Smiling won’t make you feel better: Response-focused emotion regulation strategies have little impact on cognitive, behavioural, physiological, and subjective outcomes

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nancy Bahl ◽  
Allison Ouimet
Keyword(s):  
Emotion Regulation ◽  
Negative Emotion ◽  
Electrodermal Activity ◽  
Adaptive Strategy ◽  
Expressive Suppression ◽  
Memory Accuracy ◽  
Cognitive Behavioural ◽  
Regulation Strategies ◽  
The Common ◽  
Subjective Outcomes

Background and Objectives. Response-focused emotion regulation (RF-ER) strategies may alter people’s evoked emotions, influencing psychophysiology, memory accuracy, and affect. Researchers have found that participants engaging in expressive suppression (ES; a RF-ER strategy) experience increased sympathetic nervous system arousal, affect (i.e., higher subjective anxiety and negative emotion), and lowered memory accuracy. It is unclear, however, whether all RF-ER strategies exert maladaptive effects. Expressive dissonance (ED; displaying an expression opposite from how one feels) is a RF-ER strategy, and thus likely considered “maladaptive”. As outlined by the facial feedback hypothesis, however, smiling may increase positive emotion, suggesting it may be an adaptive strategy. We compared the effects of ED and ES to a control condition on psychophysiology, memory accuracy, and affect, to assess whether ED is an adaptive RF-ER strategy, relative to ES. Methods. We randomly assigned 144 female participants to engage in ED, ES, or to naturally observe, while viewing negative and arousing images. We recorded electrodermal activity and self-reported affect throughout the experiment and participants completed memory tasks. Results. There were no differences between groups across outcomes. Conclusion. Engaging in ES or ED may not lead to negative or positive impacts, shedding doubt on the common conclusion that specific strategies are categorically adaptive or maladaptive.

scholarly journals Understanding Nonnative University EFL Teachers’ Professional Anxiety and Their Emotion Regulation Strategies

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 87
Author(s):  
Bo Yang
Keyword(s):  
Emotion Regulation ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
English Language ◽  
Negative Emotion ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Emotion Regulation Strategies ◽  
Expressive Suppression ◽  
Academic Promotion ◽  
Efl Teachers ◽  
Regulation Strategies

Based on an in-depth semi-structured interview method, this study explored sources of nonnative university English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers’ professional anxiety and relevant emotion regulation strategies in a Chinese context. Participants mostly suffered from academic promotion anxiety, followed by research anxiety, teaching anxiety, and anxiety about English language proficiency and knowledge. To overcome this negative emotion, participants adopted two families of emotion modifications: response-focused regulation strategies including coping, expressive suppression, and communication, as well as antecedent-focused regulation strategies comprising cognitive reappraisal and distraction, with the former outweighing the latter. Findings revealed the complexity of nonnative university EFL teachers’ professional anxiety and cultural differences in emotion regulation strategies.

scholarly journals Smiling won't make you feel better, but it might make people like you more: Interpersonal and interpersonal consequences of response-focused emotion regulation strategies

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nancy Bahl ◽  
Allison Ouimet
Keyword(s):  
Emotion Regulation ◽  
Relationship Quality ◽  
Facial Expressions ◽  
Electrodermal Activity ◽  
Memory Performance ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Emotion Regulation Strategies ◽  
Expressive Suppression ◽  
Regulation Strategies

Emotion regulation (ER) is integral to well-being and relationship quality. Experimental studies tend to explore the intrapersonal effects of ER (i.e., impacts of ER on one’s self), and leave out the interpersonal impacts (i.e., the bidirectional impact of ER on the regulator and partner). The ER strategy expressive suppression shows maladaptive interpersonal and intrapersonal consequences during distressing conversations. We aimed to explore whether other ER strategies that modify facial expressions (i.e., expressive dissonance) have similar consequences to suppressing emotions. We randomly assigned 164 women participants to use expressive dissonance, expressive suppression, or to naturally express emotions, while engaging in a conversation task with a confederate. We observed intrapersonal outcomes, including electrodermal activity and self-reported affect throughout the experiment, and memory performance after. Blinded video coders assessed the conversation on interpersonal qualities (e.g., friendliness and likeability). There were no differences between conditions on intrapersonal outcomes. Participants engaging in expressive dissonance, however, were rated more positively, and participants in the expressive suppression condition were rated more negatively on interpersonal qualities, relative to the control condition. Although neither strategy appeared to impact the participant, intrapersonally, both notably influenced the observer’s impression of the participant.

scholarly journals Italia Ti Ascolto [Italy, I am listening]: an app-based group psychological intervention during the COVID-19 pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Antonia Lucia Parolin ◽  
Ilaria Maria Antonietta Benzi ◽  
Erika Fanti ◽  
Alberto Milesi ◽  
Pietro Cipresso ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Emotion Regulation ◽  
Perceived Social Support ◽  
Psychological Intervention ◽  
Emotion Regulation Strategies ◽  
Expressive Suppression ◽  
Psychological Variables ◽  
Symptoms Of Depression ◽  
Intervention Protocol ◽  
Regulation Strategies

