Configurations of regulatory focus and directing attention and their associations with autonomy, competence, and relatedness need satisfaction/frustration
Creators: name: Hodis, Flaviu A.
name: Hodis, Georgeta M.
Publisher: name: Taylor & Francis
Year: 2024
Subjects: subject: Medicine
subject: Biotechnology
subject: Science Policy
subject: Sociology
subject: FOS: Sociology
subject: Biological Sciences not elsewhere classified
subject: Computational Biology

description: The first objective of this research was to investigate the interrelationships of regulatory focus (i.e. promotion and prevention) and the ability to direct attention when studying. The second was to examine whether unobserved groups of individuals having distinct combinations of regulatory focus and directing attention differed on satisfaction/frustration of their basic psychological needs. Data were collected from 307 undergraduate students from the US. Latent profile analysis was used to uncover the unobserved groups defined by distinct configurations of promotion, prevention, and directing attention and to examine differences among these groups with regard to satisfaction/frustration of basic needs. Three latent groups were identified. Students who had high levels of promotion, prevention, and directing attention, also had strong satisfaction and weak frustration of their psychological needs. Students with low promotion, prevention, and directing attention, also had strong frustration and weak satisfaction of their psychological needs. The adaptive pattern of self-regulation, characterized by strong promotion, prevention, and directing attention, was also associated with an adaptive combination of high need satisfaction and low need frustration. A less adaptive pattern of low promotion, prevention, and directing attention was also associated with a maladaptive combination of high need frustration and low need satisfaction. <b>What is already known about this topic:</b>Promotion and prevention influence how people set and pursue goals.The ability to direct attention to study materials is a key predictor of learning and achievement in school settings.Both satisfaction and frustration of basic psychological needs are related to how students engage in learning and how well they achieve.This study uncovers, for the first time, the patterns of interrelationships (i.e. configurations) among key contributors to effective self-regulation, namely promotion, prevention, and ability to direct attention. Promotion and prevention influence how people set and pursue goals. The ability to direct attention to study materials is a key predictor of learning and achievement in school settings.Both satisfaction and frustration of basic psychological needs are related to how students engage in learning and how well they achieve. This study uncovers, for the first time, the patterns of interrelationships (i.e. configurations) among key contributors to effective self-regulation, namely promotion, prevention, and ability to direct attention. <b>What this topic adds:</b>Students whose configurations involved high levels of promotion, prevention, and directing attention, also had strong satisfaction and weak frustration of their psychological needs.Students whose configurations comprised low levels of promotion, prevention, and directing attention, also had strong frustration and weak satisfaction of their psychological needs. Students whose configurations involved high levels of promotion, prevention, and directing attention, also had strong satisfaction and weak frustration of their psychological needs. Students whose configurations comprised low levels of promotion, prevention, and directing attention, also had strong frustration and weak satisfaction of their psychological needs.