[3]: 209 Regulatory fit should not directly affect the hedonic occurrence of a thing or occasion, but should influence a person's assurance in their reaction to the object or event.
Regulatory fit intensifies responses, such as the value of a chosen object, persuasion, and job satisfaction.
[5] This theory operates on the basic principle that people embrace pleasure but avoid pain, and they then maintain their regulatory fit based on this standard.
[7] These two regulatory focuses regulate the influences that a person would be exposed to in the decision-making process, and determine the different ways they achieve their goal, as discussed by RFT.
The decision has positive value when people attempt to attain their goal in a way that fits their regulatory orientation and it will have negative value when people attempt to attain their goal in a way that does not fit their regulatory orientation.
[citation needed] For example, in interpersonal conflict, if each person experiences "fit", each one will be satisfied with and committed to the outcome.
RFT proposes that motivational strength is enhanced when the manner in which people work toward a goal sustains their regulatory orientation.
[9] Achieving a goal in a way that is consistent to a person's regulatory orientation leads to an individual sense of importance to the event.
The more strongly an individual is engaged (i.e., involved, occupied, fully engrossed) in an activity, the more intense the motivational force experienced.
Student A uses a promotion-focus orientation which slants them towards achieving their goal and towards advancement, growth and life accomplishment.
Student B uses a prevention-focus orientation where the goal is something that should be realized because it fulfills their need for security, protection and prevention of negative outcomes.
Student B uses a vigilant approach where they become more detail oriented and pay careful attention to completing all of the course requirements.
When people make decisions, they often envision the possible "pleasure or pain" of the possible outcomes that the focus orientation will produce.
Studies have been done where fit and focus have been applied to show their applicability to consumer purchasing, health advisories, and social policy issues.
The "fit" involved in RFT plays a large role in such issues and stories because it can be a device to help an individual receive and review the experience during a particular message delivery.
[1]: 446 Lee and Aaker (2004) conducted an experiment that involved whether or not to give their information in a prevention-focus- or promotion-focus-concerning way.
[1]: 449 In doing so, they demonstrated that rather than trying to know each individual recipient's qualities, one needs only to start by nailing the focus (prevention/promotion) and then framing the message so that it creates that "rightness".
One aspect is the effect of nonverbal cues and their association with persuasive appeals based on the message recipient's motivational regulatory orientation.