Regulatory focus and academic performance: Regulatory fit

Abstract

According to regulatory fit theory (Higgins, 2000), people engage in goal pursuit in a manner that fits their regulatory orientation. When people experience regulatory fit, they engage more strongly in their goal pursuit, which, in turn, leads to better performance. The purpose of the present study was to investigate influences of regulatory fit on Japanese college students' academic test performance. After university students (N=100) were assessed for individual differences in regulatory orientation and learning strategies, their performance on actual college course tests (a cloze tests and an essay test without comments) was examined. The results indicated that promotion-oriented individuals had high performance on the essay test without comments when they used an eager strategy, whereas prevention-oriented individuals had high performance on the cloze test when they used a vigilance strategy. These findings suggest that effects of regulatory fit on academic test performance are not identical, but rather differ according to the type of regulatory fit and the test format.