The onset of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic impacted individuals’ psychological wellbeing resulting in heightened perceived stress, anxiety, and depression. However, a significant issue in accessing psychological care during a lockdown is the lack of access to in-person interventions. In this regard, research has shown the efficacy and utility of psychological app-based interventions. ‘Italia Ti Ascolto’ (ITA) has been developed as a population tailored internet-based intervention to offer an online professional solution for psychological support needs. The ITA app is available on iOS and Android systems. Users completed a baseline assessment on emotion regulation strategies (cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression), psychological stress, anxiety, depression, and perceived social support. Participants could select among several one-hour long clinical groups held by expert psychotherapists. After every session, people were asked to complete a quick users’ satisfaction survey. Our contribution presents ITA’s intervention protocol and discusses preliminary data on psychological variables collected at baseline. Data showed significant associations between emotion regulation strategies, symptoms of depression and anxiety, and level of stress. Moreover, the role of perceived social support is considered. Future developments and implications for clinical practice and treatment are discussed.

Differentiate to Regulate: Low Negative Emotion Differentiation Is Associated With Ineffective Use but Not Selection of Emotion-Regulation Strategies

2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (6) ◽  
pp. 863-879 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elise K. Kalokerinos ◽  
Yasemin Erbas ◽  
Eva Ceulemans ◽  
Peter Kuppens
Keyword(s):  
Emotion Regulation ◽  
Negative Emotion ◽  
Experience Sampling ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Emotion Regulation Strategies ◽  
Emotion Differentiation ◽  
Sampling Studies ◽  
Regulation Strategies ◽  
Selection Of

Emotion differentiation, which involves experiencing and labeling emotions in a granular way, has been linked with well-being. It has been theorized that differentiating between emotions facilitates effective emotion regulation, but this link has yet to be comprehensively tested. In two experience-sampling studies, we examined how negative emotion differentiation was related to (a) the selection of emotion-regulation strategies and (b) the effectiveness of these strategies in downregulating negative emotion ( Ns = 200 and 101 participants and 34,660 and 6,282 measurements, respectively). Unexpectedly, we found few relationships between differentiation and the selection of putatively adaptive or maladaptive strategies. Instead, we found interactions between differentiation and strategies in predicting negative emotion. Among low differentiators, all strategies (Study 1) and four of six strategies (Study 2) were more strongly associated with increased negative emotion than they were among high differentiators. This suggests that low differentiation may hinder successful emotion regulation, which in turn supports the idea that effective regulation may underlie differentiation benefits.

scholarly journals The Wisdom to Know the Difference

2016 ◽  
Vol 27 (12) ◽  
pp. 1651-1659 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon J. Haines ◽  
John Gleeson ◽  
Peter Kuppens ◽  
Tom Hollenstein ◽  
Joseph Ciarrochi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Emotion Regulation ◽  
Adaptive Strategy ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Opposite Pattern ◽  
Regulation Strategies ◽  
The Difference ◽  
The Right ◽  
Ecological Momentary ◽  
Momentary Assessment ◽  
Healthy Participants

The ability to regulate emotions is central to well-being, but healthy emotion regulation may not merely be about using the “right” strategies. According to the strategy-situation-fit hypothesis, emotion-regulation strategies are conducive to well-being only when used in appropriate contexts. This study is the first to test the strategy-situation-fit hypothesis using ecological momentary assessment of cognitive reappraisal—a putatively adaptive strategy. We expected people who used reappraisal more in uncontrollable situations and less in controllable situations to have greater well-being than people with the opposite pattern of reappraisal use. Healthy participants ( n = 74) completed measures of well-being in the lab and used a smartphone app to report their use of reappraisal and perceived controllability of their environment 10 times a day for 1 week. Results supported the strategy-situation-fit hypothesis. Participants with relatively high well-being used reappraisal more in situations they perceived as lower in controllability and less in situations they perceived as higher in controllability. In contrast, we found little evidence for an association between greater well-being and greater mean use of reappraisal across situations.

scholarly journals Exploring Emotion Regulation and Perceived Control as Antecedents of Anxiety and Its Consequences During Covid-19 Full Remote Learning

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ting Zhao ◽  
Zongmei Fu ◽  
Xi Lian ◽  
Linning Ye ◽  
Wei Huang
Keyword(s):  
Emotion Regulation ◽  
Perceived Control ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Perceived Learning ◽  
Emotion Regulation Strategies ◽  
Expressive Suppression ◽  
Regulation Strategies ◽  
Remote Learning

Maintaining the emotional well-being of learners during a pandemic is important. This study explored the effects of two emotion regulation strategies (cognitive reappraisal, expressive suppression) and perceived control on full remote learners' anxiety during Covid-19, and their relationship to perceived learning. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze 239 questionnaires completed by Chinese graduate students taking a course remotely from home for 13 weeks. This study showed that reappraisal was positively related to perceived control, whereas suppression was negatively related to perceived control. Reappraisers perceived more learning, whereas suppressors experienced more anxiety. Anxiety was significantly and negatively related to perceived learning. Mediation analyses showed the existence of different patterns of mediation in the pathways from the two types of emotion regulation to perceived learning. These findings are discussed in relation to relevant studies conducted during non-pandemic periods and Covid-19, and based on the results we highlight the need for interventions aimed at developing adaptive emotion regulation strategies and reducing anxiety in emergency remote learning.

scholarly journals Do Individual Differences in Emotion Regulation Mediate the Relationship Between Mental Toughness and Symptoms of Depression?

