The term self-regulation refers to processes by which people control their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. When people succeed at self-regulation, they effectively manage their perceptions of themselves and their social surroundings. They behave in ways that are consistent with their goals and standards of behavior. Conversely, when people struggle or fail at self-regulation, they lose control of their personal and social experience. Their behavior does not contribute to the fulfillment of important goals or correspond to standards of behavior to which they subscribe. Successful self-regulation is essential to adaptive functioning in all life domains.
Given the central role of self-regulation in adaptive and maladaptive functioning, it is not surprising that a large literature has developed on the topic. This literature is unusual in its breadth, spanning biological, developmental, cognitive, and social psychology, and drawing attention from researchers in related disciplines such as sociology and education. Despite the current vitality of this literature, there has been relatively little study of self-regulation as a feature of personality or how personality is reflected in self-regulation.
The primary aim of the proposed volume is to integrate scholarly research on self-regulation in the personality, developmental, and social psychology traditions for a broad audience of social and behavioral scientists interested in the processes by which people control, or fail to control, their own behavior. The volume would include original, integrative, research-based contributions by leading scholars. The resultant book would bridge a conspicuous gap in the burgeoning literature on self-regulation and serve as an important resource for scholars, students, and practitioners in the social and behavioral sciences.
