Lecture 4 – Emotion regulation
Today:
What is emotion regulation
Importance of emotion identification
What is coping
Different coping strategies
Developmental issues in coping
Maladaptive coping strategies
Functionalistic perspective on emotions? (!!!)
Emotions arise with a reason
Not just a feeling, but a process
Adaptive reaction to change in situation (emotion evoking event triggers emotion)
Reflects strategic approach to situation (it helps us to get what we want)
Each emotion contains unique action tendency
That reflects what one wants to achieve…
In that particular situation
Different emotions reflect different concerns or expected outcomes
Emotional Intelligence
Expression of emotions
Understanding causes emotions
Awareness single and multiple emotions
Dealing with negative emotions (coping)
Regulating social relationships
Empathic understanding
Moral emotions
Wordt vandaag besproken in college
Emotion regulation (Cole, Martin & Dennis, 2004)
Emotions as regulating: emotion processes influence other processes. If you’re in
a happy mood, your memory works better, or you can concentrate better. Or if
you’re in love, you can’t focus anymore. It effects your cognitive abilities.
Emotions as regulated: emotions have the capacity to be regulated. emotions are
a strategic response. When you’re angry you want to restore the relationship. But
sometimes you get too angry and it only makes things worse. So, the level of arousal,
or the expression, needs to be regulated.
1
, - Response focused = regulation emotion expression (display rules). (When you’re angry
about your grade and you’re suppressing your anger when talking to the teacher about it to
stay polite display rules. Or you get a gift you really don’t like, but you smile and say you
like it. It doesn’t change the level of arousal, but it does change the expression).
- Antecedent focused = regulation emotions experience (emotion awareness and coping)
(Doing something to the experience. Maybe you were angry, but now you’re not angry
anymore. But don’t forget, you have the emotion for a reason. But you need to get the
arousal to that level that you can deal with the situation in the most adaptive way (cultural
differences).
What works better?
Effects of ER
Response focuses (= suppression)
decrease in behavioral responses
increase or equal emotion experience
Trying to suppress your anger of sadness only makes it worse!
Antecedent focused
decrease in behavioral responses
decrease emotion experience
Antecedent focused ER
“The automatic or intentional modification of a person’s emotional state, that promotes
adaptive or goal-directed behavior” (Thompson, 1994).
Route A Route B
Step 1: Know (and accept) your own Step 1: Gain cognitive control over your
emotions thoughts.
Step 2: Regulate arousal level Step 2: Regulate arousal level
“The process by which we influence what emotions we experience, when we experience
them, and how we express them” (Gross, 1998).
Step 1: Emotion Awareness. Why is EA important?
Signals event is meaningful
Reveals one’s (not necessarily conscious) wishes / expectations. It reveals what I
want.
Analysis of emotion-evoking elements in situation helpful to deal with situation
adaptively.
Normal development
Monitoring learned through emotion-socialization
2
Today:
What is emotion regulation
Importance of emotion identification
What is coping
Different coping strategies
Developmental issues in coping
Maladaptive coping strategies
Functionalistic perspective on emotions? (!!!)
Emotions arise with a reason
Not just a feeling, but a process
Adaptive reaction to change in situation (emotion evoking event triggers emotion)
Reflects strategic approach to situation (it helps us to get what we want)
Each emotion contains unique action tendency
That reflects what one wants to achieve…
In that particular situation
Different emotions reflect different concerns or expected outcomes
Emotional Intelligence
Expression of emotions
Understanding causes emotions
Awareness single and multiple emotions
Dealing with negative emotions (coping)
Regulating social relationships
Empathic understanding
Moral emotions
Wordt vandaag besproken in college
Emotion regulation (Cole, Martin & Dennis, 2004)
Emotions as regulating: emotion processes influence other processes. If you’re in
a happy mood, your memory works better, or you can concentrate better. Or if
you’re in love, you can’t focus anymore. It effects your cognitive abilities.
Emotions as regulated: emotions have the capacity to be regulated. emotions are
a strategic response. When you’re angry you want to restore the relationship. But
sometimes you get too angry and it only makes things worse. So, the level of arousal,
or the expression, needs to be regulated.
1
, - Response focused = regulation emotion expression (display rules). (When you’re angry
about your grade and you’re suppressing your anger when talking to the teacher about it to
stay polite display rules. Or you get a gift you really don’t like, but you smile and say you
like it. It doesn’t change the level of arousal, but it does change the expression).
- Antecedent focused = regulation emotions experience (emotion awareness and coping)
(Doing something to the experience. Maybe you were angry, but now you’re not angry
anymore. But don’t forget, you have the emotion for a reason. But you need to get the
arousal to that level that you can deal with the situation in the most adaptive way (cultural
differences).
What works better?
Effects of ER
Response focuses (= suppression)
decrease in behavioral responses
increase or equal emotion experience
Trying to suppress your anger of sadness only makes it worse!
Antecedent focused
decrease in behavioral responses
decrease emotion experience
Antecedent focused ER
“The automatic or intentional modification of a person’s emotional state, that promotes
adaptive or goal-directed behavior” (Thompson, 1994).
Route A Route B
Step 1: Know (and accept) your own Step 1: Gain cognitive control over your
emotions thoughts.
Step 2: Regulate arousal level Step 2: Regulate arousal level
“The process by which we influence what emotions we experience, when we experience
them, and how we express them” (Gross, 1998).
Step 1: Emotion Awareness. Why is EA important?
Signals event is meaningful
Reveals one’s (not necessarily conscious) wishes / expectations. It reveals what I
want.
Analysis of emotion-evoking elements in situation helpful to deal with situation
adaptively.
Normal development
Monitoring learned through emotion-socialization
2
