Is `Self-Regulation' a more Helpful Construct than `Attention'?

Abstract

Attentional processes have increasingly moved to a central position in understanding human development and behaviour. When care is given to the definition and the assumptions underlying the notion of attention, however, it becomes apparent that a gulf has developed between clinical folklore and the scientific literature; not all attentional difficulties are due to deficits, and not all problems with behaviours labelled `attention deficit disorder' are due to attention. Distractibility, perceptual impairment, memory impairment and inability to shift cognitive set have received too much attention in the literature, while processing time, complexity of task, cognitive effort and rehearsal strategies have received too little. We propose the broader concept of self-regulation in which attentional processes remain a key component, but in which emotional and contextual factors are crucial contributors in themselves and also interact with attentional processes. The fact that a number of constraints upon self-regulation arise from the very nature of the brain becomes another important consideration. The clinical implications of this approach are considerable. If behavioural self-regulatory difficulties are all equated with attentional difficulties, then there will be a marked increase in the diagnosis of attention deficit disorder (ADD). If, on the other hand, attentional difficulties are seen as only one component of self-regulatory difficulties, differential diagnosis will remain important and emotional regulatory processes and contextual contributions will need to be considered simultaneously. In particular, the interaction between emotional regulation and attentional processes will be the focus of clinical and research endeavour.