Social Regulation of Human Behavior

Abstract

Addressing societal challenges requires goal-directed behavior. To date, research on goal-directed behavior has proceeded along separate tracks emphasizing either self-regulatory processes or social factors. This review synthesizes evidence on how social factors regulate behavior, highlighting their effects on self-regulatory processes that guide goal pursuit. We organize social factors along a continuum from passive (exclusion, social presence, population density), through increasingly intentional (role models, group behavior, group expectations), to active (social support, coercion) factors. Across domains, the evidence suggests that social factors can facilitate or constrain individual self-regulatory processes such as attention, self-efficacy development, and impression management. Yet key gaps remain, including understanding how multiple social factors may interact and how individuals and social environments may influence each other. A priority for future research is to evaluate complete pathways linking social factors, self-regulatory processes, and their interactions to behaviors. Implications for practice include behavior change interventions targeting social environments as well as individual processes.