Self-regulation contains a wide range of operations through which one can achieve their goals, such as ignoring distractions, overcoming obstacles, being able to adapt to one’s environment, and resolving goal conflict. The study of the dynamics of self-regulation is important because of the research showing the many benefits associated with self-regulation success and the many problems associated with self-regulation failure.
One finding from this research is that the cultivation of willpower at an early age is one way to improve self-regulation. The regulatory strength hypothesis treats willpower as a finite resource, such that one’s ability to control their thoughts, emotions, or behaviors is a function of a general resource, similar to muscular strength, which is limited in quantity. This resource, once depleted, cannot be fully replenished without a period of rest. The general finding is that someone who exerts self-regulation in a first task stops working on a second task faster than those who do not exert self-regulation. Although a great deal of research now supports this initial hypothesis, little work has looked at regulatory strength within a general theoretical framework.
One such framework, regulatory mode theory, proposes that there are two independent and orthogonal modes of self-regulation: locomotion and assessment. Locomotion constitutes the aspect of self-regulation that is concerned with movement from state-to-state in general, and assessment constitutes the comparative aspect of self-regulation. Individual and situational variables, both momentary and chronic, can cause either mode to become the preferred orientation to goal pursuit.
The present studies examined differences in regulatory depletion between modes at the situational and dispositional level, respectively. The general prediction was that those in an assessment mode are more depleted than those in a locomotion mode. This prediction was not supported. The present studies also examined how the fit between dispositional and situational regulatory mode impact the experience of self-regulation. The general hypothesis was that those with a match between dispositional and situational regulatory mode feel better about the process of self-regulation than those with a mismatch. This prediction was not supported. The possible reasons for these results and their impact on future research are discussed.