Self-Exploration and Regulation

Although people have a vast capacity for personal change, they often do not do it, even when well aware of the benefits. Successful change requires:

1. Awareness of a need (or benefit) of changing,

2. Thinking about what one needs to do to make it happen,

3. Engaging in behavior directed toward the intended change (or goal), and

4. Maintaining this change over time.

(Prochaska & DiClemente, 1998)

Success in the above areas depends in a large part on effective use of self-exploration and self-regulation. Self-exploration refers to the process of examining personal resources (e.g., strengths and weaknesses), to get a sense of one’s potential for change. A lack of awareness of these resources or low confidence in them can reduce one’s perception that change is possible (e.g., Bandura’s self-efficacy theory, 2000; 1997). Self-regulation refers to self-generated thoughts, feelings, and actions that are planned and changed to meet personal goals (Zimmerman, 2000). This process involves setting a goal or reference (e.g., the difference between where one is now and where he/she wants to be), acting in ways to move closer to the goal, and monitoring the success (or failure) of these actions (Carver & Scheier, 2000). As an individual who senses progress toward a goal feels satisfaction, this provides the motivation to continue to make progress. In fact, people who self-regulate, value their own feelings of self-satisfaction and self-respect from successful change more highly than material rewards (Bandura, 1997).

In order to help people self-explore and self-regulate, our lab has created activities that are designed to:

Facilitate self-exploration into personal resources that individuals have (e.g. strengths, skills) or resources they can work on developing [Self Inc., Tower of Strength].
Facilitate self-regulation so that individuals can determine where they are now, where they want to be, and to develop personal goals for personal change [Cognitive Skills Series, Personal Power Series, and Tower of Strength].
Bring about an increased awareness of personal resources and/or strengths of individuals in an attempt to increase motivation and enhance self-efficacy [Tower of Strength, Personal Power Series].
Help develop specific strategies that enhance the effectiveness of personal resources (e.g. memory enhancing strategies [Cognitive Skills Series], and [RAFTing/Mind Play] to help relax and focus individuals).
Help develop coping skills to deal with situations that arise that may impair or block one’s progress toward achieving important goals (e.g. dealing with difficult emotions; evaluating root causes of problems and/or minimizing the damage problems can cause). [Personal Power Series, Cognitive Skills Series]

Note: Items in brackets [ ] refer to tools that our lab has created. More information and details for each tool can be found on this website.

References

Bandura, A. (2000). Self-efficacy: The foundation of agency. In W. J. Perrig, & A. Grob (Eds.), Control of Human Behavior, Mental Processes, and Consciousness: Essays in honor of the 60^th birthday of August Flammer (pp. 17-33). Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.

Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. New York: W. H. Freeman and Co.

Carver, C. S., and Scheier, M. F. (2000). On the structure of behavioral self-regulation. In M. Boekaerts, P. R. Pintrich, & M. Zeidner (Eds.), Handbook of Self-Regulation (pp. 41-84).

Prochaska, James O., and DiClemente, Carlo C.(1998), Toward a comprehensive, transtheorectical model of change and addictive behaviors. In W. R. Miller, N. Heather (Eds.), Treating addictive behaviors (2nd ed.)(pp.3-24).

Zimmerman, B. J. (2000). Attaining self-regulation: A social cognitive perspective. In M. Boekaerts, P. R. Pintrich, & M. Zeidner (Eds.), Handbook of Self-Regulation (pp. 41-84).