Emotional self-regulation

In psychology, the term self-regulation refers to those conscious and unconscious mental processes, which control their attention, emotions, impulses and actions people.

General definition

Self-regulation includes, inter alia, the mental management of feelings and moods (see emotion regulation ) and the capabilities, intentions through targeted and realistic evaluation of actions to achieve (eg self-efficacy ) and short-term gratification desires longer-term objectives to subordinate (see self-discipline, self-control ). Well-developed capacity for self- regulation assume ( in neuropsychological parlance) intact executive functions.

Ronald Grossarth Maticek defined self-regulation as " a permanent, flexible, needs-based self- activation in relation to the body, the physical and social environment with the aim of achieving the conditions and conditions that achieve both a short-term gratification, as also stabilize a self-organization such that development and integration of different areas is ensured for effective problem solving. "

Objective

A key development goal in the education and socialization process of children is the ability to become increasingly independent, ie without the assistance of reference or caregivers to control. One of the earliest socialization processes in this regard is the toilet training. The older the child, the more is expected of them to observe their behavior, social norms and role requirements, to take on tasks and be able to control their actions goal-oriented. For this, the development of certain mental skills such as frustration tolerance and impulse control is required.

In psychotherapy, Frederick Kanfer has developed the self-management therapy, in which it comes to help the patient (again) to take control over their own behavior so that it can cope with current and future problems on their own. This self-management or self-control is comprised of various skills such as self-observation of the desired and undesired behavior, stimulus control for influencing behavior through self-management as a manual for the therapist.

People differ in their abilities and in the style of self- control. In various mental disorders such as dependence (addiction ), obsessive-compulsive disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or of borderline personality disorder are the self-regulation skills limited, with the result that an autonomous conduct of life is significantly impaired in some cases.

Theories of psychological self-regulation

• The reward deferral paradigm of Mischel
• Theory of self-regulation by Bandura
• In Fritz Heider's balance theory is the homeostatic principle that people adjust their settings based on affection / aversion to their communication partners or not.
• Gestalt therapy assumes that the human organism is capable, within its environment ( the " field " ) all the processes that are important for its conservation and for its growth, to regulate itself. The Gestalt therapy draws on results of Gestalt psychology and the work of the neurologist Kurt Goldstein and transfers it to the area of the body. Goldstein emphasizes that for the organism in interaction with the environment is necessary that "any, set by the environmental stimuli change in the organism in a given time to equilibrate again, so that the organism back in those middle ' state of arousal corresponding to its essence, this adequately ' is back passes " (Goldstein: Structure of the organism, 1934, p 75).
• Volition (psychology )