The Concept Of Emotional Regulation Psychology Essay

In this paper we explore the concept of emotional regulation. We find out what emotional regulation is and its benefits and detriments. We then discuss its application in human negotiations with illustrations of some results. Emotional regulation is then studied from the interpersonal and intrapersonal perspective. The concept of emotional recognition is then discussed in light of other people’s experiences and exhibition of the same. The accuracy of emotional recognition too is evaluated. Further on we explore the interaction that exists between emotional recognition and emotional regulation. A literature review then follows. We then draw our conclusions with a highlight of some of the limitations that affect the study of emotional recognition and emotional regulation.

The concept of emotional regulation is a very important one in the field of social psychology. It can also be effectively be utilized in the analysis of the personality concept. This is because it is mainly concerned with the little changes that get activated by an individual’s emotions. The changes in the emotion themselves are also included. The changes in emotion include the changes that take place in the duration as well as the intensity of the emotion as pointed out by Thomson (1994). The changes in an individual’s psychological processes are also includes. The psychological processes include social interactions as well as memory processes. Emotional regulation usually denotes two forms of phenomena. The initial one views emotion as being regulated while the second one views emotion as a regulating factor. Thompson (1994) purported that regulated emotion denotes the changes that take place in the activated emotion. They include the changes in valence, time and intensity. These changes usually occurs within an individual such as the use of soothing techniques in the alleviation of stress

The exact meaning of emotion regulation has developed for an extended period of time.Starting with the term emotion; it is describing a comprehensive reaction to a probable individual goal. The reaction entails an experience which is subjective, an activity or behavior that is physiological. Emotions are allowing humans to straighten their concentration to vital situations and also motivating individuals to react by action. Emotion regulation, hence, is influencing the intensity or presence of emotions to enhance responses that are capable of producing contextually appropriate and productive action. Emotion regulation may of being automatic, it is also controllable. Similarly, regulation may be defined as a process initiated after the identification of the situation, and advanced by the direction of attention towards the identified situation and afterwards evaluating the situation, and later culminating in a behavioral response (Gross & Thompson, 2007). Besides, it can be defined as the capability to modify and manage a person’s emotional reactions so as to attain outcomes that are goal directed. The difference between emotions and mood It is crucial to ensure that we point out succinctly the difference that exists between emotions and moods. The work of Izard (1993) clearly pointed out that the definition of emotions is complex task. Since the anger, joy and the feeling of pain is the key and is portrayed in form of actions due to biased perceptions as well as a state of feeling. The activation of emotions is carried out by a combination of systems comprising of the neural, motivational, and cognitive as well as the sensimotor systems. Emotions are therefore noted as being short in terms of duration and are as a result of certain stimulus. On the other hand, mood is noted to be more enduring and less associated with a certain stimuli as pointed out by Frijda (1993). Emotions however do have a firm association with specific human behaviors as compared to moods.

The link between emotion and the processing of information

Emotions, other than being part of an individual’s mental state, are part of the human information system as pointed out by Isen (2000). A large base of research has indicated that the human information processing system is heavily influenced by emotions. Intense emotion has been noted to effectively short-circuit an individual’s cognitive system and hence resulting in poor action. Research also shows that there is usually an interaction between emotions and cognition. The best model to illustrate this interaction is the one postulated by Russell and Barrett (1999) which effectively links emotional categories to certain specific behavioral and cognitive processes. The human information processing system is therefore broadened and modified by neurochemical fluctuations that are associated worth the various hormones that affect emotional reactions as pointed out by (Globus & Arpaia,1994).

How could emotional regulation be both beneficial and harmful?

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The benefits of emotional regulation

Helps leaders to make better decisions

A research proved that only 100 minutes training of mindfulness in a single week resulted to approximately 30% to 50% decrease in the levels of cortisol, an indicator of stress, against a group that is in charge (Tang and Posner, 2008). Earlier, it was normally understood that the advantages that came from mindfulness were taking considerably longer. Mindfulness is capable of giving leaders great benefits in the direction of emotional regulation which is capable of helping the leaders to make much better decisions.

Emotional regulation and organizational behavior

The last couple of decades have seen the level of interest on emotional regulation and its effect on human behavior rise. Industrial psychologists have noted that emotional regulation has a direct impact on workplace behavior (Fisher & Ashkanasy, 2000). Emotional regulation has been noted to have a direct influence on organizational leadership, job performance and satisfaction, group process (related to employee violence and their general reactions to the organization’s justice mechanisms ) (Cropanzano, Weiss, Suckow, & Grandey, 2000) . These of course are key factors that directly affect the profitability of every firm.

