Self-Compassion and Its Relationship with Self-Regulation and

Motivation

Xinyue Chen

Pudong Foreign Languages School, SISU, Shanghai, China

Keywords: Self-Compassion, Self-Regulation, Motivation.

Abstract: As the rapid development of the world, the workload on people elevated, and mental health has received

increasing attention. People have then searched for ways and mindsets to enhance their mental well-being and

success in work, while self-compassion is one of them. Defined as treating oneself with kindness, open-

mindedness and common understanding, self-compassion is viewed as a positive attitude of self-evaluation

in the face of failures or suffering. However, the influencing factors of self-compassion are not yet clear.

Therefore, this article aimed to explore several variables of self-compassion through literature review, with

self-regulation and motivation being selected among them. The positive association between self-regulation,

self-compassion and motivation were found. Besides, self-regulation may conceivably have an affirmative

effect on self-compassion, while the increase in self-compassion leads to motivation enhancement.

Mindfulness practice and other measures are recommended to enhance self-compassion. The study allows

individuals to have a greater command of self-compassion in concept, also enable individuals to integrate

self-compassion into life, thus achieve well-being and help to confront with daily challenges.

1 INTRODUCTION

Mental health has long been an issue in the history of

mankind. Russell has argued that happiness is the top

priority in one’s life. While in recent years, social

development has indeed brought much convenience

and efficiency, but also triggers fatigue and burnout.

Besides, with the progress of global integration,

economic globalization, and cultural diversification,

there is a surge of creativity, while also leads to

increased competitive pressure on businesses and

individuals. Most people ， especially younger

generations, therefore, are in need of methods which

brings about well-being and success in work. Due to

these phenomenon, studies have delved into the area

of mental state enhancement.

By then, self-compassion (SC), the compassion

leading to oneself, has attracted much attention. Self-

compassion stems from the Buddhist concept of

compassion to some extent, where it stressed about

Metta and Karuna --the kindness toward all lives on

earth and the hope of their liberating from pain. Self-

compassion is later contemplated as a healthier way

to perceive oneself in times of hardship, instead of

regarding others as inferior in comparison so as to feel

good. It mainly includes three components:(1) self-

kindness, comprehend one’s own inadequacies, (2)

common humanity, recognizing that flaws exist in all

human beings, (3) mindfulness, view from a broader

perspective and non-judgement of one’s actions and

thoughts (Neff, 2011).

Other concepts like self-acceptance and the

recognition of personal suffering have been brought

up, and studies have suggested potential ways to put

them into practice, such as mindfulness practice. In

that case, participants are guided to be consciously

aware and focus on one's internal and external

conscious experiences in the present moment.

Also, distinction among several related topics

have been made, and recent studies have suggested a

connection between SC and compassion for others

(Neff, 2023). In addition, it was argued that SC is

positively associated with a sense of connectedness,

and negatively associated with procrastination and

maladaptive perfectionism (Barnard and Curry,

2011). Besides, the gender difference concerning SC

was suggested (Neff, 2003).

However, the context of SC seems yet to be

studied. Therefore, this article aims to provide a logic

chain of SC, by probing into an influencing factor and

potential effect respectively, namely self-regulation

and motivation. Through literature review, this article

Chen, X.

Self-Compassion and Its Relationship with Self-Regulation and Motivation.

DOI: 10.5220/0014074600004942

Paper published under CC license (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

In Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Applied Psychology and Marketing Management (APMM 2025), pages 97-102

ISBN: 978-989-758-791-7

tries to clarify the holistic understanding of SC, and

enable one to be more armed in face of similar mental

issue.

2 INTRODUCTION OF

RESEARCH SUBJECTS

2.1 Concept Introduction

Self-compassion involves extending kindness, open-

mindedness, and understanding towards oneself

during moments of failure or suffering.

This includes three main components as what

Neff defined --- (1) self-kindness, which entails being

gentle and kind with oneself instead of criticism; (2)

the sense of common humanity, the shared

knowledge that as human beings, individuals all have

inadequacies, so feeling vulnerable and hurt are

normal feeling that all people face. (3) mindfulness,

observe and accept facts of individual’s own thoughts

with an objective perspective, instead of

overidentifying current situation. Moreover, SC can

take both tender and intense form when target at

different means, such as soothing versus the need of

motivation. It is worth noting that females tend to

exhibit a lower level of SC compared to males, which

is reflected in higher stress reactivity (Helminen et al.,

2021).

