Work

Effective regulation of affect: An action control perspective on emotion regulation

Year: 2012

Type: article

Abstract: The present review adopts an action control perspective on emotion regulation, contextualising the gap between emotion control goals (e.g., I want to remain calm) and emotional outcomes (e.g., anger, anxiety, and aggression) in terms of the broader literature on goal pursuit. We propose that failure to effectively regulate emotions can result from difficulties with the self-regulatory tasks of (i) identifying the need to regulate, (ii) deciding whether and how to regulate, and (iii) enacting a regulation strategy. Next we review evidence that a technique traditionally associated with regulating behavioural goals (forming implementation intentions or “if-then” planning) can help to overcome these difficulties. Meta-analysis indicated that forming implementation intentions is effective in modifying emotional outcomes, with a large effect relative to no regulation instructions (k = 21, N = 1306 d + = 0.91, 95% CI = 0.61 to 1.20) and a medium-sized effect relative to goal intention instructions (k = 29, N = 1208, d + = 0.53, 95% CI = 0.42 to 0.65). Our conclusion is that research on emotion regulation might benefit from an action control perspective and the interventions that this perspective offers.

Source: European Review of Social Psychology

DOI: 10.1080/10463283.2012.718134

Authors: Thomas L. Webb, Inge Schweiger Gallo, Eleanor Miles, Peter M. Gollwitzer, Paschal Sheeran

Institutions: University of Sheffield, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, University of Konstanz, New York University

Language: English

Topic: Behavioral Health and Interventions

Subfield: Applied Psychology

Field: Psychology

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: green

Funder: Economic and Social Research Council