Introduction to the Special Section

Self-regulation of behavior is a topic that has drawn a lot of attention in the last 20 years. Although researchers agree that self-regulation is related to action control (Kuhl, 1985), there is a lot of discussion on the exact nature of the self-regulation process and the mechanism underlying it. The consensus is that self-regulation aims at securing goal-directed action and involves processes related to goal setting that are in accordance with one's self (Carver & Scheier, 1998; Kuhl & Fuhrmann, 1998), as well as processes related to the enactment and successful completion of the goal-directed action. Motivational, cognitive, metacognitive, affective, and volitional processes contribute to the formation and completion of goal-directed action, but still we do not fully understand how all these processes interact to produce the self-regulation of goal-directed action and behavior, in general.

Increasingly we realize that there is self-regulation of the processes involved in the self-regulation of behavior - that is, self-regulation of motivation, of affect, or of cognition, as well as self-control processes, all orchestrated toward securing goal-directed action. Other issues that are drawing the attention of contemporary research on self-regulation include: (1) The level at which self-regulation processes operate: Are they conscious or nonconscious? (2) The individual and social nature of the processes involved in the self-regulation of behavior. (3) The forms regulation of behavior may take. There is self- and other-regulation but also co-regulation of behavior, that is, joint or shared regulation by interacting partners. (4) The role of context and situational factors in self- regulation as well as their interaction with individual difference factors.

The articles of this special section of European Psychologist address many of the above mentioned issues and offer insight into the processes involved in self- regulation of behavior in various contexts, such as academic, health, or societal. A common theme that all contributors of this special section share is the role of affect in self-regulation. Thus, Sansone and Thoman stress the importance of monitoring and control of motivation and, particularly, of the experience of interest. The experience of interest is the phenomenal experience - what people feel when engaged in an activity (Sansone & Harackiewicz, 1996) - that has an affective and informational character. The authors suggest that people use both inter- and intrapersonal strategies to enhance their interest and, thus, ensure the goal-striving process. The implications of the self-regulation of interest are far reaching, and can be identified in academic settings, in close relationships, and in psychiatric disorders.

Gendolla and Brinkmann discuss the role of mood in self-regulation based on the mood-behavior model (Gendolla, 2000). They propose that moods, through their affective character and informational function, are central in the constitution of action preferences, as well as in the mobilization of resources in action. Their research is focused on effort and shows how mood can impact the intensity of effort invested in instrumental behavior and the persistence of action. Their consideration of the physiological mechanism of effort suggests that self- regulation of behavior may have implications for the person's health condition as well.

Salonen, Vauras, and Efklides deal with affect from another perspective. They focus on coregulation of behavior in learning situations (Iiskala, Vauras, & Lehtinen, 2004) and stress the importance of interpersonal perception based on interacting partners' metacognitive experiences (Efklides, 2001). The affective and informational character of metacognitive experiences has an impact on the person's self-regulation of cognition as well as on the feedback and the regulatory behavior of the interacting partner. However, in social interaction there can also exist positive or negative affect that results from interpersonal relation processes. This kind of affect may have an impact on the communication mode used and the enhancement (or lack thereof) of metacognitive regulation of learning. Thus, perception of the interacting partner's affect may facilitate coregulation of the learning process or may lead to increasing negativity between partners, which undermines learning.

Jostman, Koole, van der Wulp, and Fockenberg focus on self-regulation of affect; they suggest that it can be a nonconscious process that is triggered by subtle and subliminally presented stimuli. Yet, their evidence suggests that individual difference factors in volition, such as action- and state-orientation (Kuhl, 1985), play a significant role in the subliminal self-regulation of affect. In the same direction, Kazén, Baumann, and Kuhl show that action- and state-orientation interact with implicit regulation of national pride in situations of mortality salience. It seems that exposure to threatening information triggers nonconscious self-regulation processes that lead to revaluing of attributes of one's own culture. Both of the above studies extend self-regulation theorizing as regards the mechanism underlying self-regulation of behavior and, particularly, nonconscious processes related to affect modulation, whereas the emphasis in self-regulation research is usually on deliberate strategy use.

Clearly, the articles of this special section do not exhaust all issues related to the study of self-regulation of behavior. They do, however, reflect the current research priorities and the growing realization of the importance of affect in the self-regulation of behavior. They also highlight the challenges for future research, particularly as regards the integration of concepts, methodological approaches, and findings from research from diverse areas of psychology, ranging from social, educational, and personality, to cognitive and neuropsychological psychology.