Emotional Regulation

Emotion regulation involves attempts to change the experience and expression of emotions. People engage in such attempts to satisfy either hedonic motives (i.e., to feel good in the moment) or instrumental motives (i.e., to effectively achieve their goals). To change their emotions, people can engage in a variety of strategies. While some strategies (e.g., cognitive reappraisal) have been found to be relatively effective, others (e.g., expressive suppression) have proven less effective. The quality and efficacy of emotion regulation depends, in part, on the mental resources people have at their disposal, on their beliefs about the ability to change emotions, and on their knowledge and understanding of emotions. The process of emotion regulation, in turn, carries important implications for subsequent emotional experiences, for cognition and decision-making, for social interactions, for mental and physical health, and for well-being.