Effortful Emotion Regulation as a Unique Form of Cybernetic Control

2020 ◽  
pp. 174569162092219
Author(s):  
Maya Tamir

Emotion regulation is important for psychological well-being, yet we know relatively little about why, when, and how hard people try to regulate emotions. This article seeks to address these motivational issues by considering effortful emotion regulation as a unique form of cybernetic control. In any domain of self-regulation, emotions serve as indices of progress in regulation and inform the expected value of regulation. In emotion regulation, however, emotions also serve as the very target of regulation. This interdependence gives rise to ironic processes that may render people less likely to exert effort in emotion regulation, precisely when they need it most. The proposed analysis complements and extends existing theories of emotion regulation, sheds new light on available findings, carries implications for psychopathology and well-being, and points to new hypotheses that could lead to theoretical and applied advances in the field.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Shum ◽  
Samantha Dockray ◽  
Jennifer McMahon

Introduction: Early adolescence has been defined as a sensitive developmental period for psychological well-being. As children transition into early adolescence, they begin to regulate their emotions independently of their caregivers and they integrate cognitive processes into their emotion regulation. Brain maturation during early adolescence facilitates the emotion regulation strategy of cognitive reappraisal, whereby adolescents develop the ability to change how they think about an emotion-evoking stimulus to then change how they feel in any given moment. The development of cognitive reappraisal has been found to improve psychological well-being among adults. However, there has been a lack of empirical research identifying the relationship between cognitive reappraisal and psychological well-being among early adolescents. As such, there is a need to highlight gaps in knowledge and to identify and summarise the key findings that have examined cognitive reappraisal and psychological well-being during early adolescence.Methods: The current scoping review will adhere to the guidelines of Arksey and O’Malleys’ scoping review methodology (2005). Five research databases (PsychArticles, PsychINFO, EBSCO, ERIC and Education Source) and two unpublished/grey literature databases (NICE-UK and OpenGrey) will be used to identify relevant literature. Two independent reviewers will then screen the identified studies in accordance with pre-specified eligibility criteria and extract data based on evidence source characteristics, and details regarding the relationship between cognitive reappraisal and psychological well-being. The data will then be charted, organised into main findings and presented as a narrative summary.Discussion: The findings from the scoping review will give an overview of the relationship between cognitive reappraisal and psychological well-being among early adolescents and provide future directions to account for gaps in the research. The results will be disseminated through journals, conferences, blogs and podcasts related to adolescent development, adolescent health and emotion regulation.


2021 ◽  
pp. 147797142110373
Author(s):  
Anna Sverdlik ◽  
Sonia Rahimi ◽  
Robert J Vallerand

University students’ passion for their studies has been previously demonstrated to be important for both their academic performance and their personal well-being. However, no studies to date have explored the role of passion for one’s studies on both academic and personal outcomes in a single model. The present research sought to determine the role of passion in adult university students’ self-regulated learning and psychological well-being (Study 1), as well as the process by which passion shapes these outcomes, namely academic emotions, in Study 2. It was hypothesised that harmonious passion would positively predict both self-regulated learning and psychological well-being in Study 1. Furthermore, the mediating role of academic emotions between passion and outcomes was tested using a prospective design over time in Study 2. Results provided support for the proposed model. Implications for future research and practice focusing on the role of passion in facilitating adaptive emotions, use of self-regulation and well-being in adult students are discussed.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeremy M. Hamm ◽  
Jaron X. Y. Tan ◽  
Meaghan Barlow ◽  
Rachel Delaney ◽  
Katherine Anne Duggan

Goal adjustment capacities (i.e., goal disengagement and goal reengagement) are core self-regulatory resources theorized to buffer psychological well-being during intractable life circumstances. However, research has yet to examine whether these capacities protect well-being for individuals who encounter uncontrollable losses in their ability to pursue important life goals due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Using a nationally-representative sample of American adults aged 18-80 (n = 292), the present longitudinal study examined the influence of goal disengagement and reengagement on levels and change in psychological well-being for individuals who differed in perceived control over their goals early in the pandemic. Results from multilevel growth models showed that goal reengagement, but not goal disengagement, capacities predicted higher levels of well-being (lower perceived stress, depressive symptoms; higher life satisfaction, meaning in life) for individuals who reported pandemic-induced declines in control over their goals. Findings inform theories of motivation and self-regulation and point to the adaptive value of goal reengagement capacities during uncontrollable life circumstances.


Author(s):  
T. G. Fomina ◽  
◽  
Y. A. Ishmuratova ◽  
E. V. Filippova

The authors present their analysis of data obtained in the longitudinal study on the specifics of the regulatory, intrapersonal and motivational characteristics of adolescents with positive dynamics of psychological well-being. The sample consisted of the Russian schoolchildren (N = 98) examined twice with 1-year interval: in the 5th, then in the 6th grade. Diagnostics of the psychological well-being level by means of the Well-Being Manifestation Measure Scale allowed to distinguish a group of students characterized by the positive dynamics of well-being at a given period of time (N = 75). The features of self-regulation, attitudes towards learning, academic motivation, and personality characteristics of these students were then identified and described. Conscious self-regulation was assessed using Morosanova’s Self-Regulation Profile of Learning Activity Questionnaire. It was shown that self-regulation in this group of children is characterized by a harmonious profile with well-developed regulatory processes. The specifics of academic motivation were analyzed using the Scales of Academic Motivation of Schoolchildren. It was established that intrinsic motivation, despite a slight overall decrease in the level of educational motivation at this period of schooling, stably exceeds the level of ineffective external types of educational motives in the motivational profile of these children. Considering the specifics of personality traits (according to the results of the Big Five Questionnaire — Children version method) revealed that pupils with positive dynamics of psychological well-being are characterized by high values of extraversion, conscientiousness, agreeableness, and openness to experience, accompanied by the low neuroticism level. The results obtained indicate a positive trajectory of the subjective activity formation in these adolescents and their successful adaptation to the changing educational environment.


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