Researches have shown the impacts SC may

bring, and well-being is on top of the list. Self-

compassion also contributes to the alleviation of pain,

lessened negative thinking and reduces shame.

Besides, it can enhance one’s resilience, health

compassion for others and motivation. Self-

compassion is a malleable quality rather than a rigid

characteristic. In other words, SC is a technique that

can be commanded through training and practice.

One therapeutic approach that has been

recommended, for example, is the compassion-

focused therapy (Gilbert, 2010). It is a therapy

designed to decrease self-criticism and thus develop

understanding toward oneself. Mindfulness training,

meditation and other skills are also suggested.

2.2 Classification and Characteristics

Introduction

Self-regulation is someone making proper decisions

and to develop a feeling of mastery in one's life. It

involves emotional and behavioral aspects. For

emotional regulation, it generally means to console

oneself amid irrational emotions, such as anger or

suffering. Emotional regulation encompasses four

main elements: (1) criteria for appropriate conduct,

(2) the drive to fulfill these criteria; (3) monitoring of

circumstances and thoughts that could violate the

criteria; and (4) self-discipline that enables one's

inner resolve to manage impulses.

They required to monitor one’s own emotion and

thought, judge them based on personal goals, and then

react. Self-regulation on behaviors are similar, except

the objects turn to one’s own actions, while also

contains observing, reflection (in relation to one’s

aim) and reactions. When the willpower of an

individual runs out, however, this may lead to ego

depletion, resulting in poorer decision-making and

performance. There is noticeable similarity between

self-regulation and self-control, but differences too,

with self-regulation containing less mandatory

restrictions and more subconscious process, thus

make the purposeful and active self-control less

necessary to occur. Moreover, self-regulation can

typically be divided into two branches: adaptive and

maladaptive.

Motivation, an internal state, is what drives people

to take actions in pursuit of their goals. It mainly

embraces two parts--primary and learned ones, while

the latter is what distinguish human from animals.

Primary motivations are the desire to meet basic

needs, such as hunger, thirst and aggression, while

secondary motivation consists of achievement, sense

of honor, and other kinds of specialized drive.

Motivation can also in categorized in other aspects,

such as extrinsic and intrinsic ones, individual and

organizational ones, and so forth. Motives have been

analyzed to be caused by various factors, including

money incentives, recognition from others, and social

opportunities, etc. Motivation can positively enhance

individual responsiveness toward work and

organization performance, but may also bring about

negative outcomes like extensive pressure and tense

atmosphere.

3 THE RELATIONSHIP

BETWEEN

SELF-REGULATION AND

SELF-COMPASSION

Masoumi and other co-authors firstly found that the

diagnosis and treatment of cancer may probably have

an unwelcome impact on patients’ well-being

(Masoumi et al., 2022). By comparison, some factors

like self-regulation, SC and perceived social support

can improve individual well-being. In noticing that

APMM 2025 - International Conference on Applied Psychology and Marketing Management

they are not alone in pain, patients are more likely to

overcome the suffering. While patients with better

ability to control themselves can handle their negative

feelings better. Besides, perceived social support,

feeling connected and supported by others, enhance

patients’ adaptation to the illness.

Therefore, this experiment focuses on verifying

whether SC accounted for the association between

emotional self-regulation, perceived social support,

and improved well-being among individuals with

breast cancer (Masoumi et al., 2022). This research

uses the method of cross-sectional study and 300

participants are engaged from several oncology

departments in Iran, and they are all breast cancer

patients. The average age of the participants was

36.92, and they were solicited to participate in a

survey through their scheduled medical

appointments, which involves some self-report

measures. A relative large amount of patients are

married and a portion (38.7%) have received

Lumpectomy and Chemotherapy.

The research was designed as subjective report.

