Jm. Diefendorff et al., PERCEIVED SELF-REGULATION AND INDIVIDUAL-DIFFERENCES IN SELECTIVE ATTENTION, Journal of experimental psychology. Applied, 4(3), 1998, pp. 228-247
Based on R. G. Lord and P. E. Levy (1994), this study investigated the
roles of conscious and unconscious suppression processes in self-regu
lation. As hypothesized, both action-state orientation (reflecting con
scious suppression processes) and negative priming (reflecting unconsc
ious suppression processes) had significant positive relationships wit
h perceived self-regulatory success across multiple life domains. The
results suggest that individuals who can effectively initiate action t
oward goals (action-oriented) and better block out non-goal-relevant i
nformation (high negative priming) have higher levels of perceived sel
f-regulatory success. Findings are discussed in terms of self-regulati
on at both conscious and unconscious levels with implications for ever
yday goal-directed behavior and motivational research.