Influence of emotions on the development of children

The prototypes of emotional regulation that are set early in life are capable of influencing consequent development up to adult functioning. Emotional regulation is correlated with the improvement of intimacy, trust and connection with other people. The emotions of parents and their behavior are interacting with the behavior and emotions of their children (Schor, 1991)

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The significance of emotion regulation during the early childhood can’t be overstated. Pediatricians and professionals who are dealing with child development are in critical positions to put to it that the blow of dangers on children is received with interventions, so as to uphold a fit developmental course. Although the pediatrician is capable of providing some interventions to the families, it is evenly significant that talents are developed to effectively recognize problems early and submit families for appropriate interventions. The models of emotion regulation that are recognized early in life are capable of influencing successive outcomes, and consequently deserve attention, and, if necessary, involvement, from the people who are interested in optimizing the development of the infants and the children.

Ochsner’s (2008) model of emotional and social processing is positing that emotion regulation, recognition and attention processes are unified sets of skill. They are all necessary for winning social sentimental functioning.

Emotion as a significant factor in personality and social psychology

As stated above, emotion regulation is a significant notion not only in personality but also in social psychology (Gross & John, 2003). Personal differences occurring in it have been associated with interpersonal functioning, in authenticity besides well-being (Gross & John, 2003), understanding in relationships that are close and also civic behavior in situations which are wide ranging like athletics (Hanin, 2000) and also the place of work .It is contributing to constructive intercultural and intracultural adjustment. Refugees and sojourners having better emotion regulation are having decreased culture shock, anxiety, depression, and homesickness. Besides, they report improved degrees of well being, happiness, marital satisfaction, income and language proficiency.

Comprehending emotion regulation commences with a single model of arousal of emotion. Despite the fact that numerous theories are in existence, they are suggesting that a stimulus is initially reviewed and that this assessment later results into an emotion (Ellsworth & Scherer, 2003). The emotion that has been aroused afterwards makes active thinking, the feeling of states, physiology and behaviors that are expressive.

Gross (2001) acknowledged five points during which emotions are capable of being regulated: selection of situations, modification of situations, deployment of attention, cognitive alteration, and the modulation of behavioral, empirical or physiological reactions.

Extraversion is similarly connected with not only the experience (Schimmack et al., 2002) but also expression of constructive emotions.A number of these facets are interrelated with emotion regulation, particularly regarding the significant aspects of it. Consequently, extraversion is supposed to be negatively correlated with suppression.

Emotional regulation is associated with other traits

There might be an association between emotion regulation and other traits. For instance, amicability may probably be connected to how persons are expressing unconstructive emotions (McCrae & Costa, 1997). Agreeableness and conscientiousness has been correlated with positive emotions and honesty has also been linked with the capability to recognize emotions which is supposed to be associated with emotion regulation. The proof for these relationships, nonetheless, is greatly weaker than that for extraversion and neuroticism. Furthermore, dependable country differences both on extraversion and neuroticism are in existence.These dissimilarities have been related to country-level disparities in emotion regulation and avoidance of doubt (Hofstede & McCrae, 2004). Therefore, extraversion and neuroticism are the personality characters that are very applicable to emotion regulation.

Important in intercultural adjustment

Prior studies have constantly shown that emotion regulation is a vital predictor of intercultural adjustment. The Emotional intelligence theory is suggesting that before people are capable of regulating emotions, there is need for them to recognize the emotions. Therefore, the ability of emotion recognition is capable of predicting intercultural adjustment. Recognition of emotion predicts positive adjustment while the recognition of fear, contempt and sadness predicts negative adjustment.

High emotion regulation is one of the most significant forecaster of constructive intercultural adjustment .It is vital for constructive adjustment due to the fact that controlling individual’s negative emotions evoked at the times of stress and conflict , which are expected both in intercultural and also intracultural life, are capable of allowing an individual to be excessively controlled by negative emotions and also instead think rationally and clearly, which later on paves the way for the use of the other psychological talents that are significant for intercultural adjustment, like flexibility, openness, and also critical thinking.The significance of regulation of emotions in intercultural adjustment has also been supported in several other studies.