Participants are asked to respectively complete the

relevant self-report questionnaires. Conclusions are

that significant linear relationships among emotional

self-regulation, SC and perceived social support are

shown. Besides, SC serves as a mediator in the

relationship between perceived social support and

emotional self-regulation, significantly influencing

well-being. In addition, emotional regulations are

shown to decrease stress and prepares oneself better

for daily issues.

In comparison with other studies, this study

focuses on the relationship among SC, self-regulation

and social support. Meanwhile, it demonstrates that

stable social support has positive effect on the

patients while unstable ones do the opposite. It is a

new approach to set sight on cancer patients for SC

research, and examined the interrelationships among

three variables. However, limitations still exist. One

is the cultural limitations concerning the participants’

background. Since all participants are from the same

district in Iran, a middle east country, results may

change in other continents due to possible diverse

means of treatment concerning breast cancer patients,

also some extent of discrimination towards female.

Another is that the way that three variables are related

may remain a deeper investigation, namely the

mechanism lying behind the three variables. For

instance, the means emotional self-regulation affects

SC is still unclear.

Some people failed to maintain a healthy diet

despite their awareness that it may probably lead to

longevity. It was presumed that high SC, while being

kind to oneself, may lead to one’s tolerance for going

against long-term goal, thus contributes to self-

regulation failure. Hence, the study carried out a

research to examine the relationship between SC,

self-regulation and coping planning (Plazonic and

Herrada Vazquez, 2020).

The study adopted the cross-sectional study

design, recruiting 473 adults in order to assess the

relationship between the three variables of eating

behavior. Participants' ages ranged from 18 to 65

years old, and have faced goal-conflicting situation in

concern of food choices which requires self-

regulatory efforts. 70.6% of the participants were

female, while 28. 8% are male. The average age was

33.7 years old, and the majority live in Europe.

Online questionnaires were released based on a pilot

study, and a convenience sampling method was

chosen. Three scenarios of goal-conflict situations are

created by the researchers for measurement. The

correlational analysis of the results showed

significant positive relation between SC and self-

regulation, not in line with the initial hypothesis

which states that there is a negative correlation

between high levels of SC and self-regulation.

Moreover, positive association of coping planning

and self-regulation was found, and that SC and

coping-planning are positively associated. In

addition, SC and coping strategies notably predicted

the degree of self-regulation in eating behaviors,

while there was no substantial support for the

moderating effect of coping planning. To conclude,

SC supports healthy eating behaviors, and does not

hinders self-regulation.

Compared with previous studies, this article adds

to the view of another aspect of SC, which is said to

bring about higher self-regulation state and help

people to better overcome the identified barriers as

are presented in the aim-conflicting circumstances.

However, the study is not flawless and requires

deeper study on several points. First is the possibility

that the created scenario failed to generate enough of

a motivational dilemma, thus no justification

behaviors was necessary to step in. Second, more

associations between self-regulation and SC is

needed to further test the assumption of the two

variables, such as certain circumstances where self-

regulation will lead to SC and vice versa. Besides,

eating behaviors may vary in different regions so that

the study did not cover all potential self-regulation

circumstances of eating behavior.

This study explores the impact of a mindful SC

program on alleviating school fatigue, enhancing

academic self-regulation, and boosting academic

resilience among high school students in Paveh, Iran

Self-Compassion and Its Relationship with Self-Regulation and Motivation

(Abdollahi and Isanejad, 2024). An experimental

research was carried out through follow-up study, by

selecting 40 female students, providing them with

mindful SC program, and track their academic self-

regulation and self-resilience over 2 months. A

control group was also recruited.

Results found that this kind of intervention has

considerably positive impact on decreasing school

burnout, improving academic self-regulation, and

fostering academic resilience, compared with the

control group that demonstrated little to no change.

The conclusion was in line with previous studies

which suggest a positive association of SC and self-

regulation. Also, the study found that the intervention

effect over time is relatively stable and durable.

Therefore, the study has demonstrated the positive

connections between self-regulation and SC,

especially the effect of SC in elevating students' self-

regulation capabilities.

