Regulatory Focus, Task Engagement and Divergent Thinking

Regulatory Focus, Boundaryless Mindset, and Creativity Among Chinese College Students: A Trait Activation Perspective

We explored the impact of two types of regulatory focus on creativity among 330 college students in China, along with the mediating role of boundaryless mindset and moderating role of stressful life events. A three-wave survey showed that both promotion focus and prevention focus positively predicted the creativity in college students, but the positive effect of promotion focus on the creativity in college students was greater than that of prevention focus; boundaryless mindset mediated the relationship between regulatory focus and creativity; stressful life events moderated the direct effect that promotion focus has on boundaryless mindset, and it also moderated the indirect effect that promotion focus has on creativity via boundaryless mindset. These results extend the existing research on creativity and establish a new mediating mechanism and boundary conditions between regulatory focus and creativity in college students. Finally, we hope to provide a reference for innovation education.

Hurry Up, We Need to Find the Key! How Regulatory Focus Design Affects Children's Trust in a Social Robot

In educational scenarios involving social robots, understanding the way robot behaviors affect children's motivation to achieve their learning goals is of vital importance. It is crucial for the formation of a trust relationship between the child and the robot so that the robot can effectively fulfill its role as a learning companion. In this study, we investigate the effect of a regulatory focus design scenario on the way children interact with a social robot. Regulatory focus theory is a type of self-regulation that involves specific strategies in pursuit of goals. It provides insights into how a person achieves a particular goal, either through a strategy focused on "promotion" that aims to achieve positive outcomes or through one focused on "prevention" that aims to avoid negative outcomes. In a user study, 69 children (7-9 years old) played a regulatory focus design goal-oriented collaborative game with the EMYS robot. We assessed children's perception of likability and competence and their trust in the robot, as well as their willingness to follow the robot's suggestions when pursuing a goal. Results showed that children perceived the prevention-focused robot as being more likable than the promotion-focused robot. We observed that a regulatory focus design did not directly affect trust. However, the perception of likability and competence was positively correlated with children's trust but negatively correlated with children's acceptance of the robot's suggestions.

New Directions in Self-Regulation: The Role of Metamotivational Beliefs

Research on self-regulation has primarily focused on how people exert control over their thoughts, emotions, and behavior. Less attention has been paid to the ways in which people manage their motivational states in the service of achieving valued goals. In this article, we explore an emerging line of research that focuses on people’s beliefs about their own motivation (i.e., their metamotivational knowledge), as well as the influence these beliefs have on their selection of regulatory strategies. In particular, we review evidence showing that people are often quite sensitive to the fact that distinct motivational states (e.g., eagerness vs. vigilance) are adaptive for different kinds of tasks. We also discuss how other metamotivational beliefs are inaccurate on average (e.g., beliefs about how rewards affect intrinsic motivation). Finally, we consider the implications of metamotivation research for the field of self-regulation and discuss future directions.