Emotion Regulation and Psychopathology

There is growing indication that emotion regulation is an essential component of numerous forms of psychopathology, like mood disorders and anxiety (Allen, McHugh, & Barlow, 2008) and also an intermediate individuality disorder (Linehan, 1993). Through the viewing of emotion regulation as a probable function of a variety of presentations of clinical symptom, numerous clinical features of psychopathology may be recognized as maladaptive efforts at regulating emotions that are not desirable (Campbell-Sills & Barlow, 2007). This is highlighting the multidimensional feature of emotion regulation because the road leading to well-being might entail the capacity to take action in an adaptive and efficient way while understanding negative emotions and it also entail the capacity to understand and to be aware of an individual’s emotional responses when they are taking place (Gratz & Roemer, 2004). If there is a scarcity in an individual’s capacity to experience emotions, distinguish the experience from several other emotions, and comprehend the working of the emotional response,then maladaptive labors to keep away from or regulate that experience might be more probable (Cole et al., 1994; Hayes, Wilson, Gifford, Follette, & Strosahl, 1996). The people having intellectual disabilities are reportedly suffering from comorbid psychopathology. Consequently, there has been an argument that mental retardation might be viewed as a threat factor or susceptibility to the development of psychopathology of later times (Masi, 1998). It is probable that this susceptibility is reflecting a more general susceptibility to come up with deficiencies inside the variety of the sizes of emotion regulation.

Disadvantages of emotional regulation

Some Family members are usually reporting that some people are losing their emotion regulation skills and besides that, they are more moody, irritable and also prone to temper crabbiness (Smith, 2003). Neuroticism has been connected to the understanding of negative emotions.McCrae et al., (2005) have recognized six aspects of neuroticism: vulnerability, anger, hostility, anxiety, self-consciousness, depression and impulsivity. Some are referring directly to emotion regulation such as impulsivity, while other people are referring to the possible sentimental penalties of emotion regulation such as depression and anxiety to affective -behavioral results of it such as anger and hostility and to its consequences that are self-related cognitive such as self-consciousness and vulnerability.

Emotion regulation and negotiations

Indeed emotion regulation has been studied in the area of negotiations. There are several researches regarding the same. Negotiation can be defined as the means of providing solution to economic and social conflicts. On a number of occasions, it arouses negative emotions. Current theoretical approaches recognize the consequences that mood and emotions are capable of having on negotiations.Emotions play some roles in negotiations. A study conducted by Alfred et all (1997) states that emotion is should be regulated since it is capable of leading to an increase in conflict.

A different research regarding emotion regulation and negotiations was conducted by Denson and Fabiansson (n.d.). Firstly, they explored why regulation of anger is important regardless of the occasionally positive results of expressing anger during the process of negotiation. Again, they examined the efficiency of several strategies of regulating emotions like rumination, reappraisal and distraction. Besides, they discussed the way these could be used in the context of negotiation. They later gave the results from two experiments by the use of emotion regulation to investigate the impact that the anger regulation strategies were having on emotions that were self-reported and also on hostile behavior in negotiations.

Other people have also looked at the relationship between emotion regulation and negation. For instance, Fabiansson and Denson (2010) critically scrutinized if regulating anger by the use of reappraisal was not only capable of decreasing self-reported anger but also improving the performance of negotiation. Those who participated in the condition of the reappraisal were instructed before the speech duty that their partners were in a somehow bad mood, and also that they should also seem to be in bad moods. The timing was significant because tentatively reappraisal ought to happen prior to the full commencement of an emotional reply so as to change the emotion’s experience (Gross, 1998a). In reality, late re-evaluation is effortful more than early on reappraisal and again, late re-evaluation was less efficient in dropping a sad mood that is induced by film more than late distractions (Sheppes & Meiran, 2007).

This Research is suggesting that the expression of anger as a strategy of negotiation is having imperfect effectiveness. It however suggests that the use of reappraisal for negotiation settings may prove useful in the reduction of aggressive behavior, anger and conflict in the negotiations. Reappraisal is associated with reduced anger as compared to distraction or rumination.

Emotion Recognition in Others

Emotion recognition is defined as the capability to distinguish emotions precisely in music, faces and designs (Mayer, Caruso, & Salovey, 1999). Inter-personal human communication is including both the spoken language and also non-verbal cues like facial expressions, hand gestures and also the pitch of the voice, which are applied to communicate feelings and also to provide feedback.

