Self regulation is important in nearly every aspect of life. Many problems are a result of too little or too much self-regulation:

• Failure to self-regulate negative emotions may be one of the reasons for suicide.
• Failure to self-regulate physical desires results in infidelity.
• Failure to self-regulate motivation causes procrastination.

Self-regulation is also very important in childhood, and can be influenced by many things. If children develop a positive trust of the adults around them, they are often more patient, as in the marshmallow experiment. Their exposure to positive self-regulation, shown by their parents and teachers, can help them to form similar good habits. When children are not exposed to as many other children, or do not have this good influence, they can be more distrustful, and be less able to regulate themselves, with less impulse control.

On the other hand, children raised in stressful or lacking situations, like children in refugee camps, may grow up with an over-active sense of self-regulation, as a result of conserving resources for survival.