Finally, just as a thermostat monitors conditions to maintain
optimal temperature, self-regulation monitors conditions
to maintain optimal arousal for a given task (Blair &
Diamond 2008). Everyone experiences peaks and lows in
levels of attention, emotion, and motivation. As children
develop, they learn that some activities require them to
pay attention more (that is, the activities require increased
attentional arousal). For example, children need more
attentional arousal to watch a play than to chase a friend.
The same is true for motivational arousal. Children need to
“wake up” motivation more to stick with a challenging task