Self-regulation: Principles and tools

Motivation has been traditionally defined as energy (e.g., running speed) and direction (e.g., toward food), and the determinants of motivation as need (e.g., for food), expectation (e.g., cognitive map of the maze), and incentive value (e.g., quality of the food). When motivation toward attaining a desired future meets resistance or conflict, self-regulation becomes relevant. The use of effective self-regulation tools can support individuals in dealing with such resistance or conflict (e.g., obstacles, difficulties, temptations).We discuss various self-regulation tools and then focus on the effects and mechanisms of two of them: mental contrasting and forming implementation intentions. Recent interventions attest to the effectiveness of combining these two strategies: Mental contrasting with implementation intentions (MCII) is a time-and cost-effective tool that allows adolescents to master their everyday life and long-term development in a self-reliant way.