Serendipity as an Example for a New Four-tiered Model of the Study of Intentional Self-regulation

Abstract

This article describes how actions transform chance events into sustained positive development. I argue that serendipity is intentional, and involves the coaction of self-regulatory actions and chance life events. To provide a foundation for research on both serendipity and self-regulation more generally, I introduce a model of self-regulation research organized across the nomothetic-idiographic spectrum. In this model, every self-regulatory action should be simultaneously studied at various levels of generality and specificity. Using the example case of serendipity, I argue that self-regulation research should adopt this model to capture the full richness of goal striving.