklessly * Spend more money * Behave more aggressively

Question 45

Suggests that poor behaviour may be due to lack of

Answer 45

self-awareness

Question 46

Self-awareness is critical for

Answer 46

self-regulation

Question 47

Suggests that if you want to achieve a goal, you need to:

Answer 47

monitor your progress and foster self-awareness

Question 48

Define Ego Depletion Theory

Answer 48

* Self-control/willpower is a limited and general mental resource * After exerting effort on a task that requires self-control, self-control is impaired such that people will do worse on another task requiring self-control, even if the tasks are unrelated

Question 49

Ego Depletion After Suppressing Emotion (During a movie) + measured handgrip RESULTS

Answer 49

Evidence for ego depletion effect Participants who had to alter their emotional state had decreased handgrip endurance compared to people who did not have to control emotions

Question 50

Examples of ego depletion reducing performance on second self-control task:

Answer 50

* Looking for and crossing out a particular letter in a text leads to reductions in handgrip endurance * Writing an essay about attitudes one doesn’t believe in (cognitive dissonance) reduces persistence on a follow-up task * Suppressing forbidden thoughts leads to giving up more quickly on unsolvable anagrams

Question 51

Evidence that ego depletion increases impulsive, disinhibited behaviour:

Answer 51

* Spend more money on impulsive purchases * Eating more junk food * Drink more alcohol * Fewer sexual inhibitions * More aggressive responses to being provoked

Question 52

Meta-analysis of 600 studies suggests that these findings are

Answer 52

robust and well replicated

Question 53

Mental processes are either

Answer 53

automatic or controlled

Question 54

Automatic

Answer 54

require few cognitive resources and occur outside of conscious awareness, common for familiar/highly practiced tasks

Question 55

Controlled

Answer 55

require active, conscious attention and effort, involved in learning new skills or complex situations

Question 56

Ego depletion affects

Answer 56

controlled processes, but not automatic ones

Question 57

Ego depletion can be overcome if people are given an important

Answer 57

incentive to do well on the 2nd task

Question 58

Suggests that ego depletion effects reflect

Answer 58

conservation of willpower, not a complete absence of willpower

Question 59

Self-control/willpower is costly in the

Answer 59

short term

Question 60

Ego depletion explains why people may fail to sometimes

Answer 60

achieve their standards/goals