It is generally accepted from psychological theories that the emotions of human beings are capable of being grouped into six forms of emotions. Facial activity and also the pitch of the speech are playing a big role in the expression of these emotions. The face’s muscles are capable of being altered and the energy and the tone in the generation of the speech is capable of being modified deliberately to communicate several feelings. Human beings are then capable of recognizing these signals even when they are deviously demonstrated, by concurrently giving the information that is acquired by the eyes and the ears. With the basis on psychological studies, which are showing that visual information is capable of modifying the speech’s perception (Nwe, Wei, De Silva, 2001), it is probable to make an assumption that the perception of human emotion is following the same trend. Having been motivated by these hints, De Silva et al. performed experiments, whereby eighteen individuals were needed to be familiar with emotion through the use of acoustic and visual information independently from a database of audio-visual that was documented from two subjects (De Silva, Miyasato, Nakatsu, 1997.). They made a conclusion that a number of emotions are identified better with audio like fear and sadness, while some without video, like happiness and anger. Furthermore, Chen et al. proved that these two modalities are giving corresponding information, through their argument that the system’s performance improved when the two modalities were applied at once (Chen, Huang, Miyasato and Nakatsu, 1998). Despite the fact that numerous automatic systems of emotion recognition have investigated the usage of both facial expressions and speech (Dellaert, Polzin, Waibel, 1970) to notice human sentimental states, comparatively little efforts have mainly paid attention to emotion recognition through the use of the two modalities (De Silva, Ng, 2000). It is expected that the multimodal approach is capable of giving better performance and also additional robustness if a single of these modalities is got in a very rowdy environment. These preceding studies merged acoustic information and facial expressions both at the level of decision, whereby the yield of the unimodal structure are incorporated by the application of appropriate criteria and at the feature-level, whereby the data from the two modalities are combined prior to classification.Emotions can be recognized from facial emotional expressions and it is very simple for the four major emotions anger, fear, joy and sadness.

What is Emotional Recognition Accuracy (ERA)

Emotional recognition is a construct that forms part of the umbrella concepts of emotional intelligence (EI) as pointed out by Matthews et al.,(2002) as well as affective social competence. In fact the construct of Emotional Recognition Accuracy (ERA) was pointed out by Mayer et al (2001) to be part of the latest models of Emotional Intelligence (EI). The concept of Emotional Recognition Accuracy (ERA) can roughly be defined as the ability of an individual to recognize the emotion of another person or persons and then present a preliminary finding for the predictive nature of its validity. The concept forms a crucial element of interpersonal sensitivity.

Emotional recognition and negotiation

The concept of emotional recognition has been used effectively in negotiations as pointed out by Elfenbein et al.,(2007).The concept of negotiation has been noted to be intensively emotional (Kumar,1997). In the process of a negotiation, the emotions of the negotiating parties may not be accurately perceived by both sides. This is because negotiation takes place in an environment that is heavily dependent on several factors such as the ability to effectively communicate, exchange ideas and then social judgments that are accurate (Thomson and Hastie,1990).

The Interaction of Emotional Regulation and Emotion Recognition

Emotional regulation and emotional recognition are closely related because emotion recognition ability is a very vital precursor to emotion regulation. Due to the fact that emotion regulation has been established to be a significant intercultural adjustment predictor, a very deep comprehension of the concept is capable of being helpful to understand better the relationship that it has with adjustment. A single approach is coming from the framework of emotional intelligence, since emotion regulation is being viewed as a component of emotional intelligence. From definition, emotional intelligence is referring to the capacity to recognize emotions’ meanings and also their relationships and besides to apply them as a foundation in problem solving, reasoning and improving cognitive activities (Mayer, Salovey, Caruso & Sitarenios, 2001). Emotional intelligence is entailing four different skills: regulation of emotion, emotion recognition in others and self, understanding emotions and employment of emotion in the facilitation of thinking (Ciarrochi, Chan & Bajgar, 2001; Mayer et al., 2001).

Emotion recognition is theoretically more crucial than the regulation of emotions due to the fact that regulation is possible only after the occurrence of recognition (Izard, 2001; Lane, 2000; Mayer et al., 2001). Therefore recognition has to be a forerunner for regulation. When emotions are not recognized, there will be nothing to be regulated. If emotion recognition is a vital predecessor to emotion regulation, and due to the fact that emotion regulation is predicting intercultural alteration, therefore emotion recognition ought to forecast adjustment. Earlier researches have provided great support for this idea. Recognition of emotions has been connected to adjustment-related constructs like such, examples are conduct disorder, emotional interruption, despair, social anxiety, ineffectiveness, academic attainment, fame, competency, great function in social surroundings on numerous populations like children who are psychologically treated, non-clinical children, immature delinquents, big people, schizophrenics, and also those having learning disabilities (McClure & Nowicki, 2001).

