Week 3 lecture Flashcards
What is self-regulation?
The process of altering or overriding one’s prepotent responses
Pertains to thoughts, behaviours, emotions
What are the three key ingredients of self-regulation?
- Goals/Standards
- Monitoring
- Operate
What are goals?
Mental representations of desired end-states
What are stages involved in the process of goal pursuit?
- Goal initiation
- Goal operation
- Goal monitoring
What is goal initiation?
The triggering or activation of a goal that shapes a person’s subsequent behaviours
What is goal operation?
The pursuit of activities that aids one towards goal achievement (i.e. to move towards desired end-state)
What is goal monitoring?
Reflecting one one’s state of goal pursuit (e.g. progress, likelihood of future success, etc)
What are the cognitive processes involved in goal pursuit and self-regulation?
- Working memory: Sustain goal in memory, attn zone
- Inhibitory control: Control impulse
- Flexible attention: Shift attn back from impulse to goal
What are the reasons we fail at self-regulation?
- Inertia
- Failure at transcendence (fail at long term goals, blindsided by short term gratification)
- Acquiescence (just give up, lose control)
- Misregulation (exercise self-regulation but of smth else)
- Lapse-Activated Responses (“might as well”)
What is ego-depletion?
When self-regulatory resources are depleted due to engaging in tasks requiring self-regulation
What is self-regulatory failure?
When an ego-depleted indiv is unable to overcome strength of impulses
What are the solutions for self-regulatory failure?
- Replenish self-regulatory resources using glucose
- Prevent self-regulatory resources from being depleted
- Change mindset: nonlimited self-reg. resources, self-reg. is energising - Improve our self-regulation ability
- Mindfulness meditation to conserve self-reg resources to present tasks
