TY - JOUR
T1 - Annual Research Review
T2 - On the relations among self-regulation, self-control, executive functioning, effortful control, cognitive control, impulsivity, risk-taking, and inhibition for developmental psychopathology
AU - Nigg, Joel T.
N1 - Funding Information:
Work on this paper was supported by grant R37MH59105 by the National Institute of Mental Health. This review was invited by the Editors of this journal, who offered a small honorarium to cover expenses. The author declares that he has no competing or potential conflicts of interest. The author is indebted for incisive comments on prior drafts of this manuscript to: BJ Casey, Adele Diamond, Nancy Eisenberg, James Gross, Cynthia Huang-Pollock, Sarah Karalunas, Michele Martel, Suzanne Mitchell, Mary Rothbart, Mike Posner, and Laurie Wakschlag. This does not mean any commentators necessarily agree with any particular claims in this paper.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2016 Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health.
PY - 2017/4/1
Y1 - 2017/4/1
N2 - Background: Self-regulation (SR) is central to developmental psychopathology, but progress has been impeded by varying terminology and meanings across fields and literatures. Methods: The present review attempts to move that discussion forward by noting key sources of prior confusion such as measurement-concept confounding, and then arguing the following major points. Results: First, the field needs a domain-general construct of SR that encompasses SR of action, emotion, and cognition and involves both top-down and bottom-up regulatory processes. This does not assume a shared core process across emotion, action, and cognition, but is intended to provide clarity on the extent of various claims about kinds of SR. Second, top-down aspects of SR need to be integrated. These include (a) basic processes that develop early and address immediate conflict signals, such as cognitive control and effortful control (EC), and (b) complex cognition and strategies for addressing future conflict, represented by the regulatory application of complex aspects of executive functioning. Executive function (EF) and cognitive control are not identical to SR because they can be used for other activities, but account for top-down aspects of SR at the cognitive level. Third, impulsivity, risk-taking, and disinhibition are distinct although overlapping; a taxonomy of the kinds of breakdowns of SR associated with psychopathology requires their differentiation. Fourth, different aspects of the SR universe can be organized hierarchically in relation to granularity, development, and time. Low-level components assemble into high-level components. This hierarchical perspective is consistent across literatures. Conclusions: It is hoped that the framework outlined here will facilitate integration and cross-talk among investigators working from different perspectives, and facilitate individual differences research on how SR relates to developmental psychopathology.
AB - Background: Self-regulation (SR) is central to developmental psychopathology, but progress has been impeded by varying terminology and meanings across fields and literatures. Methods: The present review attempts to move that discussion forward by noting key sources of prior confusion such as measurement-concept confounding, and then arguing the following major points. Results: First, the field needs a domain-general construct of SR that encompasses SR of action, emotion, and cognition and involves both top-down and bottom-up regulatory processes. This does not assume a shared core process across emotion, action, and cognition, but is intended to provide clarity on the extent of various claims about kinds of SR. Second, top-down aspects of SR need to be integrated. These include (a) basic processes that develop early and address immediate conflict signals, such as cognitive control and effortful control (EC), and (b) complex cognition and strategies for addressing future conflict, represented by the regulatory application of complex aspects of executive functioning. Executive function (EF) and cognitive control are not identical to SR because they can be used for other activities, but account for top-down aspects of SR at the cognitive level. Third, impulsivity, risk-taking, and disinhibition are distinct although overlapping; a taxonomy of the kinds of breakdowns of SR associated with psychopathology requires their differentiation. Fourth, different aspects of the SR universe can be organized hierarchically in relation to granularity, development, and time. Low-level components assemble into high-level components. This hierarchical perspective is consistent across literatures. Conclusions: It is hoped that the framework outlined here will facilitate integration and cross-talk among investigators working from different perspectives, and facilitate individual differences research on how SR relates to developmental psychopathology.
KW - Attention
KW - executive function
KW - impulsivity
KW - self-control
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85007551356&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85007551356&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1111/jcpp.12675
DO - 10.1111/jcpp.12675
M3 - Review article
C2 - 28035675
AN - SCOPUS:85007551356
SN - 0021-9630
VL - 58
SP - 361
EP - 383
JO - Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines
JF - Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines
IS - 4
ER -