Why self‐regulation success is not the opposite of failure

An online diary study testing the role of functional and dysfunctional self-licensing in unhealthy snacking

In the present study, we aimed to investigate how two types of self-licensing (functional and dysfunctional self-licensing) are related to unhealthy snack consumption. Self-licensing refers to the act of using justifications before gratifications and has been associated with higher snack consumption. Previous research has found that while functional self-licensing decreases unhealthy snack consumption, dysfunctional self-licensing increases the number of calories taken from unhealthy snacks. Building upon existing evidence, we addressed functional and dysfunctional self-licensing to investigate how self-licensing behaviors are associated with daily variables (i.e., stress and sleep) and unhealthy snacking habits. Participants (N = 124) were given a battery of measures at the start of the week and asked to send their snack consumption every night for a week via an online questionnaire, along with daily stress and sleep items. The data were analyzed with Hierarchical Linear Modelling. Neither self-licensing measures nor unhealthy snacking habits predicted unhealthy snack consumption. Daily stress was associated with lower unhealthy snack consumption. However, the interaction between daily stress and functional self-licensing was significant, suggesting that on stressful days functional self-licensers consume even fewer unhealthy snacks compared to less stressful days. Functional and dysfunctional self-licensing are rather new constructs which is why examining their effects is important for further research. However, in contrast to the existing evidence, we failed to find an effect of both types of self-licensing on snack consumption, suggesting the effect depends on potential contextual or individual-specific factors. Future research using a dieting sample is warranted for a better understanding of how functional and dysfunctional self-licensing operate.

Study Protocol of the Ten Years Up Project: Mapping the Development of Self-Regulation Strategies in Young Adults Over Time

Self-regulation is an important predictor of many outcomes relating to health and well-being. Research thus far has not systematically addressed the development of self-regulation strategies during young adulthood, but instead has focused on the predictive value of childhood self-regulation competence for outcomes later in life. The present study protocol describes the Ten Years Up (10YUP) project, a longitudinal cohort of young adults who will be followed for Ten years. By adopting a dynamic approach, we aim to examine how the nature and frequency of self-regulation strategies develop over time, document to what extent the use of strategies is affected by contextual and personal factors, and determine how these strategies affect health and well-being over the course of ten years. The 10YUP project employs a prospective longitudinal design to map the development of self-regulation strategies over time. A sample of 3,000 participants will be recruited by random selection from the general population of 16-year olds to retain a final sample of 1,000 participants after Ten years (accounting for an estimated drop-out rate of 10% each year). A mobile app will be used to collect data every 3 months. Self-regulation strategies will be assessed by means of the Goal Setting and Striving Inventory that asks participants to list their personal goals and then choose their most important goal to answer items about goal perception and strategy use. The resulting composite self-regulation index will be related to a wide range of contextual and personal factors that may act as either antecedents or consequences of self-regulation, depending on their specific time of assessment (either prior to or following self-regulation assessment) by means of cross-lagged panel analyses and other analyses allowing for establishing causal relationships over time. The 10YUP project is likely to generate novel insights into the development of self-regulation in young adulthood, how this development is affected by personal and contextual factors, and how these in turn may be influenced by how young people self-regulate—which is important for public policies aimed at guiding young people's choices and how they affect their health and well-being.

Autorregulación del deseo como competencia básica para el desarrollo emocional

En este artículo se pretende describir cualitativamente las autopercepciones en la competencia de autorregulación de los propios deseos de estudiantes de magisterio en cuatro cursos consecutivos con un total de 224 estudiantes de la Facultad de Educación de entre 18 y 19 años en la asignatura de Psicología del Desarrollo. Igualmente se reflexiona sobre el fenómeno de cómo se manifiesta la presencia o ausencia de esta competencia y sus implicaciones psicológicas, educativas, y socioculturales. Para ello, tras una revisión teórica sobre la literatura científica, se expone una propuesta docente exploratoria y descriptiva en la que se parte de dos fuentes de información. Por un lado, el análisis de contenido cualitativo de un trabajo escrito instrospectivo, personal y confidencial sobre la autopercepción de esta competencia. Por otro lado,  la consideración de los resultados de 39 minigrupos de discusión. El análisis descriptivo e interpretativo de los resultados muestra que los participantes reconocen y describen sus dificultades para la autorregulación de sus deseos, y explican sus dificultades, aunque con bastantes atribuciones externas. Además, queda patente las múltiples dependencias que presentan para autorregular sus deseos. Como conclusiones, se destacan la necesidad del entrenamiento en esta competencia dentro del ámbito universitario; esto requiere formación en los docentes; que tanto el trabajo introspectivo como los grupos de discusión son recursos educativos de metodología cualitativa muy valiosos en la formación inicial del docente; y se sugiere investigar la relación de esta competencia con otras competencias emocionales intrapersonales y con los propósitos vitales.