Regulatory focus, regulatory mode and decision- making style Cover Image

Регулаторен фокус, регулаторна мода и стил на вземане на решение
Regulatory focus, regulatory mode and decision- making style

Author(s): Georgi Karastoyanov, Aleksandrina Bahneva, Manuela Petkova
Subject(s): Social Sciences, Psychology
Published by: Институт за изследване на населението и човека - Българска академия на науките
Keywords: decision-making style; regulatory focus; regulatory mode.

Summary/Abstract: In the present research we have examined how individual differences in satisfying hedonic motive such as regulatory focus (promotion vs. prevention), and regulatory mode (assessment – locomotion) influenced people’s decision making style (DMS). The survey tool comprised of the General Decision Making Scale (GDMS, Scott & Bruce, 1995), the Regulatory Focus Questionnaire (RFQ, Higgins et al., 2001) and the Regulatory Mode Questionnaire (RMQ, Kruglanski et al., 2000). A total of 287 respondents divided into 3 samples (students, military officers, school teachers) participated in this study. For all samples we have found that chronic regulatory focus explained preferences towards the dependent and avoidant style, i.e. they were correlated with low chronic promotion orientation. The regulatory focus also clarified the nature of the spontaneous DMS which as a principle shares the same cognitive base as intuitive DMS, but the style manifested itself as spontaneous only if high promotion orientation and low prevention orientation were available. The rational DMS was connected with high chronic prevention regulatory focus. We have found in all samples that DMS (except for those connected with experiential cognitive processing– intuitive and spontaneous DMS) changed depending on people’s preferences of regulatory mode. Rational DMS was preferred by individuals with chronic locomotion orientation and assessment orientation, so the two modes worked as partners. Dependant style was connected with chronic assessment orientation and low locomotion orientation. The latter was correlated with avoidant DMS. The results from the three quite different samples proved that not only did preferences in cognitive processing influence DMS, but chronic differences in the ways of satisfying hedonic motive or how motivation worked beyond pleasure and pain also correlated with DMS.

  • Issue Year: 22/2019
  • Issue No: 2
  • Page Range: 403-417
  • Page Count: 15
  • Language: Bulgarian