2017 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 71-82 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julian Mutz ◽  
Peter Clough ◽  
Kostas A. Papageorgiou
Keyword(s):  
Emotion Regulation ◽  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
Cognitive Reappraisal ◽  
Mental Toughness ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Expressive Suppression ◽  
Work Settings ◽  
Regulation Strategies ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract. Mental Toughness (MT) provides crucial psychological capacities for achievement in sports, education, and work settings. Previous research examined the role of MT in the domain of mental health and showed that MT is negatively associated with and predictive of fewer depressive symptoms in nonclinical populations. The present study aimed at (1) investigating to what extent mentally tough individuals use two emotion regulation strategies: cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression; (2) exploring whether individual differences in emotion regulation strategy use mediate the relationship between MT and depressive symptoms. Three hundred sixty-four participants (M = 24.31 years, SD = 9.16) provided self-reports of their levels of MT, depressive symptoms, and their habitual use of cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression. The results showed a statistically significant correlation between MT and two commonly used measures of depressive symptoms. A small statistically significant positive correlation between MT and the habitual use of cognitive reappraisal was also observed. The correlation between MT and the habitual use of expressive suppression was statistically significant, but the size of the effect was small. A statistical mediation model indicated that individual differences in the habitual use of expressive suppression mediate the relationship between MT and depressive symptoms. No such effect was found for the habitual use of cognitive reappraisal. Implications of these findings and possible avenues for future research are discussed.

scholarly journals Emotion regulation questionnaire-adapted and individual differences in emotion regulation

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 70-84
Author(s):  
Rita Seixas ◽  
Anne Pignault ◽  
Claude Houssemand
Keyword(s):  
Emotion Regulation ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
Emotional Response ◽  
Cognitive Change ◽  
Response Modulation ◽  
Expressive Suppression ◽  
State Of Mind ◽  
Specific Emotion ◽  
Regulation Strategies ◽  
Expression Of Emotions

Emotion regulation is a human adaptation process with important implications for daily life. Two specific emotion regulation strategies were the principle areas of study: reappraisal (cognitive change in which individuals adapt their state of mind about a given situation) and expressive suppression (response modulation in which individuals change their emotional response after its initiation). The Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ), that captures individual tendencies to reappraise and to suppress the expression of emotions, was also developed. Response modulation strategy was analyzed by considering two distinct processes: expressive suppression (down-regulation) and expressive enhancement (up-regulation). This latter modulation process has been less frequently studied by researchers. The present study investigates the psychometrical properties, individual differences and correlates of a French adapted version of the ERQ, which comprises reappraisal and the two response modulation tendencies – expressive suppression and expressive enhancement. Based on the initial ERQ, new items were created and added to the scale. The three-factor structure of the ERQ adapted was confirmed. As expected, emotion regulation is linked to individual differences: the tendency to reappraise has a positive low correlation with age; and men are significantly more disposed to suppress and to enhance than women. Finally, the tendency to suppress the expression of emotions is negatively correlated with extraversion, and the disposition to enhance the expression of emotions is negatively correlated with conscientiousness.

Trait Emotion Regulation Predicts Individual Differences in Momentary Emotion and Experience

2018 ◽  
Vol 38 (4) ◽  
pp. 349-377
Author(s):  
Reed Maxwell ◽  
Steven Jay Lynn ◽  
Gregory P. Strauss
Keyword(s):  
Emotion Regulation ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
Real Time ◽  
Emotional Reactivity ◽  
Emotional States ◽  
Expressive Suppression ◽  
Future Directions ◽  
Emotion Regulation Strategy ◽  
Regulation Strategies ◽  
Open Question

A sizable literature has yet to establish a reliable empirical connection between the trait conceptualization of emotion regulation as habitual, cross-situation emotion regulation tendencies and its state conceptualization as real-time, fluid, momentary emotion–situation interactivity and dependency. Thus, an open question remains: Do self-reported differences in tendencies to use one or another emotion regulation strategy predict self-reported, momentary emotional states and experiences, and are differences in these emotional states consistent with differences in emotional reactivity observed in previous studies among individuals in experimental paradigms asked to make real-time use of the emotion regulation strategies represented by these trait measures? If trait measures of emotion regulation validly reflect actual uses of particular strategies (e.g., expressive suppression and cognitive reappraisal), then these measures should predict individual differences in momentary emotions and experiences associated with habitual use of these strategies. Examining a sample of 177 participants, we found that differential endorsements of habitual strategy use on these measures were associated with individual differences in self-reported momentary emotion and experience that correspond to well-documented differences in reactivity reported among individuals instructed to apply these strategies in experimental settings. Limitations of these findings and suggestions for future directions are discussed.

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