title: Regulatory focus affects predictions of the future.
abstract: This research investigated how regulatory focus might influence trend-reversal predictions. We hypothesized that compared with promotion focus, prevention focus hinders sense of control, which in turn predicts more trend-reversal developments. Studies 1 and 3 revealed that participants expected trend-reversal developments to be more likely to occur when they focused on prevention than when they focused on promotion. Study 2 extended the findings by including a control condition, and revealed that participants expected trend-reversal developments to be more likely to occur in the prevention condition than in the promotion and control conditions. Studies 4 and 5 revealed that participants' chronic prevention focus predicted a low sense of control (Study 4), and that promotion focus predicted a high sense of control (Studies 4 and 5). Furthermore, participants with a high sense of control expected trend-reversal developments to be less likely to occur. Thus, the results provided converging evidence for the hypothesis.
authors.affiliation: University of Macau, China guotieyuan@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Tieyuan
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: University of Chichester, UK.
authors.forename: Roy
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Spina
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009042:Motivation; D020377:Self Efficacy; D013850:Thinking; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: regulatory focus; sense of control; trend-reversal prediction