4 THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN

SELF-COMPASSION AND

MOTIVATION

Motivation has been acknowledged as a crucial factor

to academic excellence and well-being. Besides,

several previous articles have suggested the positive

association between mental engagement, SC and

academic motivation (Neff et al., 2005 & Datu and

King, 2018). In addition, self-determination theory

provides a distinction of the types of motivation, by

highlighting three main types--intrinsic motivation,

extrinsic motivation, and amotivation. Intrinsically

motivated students regard academic activities as

meaningful, thus take the initiative to search for

extended resources and learn. By comparison,

students with extrinsic motivation complete academic

tasks based on external factors, such as to avoid

punishment or get materialistic rewards, while

amotivated individuals have little interest and

engagement in academic activities. Therefore, the

study explored some potential variables related to

motivation, namely SC, self-criticism and

engagement, with a particular focus on how SC and

self-criticism could either amplify or diminish the

transition from extrinsic to intrinsic motivation

(Kotera et al., 2023).

All participants recruited were education students

from a UK university, ages ranging from 18 to 55

years old, where 70 are females, and 39 are males.

Participants included 104 individuals from the UK, 2

Europeans from other countries, and 1 person of Asian

descent. The 109 participants completed three

subjective report scales. Analyses of correlation,

regression, and moderation were performed. Self-

compassion and self-criticism were analyzed

respectively as reassured-self and hated-self. Results

show that (1) as the score of reassured-self increases,

the positive link between extrinsic and intrinsic

motivation becomes mightier. This finding indicated

that reassured-self moderated the pathway from

extrinsic motivation to intrinsic motivation. (2)

medium to advanced level of SC predicted high

motivation scores. Besides, motivation can also be

predicted by engagement---dedication and absorption.

Compared to other studies, this article investigated the

relationship of motivation and its influencing factors,

namely SC, self-criticism and engagement, on a

deeper level. To be more specific, SC as a potential

influencing factor between the pathway of extrinsic

and intrinsic motivation was studied. The study also

suggested that by improving SC, increase in intrinsic

motivation may be achieved, which pave the way for

academic success and mental well-being.

However, the sample of the study was limited, and

participants were from one UK university, hence the

result may not be adaptable to various contexts.

Therefore, further surveys concerning people from

other continents are recommended.

The article serves as a further investigation related

to the study above through diverse sample sources

(Kotera et al., 2022). Previous studies have suggested

the possibility of intrinsic motivation acting as a

mediator between SC and well-being, by exploring the

connection between academic motivation, SC and

self-criticism and mental health. In which, the way

motivation was categorized was consistent with the

study above. Self-compassion was tested as self-

reassurance, while self-criticism was tested as self-

inadequacy and self-hate.

119 undergraduate students from a Czech

university participated in the experiment, and

completed the self-report measures. The participants

range from 19 to 44 years old, and comprise of 93

females and 20 males. Among them, 98 were Czech

and 21 were Slovakian. Analyses involving

correlation, regression, and path analysis were

conducted. Results demonstrated the significant

influence of SC on intrinsic motivation, leading to an

improved mental well-being. Also, intrinsic

motivation mediated the pathway from SC to mental

well-being. Meanwhile, there was not a direct

pathway from self-criticism to motivation. In addition,

well-being was negatively associated with

amotivation.

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Another study with similar aims explored the

relationship between academic motivation, SC and

resilience. Participants were 156 Indonesia students,

ranging from 18 to 22 years old. Analysis showed an

akin result, suggest that (1) SC have a positive

correlation with intrinsic motivation; (2) SC moderate

the transition from extrinsic to intrinsic motivation.

Therefore, the positive relationship of SC and

motivation is suggested, regardless of the cultural

difference.

In prior studies, SC was discovered to exhibit a

shared tendency with motivation, both focus on

mental well-being and be authentic to oneself, which

bring about lower body surveillance and greater body

appreciation (Thøgersen-Ntoumani and Ntoumanis,

2006). Hence, the study investigated the relationship

between self-compassion, intrinsic motivation, body

surveillance and body appreciation (Cox et al., 2019).

