Self-Regulation of Normative and Non-Normative Developmental Challenges¹

Abstract

The article develops the argument that successful management of normatively less expected life events and transitions requires from the individual a greater degree of self-regulatory skills than the management of normative events. It is argued that, based on recent historical change, individuals have to master both normative and non-normative developmental demands. With regard to the mastery of non-normative developmental demands, the individual may have to play a more important and active role to compensate for a lack of social structuring and normative orientation. Based on a discussion of literature from the areas of life-span psychology, life-course sociology, and self-regulation, evidence for the importance of the individual in adaptive regulation of non-normative developmental challenges is presented.

Social Connectedness, Academic, Non-Academic Behaviors Related To Self-Regulation among University Students in Saudi Arabia

“…It is significant in selection, pursuant, and disengagement of goals as a personality variable (Wrosch & Freund, 2001). In terms of self-control, individuals possessing a strong capacity to control themselves can perform tasks better and they have higher degrees of interpersonal success (Tangney, Baumeister, Baumeister, and Boone (2004) contended that individuals having high personal capacity for self-control can highly adapt and they have the tendency to live a fulfilling life.…”

“…In terms of self-control, individuals possessing a strong capacity to control themselves can perform tasks better and they have higher degrees of interpersonal success (Tangney, Baumeister, Baumeister, and Boone (2004) contended that individuals having high personal capacity for self-control can highly adapt and they have the tendency to live a fulfilling life. In addition to this, self-control was linked with successful control over developmental life demands (Wrosch & Freund, 2001). Adolescents characterized as having great self-control avoided conflicts between school and leisure and they have a higher life balance indicating that they are capable of coordinating their goals compared to those who have low self-control (Kuhnle et al, 2010a;Kuhnle, Hofer, & Kilian, 2010b).…”

More than Just a Simple Twist of Fate: Serendipitous Relations in Developmental Science

“…I hypothesize that through skilled use of these ''serendipitous actions,'' individuals can transform unexpected, non-normative events into opportunities for thriving. Individuals are more normatively exposed to non-normative events as they age and differentiate across the life span [e.g., Baltes et al, 2006], and, as well, they are more normatively exposed to non-normative events as a result of the sociocultural changes attendant with globalization [Wrosch & Freund, 2001]. With greater expo-sure to such events for adolescents and adults in various contexts, I believe that the study of serendipitous relations could provide useful insights for future research and application involving the interplay between an individual's intentional action and the often inscrutable affordances or constraints present in his or her system.…”

“…Given that these life events are by definition not normative, the individual lacks the support or guidance he or she may have for challenges arising from age-or historygraded life events. This absence may result in, as Wrosch and Freund [2001] state, ''the relative importance of the individual (being) enhanced for regulating non-normative as opposed to normative developmental challenges''(p. 272). For example, in the oftmentioned scenario of winning the lottery, the individual may risk losses if he or she, flush with new wealth, spends unwisely without proper financial advice or behavior.…”

Psychological Consequences of Longevity

“…While the term life span refers to the time between a person's birth and death, the sociological concept of the life course denotes the pattern of social roles and norms regarding the timing and sequence of important life transitions, like when individuals should start and finish formal education, start their careers, be able to support themselves financially, start a family, and retire [Wrosch & Freund, 2001]. Age-graded social norms and expectations shape individual development through positive and negative sanctions (e.g., favorable or less favorable institutional opportunity structures, social approval or disapproval).…”