1 Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis.
2 Moons Analytics, San Diego, CA.
Perspect Psychol Sci. 2017 Jul;12(4):588-612. doi: 10.1177/1745691616689091. Epub 2017 Jul 5.
Self-regulation is a fundamental human process that refers to multiple complex methods by which individuals pursue goals in the face of distractions. Whereas superior self-regulation predicts better academic achievement, relationship quality, financial and career success, and lifespan health, poor self-regulation increases a person's risk for negative outcomes in each of these domains and can ultimately presage early mortality. Given its centrality to understanding the human condition, a large body of research has examined cognitive, emotional, and behavioral aspects of self-regulation. In contrast, relatively little attention has been paid to specific biologic processes that may underlie self-regulation. We address this latter issue in the present review by examining the growing body of research showing that components of the immune system involved in inflammation can alter neural, cognitive, and motivational processes that lead to impaired self-regulation and poor health. Based on these findings, we propose an integrated, multilevel model that describes how inflammation may cause widespread biobehavioral alterations that promote self-regulatory failure. This immunologic model of self-regulatory failure has implications for understanding how biological and behavioral factors interact to influence self-regulation. The model also suggests new ways of reducing disease risk and enhancing human potential by targeting inflammatory processes that affect self-regulation.
自我调节是一种基本的人类过程，指的是个体在面对干扰时追求目标的多种复杂方法。虽然较高的自我调节能力可以预测更好的学业成绩、人际关系质量、财务和职业成功以及寿命健康，但较差的自我调节能力会增加个体在这些领域中出现负面结果的风险，最终可能预示着早逝。鉴于自我调节对理解人类状况的重要性，大量研究已经检查了自我调节的认知、情感和行为方面。相比之下，相对较少关注可能是自我调节基础的特定生物过程。我们在本综述中解决了后者的问题，研究了越来越多的研究表明，参与炎症的免疫系统成分可以改变导致自我调节受损和健康状况不佳的神经、认知和动机过程。基于这些发现，我们提出了一个综合的多层次模型，描述了炎症如何引起广泛的生物行为改变，从而导致自我调节失败。这种自我调节失败的免疫模型对于理解生物和行为因素如何相互作用影响自我调节具有重要意义。该模型还通过针对影响自我调节的炎症过程，为减少疾病风险和提高人类潜能提供了新的途径。
