Influences of children's and adolescents’ action-control processes on school achievement, peer relationships, and coping with challenging life events

Self-regulation is a core aspect of human functioning, influencing positive development across the life span (e.g., McClelland, Ponitz, Messersmith, & Tominey, in press; Schwartz & Shapiro, 1976). The importance of self-regulation is seen in nearly all aspects of human development, including social behaviors, an internalized conscience, adaptive peer interactions, academic functioning, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, drug use, risky sexual behavior, coping behaviors, and life satisfaction in old age (see Geldhof, Little, & Colombo, in press). Given its myriad influences on development, researchers have approached self-regulation from a variety of perspectives. Researchers interested in the cognitive aspects of self-regulation, for instance, tend to emphasize the role of executive function (Bodrova, Leong, & Akhutina, this volume), attention (Colombo, 2001), or the importance of specific brain areas (Posner & Petersen, 1990). Researchers who view self-regulation as adaptive functioning emphasize decision making and motivation (Kuhl, 1986), goal selection (Eccles, 1983), emotion regulation (Kopp, 1989), the ability to delay gratification (Mischel & Ebbesen, 1970), or the use of intra- and extra-agentic means to acquire resources (Little, Hawley, Henrich, & Marsland, 2002). The various approaches to self-regulation can be loosely fit into four categories based on the components of action and levels of processing that each approach considers (Geldhof, et al., in press; see also Brandtsadter, 2006). Structural theories emphasize the neuro-cognitive structure that underlies self-regulation. Structural approaches include those that emphasize the role of executive function and/or neural development. Control Systems theories take a more abstract approach, describing hypothesized systems that allow the production and control of behavior. Carver and Scheier's (e.g., 1981) description of feedback loops and Norman and Shallice's (1986) approach to schema activation typify control systems approaches. Motivational approaches describe the conditions underlying goal selection and motivation and include expectancy-value theories (e.g., Eccles, 1983). Social Constructivist approaches emphasize the role of the context in self-regulation, such as how socially mediated internalization influences behavior (e.g., Vygotsky, 1978). Self-regulation is therefore captured by a diverse set of constructs whose scope depends on the desired level of analysis. Broadly speaking, the study of self-regulation examines individuals’ influence on their own behavior and development. Given that (a) individuals are fully embedded in their environments (e.g., Lerner & Busch-Rossnagel, 1981) and (b) every action influences and is influenced by context, self-regulation research can be defined as the study of bidirectional person ↔ environment interactions. Considering these interactions in light of proximal and distal outcomes is the general focus of work on developmental regulation. In this paper we focus on one aspect of self-regulation, the action-control model (e.g., Skinner, Chapman, & Baltes, 1988b). We discuss the development of action-control processes and their influence on development. We also consider the relationship between the action-control model and performance, a critical indicator of positive development.