Group-Based Emotion Regulation: A Motivated Approach

The regulation of group-based emotions has gained scholarly attention only in recent years. In this article, we review research on group-based emotion regulation, focusing on the role of motivation and distinguishing between different emotion regulation motives in the group context. For that purpose, we first define group-based emotions and their effects on both intragroup and intergroup processes. We then review motives for group-based emotion regulation, suggesting 3 classes of group-based motives: (a) intragroup motives pertaining to what I want to be in relation to the group (e.g., increase sense of belongingness), (b) intergroup motives pertaining to what I want my group's relationship with other groups to be (e.g., preserve the status quo), and (c) meta group motives pertaining to what I want my group to be (e.g., perceive the ingroup more positvely). We discuss the implications of these different motives for group-based emotion regulation and how they might inform scholars in the field.