Self-Regulatory Executive Function Model
Updated 2026-08-10
INTRODUCTION
English translation pending.
CORE DEFINITION
The Self-Regulatory Executive Function model, proposed by Adrian Wells, explains how emotional disorders are maintained rather than merely triggered. It distinguishes object-level beliefs about external events from metacognitive beliefs about thinking itself, such as the conviction that worry is useful or that thoughts are uncontrollable. Positive metacognitive beliefs drive rumination and worry, which together with attentional bias form the cognitive attentional syndrome, a self-perpetuating loop. Treatment therefore targets metacognitive beliefs and the relationship to thoughts, not the content of individual thoughts.
SCAFFOLDING EFFECT
Reduce cognitive load
- Use belief surfacing: name the specific metacognitive rule driving the rumination loop. - Use attention shift: return focus to the present task instead of the worry chain. - Use behavioural test: check whether the worry actually produced the benefit it promised.
Anchor fast decisions
The model separates two belief levels: object beliefs about external things and metacognitive beliefs about one's own thinking. Anxiety and depression are maintained not by events but by positive metacognitive beliefs such as worry being useful, which drive attentional bias and repeated rumination, collectively the cognitive attentional syndrome, forming a self-sustaining loop.
MINIMUM ACTION
In progress 0/1Practice this model in one real situation:
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Source support: Explicit
- en.wikipedia.orghttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metacognitive_therapyverified
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