Self-regulation processes and health: the importance of optimism and goal adjustment.
This article discusses how self-regulatory models can be used to understand people's response to health threats. The article begins with a general discussion of the principles and assumptions of self-regulatory models of behavior. Two distinct lines of research are then presented addressing two important processes of adaptive self-regulation. First, we provide a brief overview of the literature on optimism and adjustment to chronic disease and other health outcomes. Second, we present an overview of the process of disengagement from unattainable goals, focusing on recent research. We close by making recommendations for future research.
Rasmussen
Heather N
HN
University of Pittsburgh, PA, USA. heather_rasmussen@yahoo.com
Wrosch
Carsten
C
Scheier
Michael F
MF
Carver
Charles S
CS
D001294:Attitude to Health; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D007389:Internal-External Control; D008019:Life Style; D008960:Models, Psychological; D026684:Personal Autonomy; D010551:Personality; D020377:Self Efficacy; D012927:Social Control, Informal