The study was carried out with a cross-sectional

design. Participants were females from a US

university, with the mean age of 19.96 years old, and

most are undergraduate students. Among them, 76%

were white, 6% Asian, 4% African American, 8%

Hispanic/Latino, and others. Subjective-report

questionnaires were completed, and data were

collected throughout 2 years. Results showed that SC

lay the foundation for intrinsic motivation cultivation

for physical activity. Moreover, an increase in SC

predicts a rise in body appreciation, which in turn

implies a corresponding increase in intrinsic

motivation. Besides, growth of SC predicts reduction

in body surveillance.

Compared to other studies, this research furthered

the exploration of body image variables, by

associating body image variables (body surveillance

and body appreciation) with SC and motivation for

physical activities among female. The limitation of the

research, however, includes data accuracy problem,

on merely surveying females from a university.

Therefore, surveys used in this study may as well be

conducted in other countries to get a more

comprehensive view of the relationship between the

variables

In conclusion, the articles have shown a substantial

correlation between SC and motivation. Meanwhile,

SC, emphasizing mindfulness of the self, may enable

one to have non ego-judgement toward oneself,

therefore boosts the willingness to challenge and

improve oneself, and thus elevates motivation.

5 DISCUSSION AND

SUGGESTION

Through literature review, this study delves into the

connection between SC and its potential variables,

such as self-regulation and motivation.

It has been indicated that a positive correlation

between self-regulation and SC exists, while SC and

motivation are also positively associated. Meanwhile,

self-regulation enhancement probably has an effect

on the increase of SC, possibly due to self-

regulation’s stress on monitoring and urge of one’s

feelings and behaviors. Furthermore, SC was shown

to be correlated with motivation, especially intrinsic

motivation. Also, Self-compassion influences the

pathway from extrinsic to intrinsic motivation, and

intrinsic motivation serves as a mediator in the

relationship between SC and mental well-being. The

reasons underlying these findings are conceivably

because of the role of SC, accepting and supporting

oneself in times of obstacles and failures. By non

judgement toward the self, it is possible that one will

have the willingness and strength to carry on and

tackle with the challenges, therefore boosting one’s

motivation.

Based on what have been reviewed, it is suggested

that people may approach mindfulness practice to

enhance the SC rate, therefore approach the daily

challenges with kindness and acceptance toward

oneself, leading to perseverance, goodwill and better

mental state. In addition, SC breathing exercise and

self-soothing phrases are also recommended. They

are just small practices, but may as well pacify

oneself when faced with difficulties, thus better

armed to cope with later challenges in life.

However, this review has not fully explored how

self-regulation is related to SC, also the way SC and

motivation is connected. Besides, there may be other

variables influencing the association which was

found in this essay, such as social education

background. Therefore, further studies are needed to

explore deeper in the logic chain of self-regulation,

SC and motivation, and investigate whether or not the

proposed association can hold up in universal

contexts.

6 CONCLUSION

This study assessed the interplay among self-

regulation, self-compassion, and motivation through

the means of literature review. Positive association of

the three variables are found. By reviewing the

Self-Compassion and Its Relationship with Self-Regulation and Motivation

101

articles concerning breast cancer survivors in Iran, the

eating habits of people (mainly in Europe) and the

impact of a self-compassion program on self-

regulation in secondary students in Iran respectively,

it is concluded that interrelationship between self-

regulation and self-compassion exists. Moreover, by

reviewing studies of the UK university students,

Czech university students, Indonesian university

students and people’s physical activity related to body

image from a US university, the study emphasizes the

positive connection between self-compassion and

various types of motivation, including intrinsic and

extrinsic motivation.

Therefore, it is recommended that people may

adopt mindfulness practice to enhance one’s self-

compassion rate, by then treating themselves with

more non-judgement, self-acceptance and open-

mindedness, hence increasing the level of self-

regulation and motivation to better cope with daily

challenges and establish a higher mental well-being.

Besides, self-compassion breathing exercise and self-

soothing phrases are suggested, and they serve as a

similar function as what mindfulness practice does.

To conclude, this study hopes to provide a more

comprehensive understanding towards self-

compassion, also the relationship between self-

regulation, self-compassion, and motivation.

Additionally, this study may help individuals to own

the understanding of a more balanced and receptive

mindset toward oneself, thus improve both the

motivation to tackle failures, and enhance mental

well-being.

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