“… “regulation” carries the meaning of “control” with a hint of regularity. In that sense, self-regulation refers to the exercise of control over oneself, especially with regard to bringing the self into line with preferred (thus, regular) standards. Such processes can be found deep in nature” (Baumeister & Vohs, 2004). […]
Reference
Baumeister, R. F. & Vohs, K. D. (2004). Understanding self-regulation: An introduction. In R. F. Editor & K. D. Editor (Eds.), Handbook of self-regulation: Research of self-regulation: research, theory, and applications. New York, NY: Guilford Publications, Inc.