Despite the fact that a number of studies have demonstrated that emotion recognition is connected to adjustment, none of the studies has critically assessed this connection in sojourners. a relationship like such could be having significant implications for advancing intercultural adjustment since recognition of emotions is a skill which is capable of being taught (McKenzie et al.,2000). It is capable of providing significant hypothetical insights into the tasks of processes that are emotion-related, away from regulation of emotion, that control adjustment. Both emotion recognition and regulation are predicting positive and long-term adjustment. Emotion regulation and recognition are positively related. Both are playing a joint role in predicting adjustment.

The link between emotions and behavior

Many theories of emotions are recognizing the relationship that occurs between exact emotions and exact behaviors (Fredrickson, 1998; Levenson, 1994). This relationship is very reliable and Russell and Barrett (1999) suggest that there are typical emotional events that come after specific emotions. Lazarus (1999) has come up with a corresponding opinion that maintains that typical events results into emotions that are specific. For instance, the theory of Russell and Barrett (1999) states that emotions such as shame, love, fury or panic might each produce a distinctive typical series of events that are involving suitable open conduct relating to emotional stimuli and neurochemical changes. The emotion-behavior relationship is also depending on the positivity or negativity of the emotions (Fossum & Barrett, 2000). The positive emotions are connected with more changeable and slower responses than the emotions that are negative (Fredrickson, 1998). The negative emotions are always having big connections with some exact behavior types; it is also probable that the emotions that are highly negative are capable of producing behaviors as such with minimum help from the connected cognitive processing since responses happen so fast that much processing cannot occur. Therefore, controlling the experience of emotions that are highly negative is a significant feature of behavioral regulation. Grandey (2000) tackles this matter in the emotional labor perspective, however, it might be equally applicable to other applied matters, like workplace hostility. The significant point to be applied is that numerous work behaviors could be having strong and constant connection to the negative emotions. In cases as such, efforts to alter the patterns of behavior without changing first the connected emotions will probably be unsuccessful. Constructive emotions are constantly acquiring a lesser amount of attention than the emotions that are negative. This happens for numerous reasons: first, they are less separated, they are also not connected with exact problems that require solutions, and again, they are not related to exact action tendencies that are thought to be essential for survival (Fredrickson, 1998). Nonetheless, emotions that are positive could be having great functions that are essential for the continued existence of species or the efficient working of firms, despite the fact that strong positive influence could be having supernatural costs also. Fredrickson (1998) has come up with “broaden-and-build” viewpoint on the worth of the positive emotions. She is maintaining that the positive emotions are significant because they widen thought and creates conditions where cognitive, substantial, and also social resources are capable of being built.

For instance, she is maintaining that joy is promoting play, which aides in the building of logical, substantial and social skills. Correspondingly, satisfaction widens the self and worldview and generates the urge to incorporate; love causes other constructive emotions and hardens not only the personal but also social resources. Taking a broad view from the perspective of Fredrickson, positive emotions ought to encourage several significant organizational processes, like building of skills, creativeness, efficient social relations, commitment of the organization, joint orientations, and also prosocial behaviors. Besides, Fredrickson is noting that positive emotions are serving as a solution to the destructive physiological results of negative emotions. Recent organization study has yet again brought the matter of whether the workers who are happy are more helpful. Wright and Staw (1999) recommend that they could be productive. Dispositional constructive affect may be needed to put up both social and individual resources.

The link between emotions and human motivation

Emotions are playing an essential role in motivation. Personal differences in emotional inclinations are interacting with events of the organizations and also social interactions to produce emotional reactions that significantly shape a person’s goals. The influence that emotional reactions could be having to the events of the organization, like downsizing, might highly weaken individual obligation to organizationally preferred goals and, in the end, performance of the job. Emotional procedures are also caught up in the achievement of compound and long -term objectives. Personal differences in the control of diverse emotions, like fury and monotony, are playing a key role in the efficient chase of goals involving continued effort. In the contexts of the organizations, personality differences might be predominantly significant in the calculation of the outcomes of training and performance in occupations that are involving considerable independent functioning.

Motivational processes are also playing a significant part in emotion’s expression. The theories of cognitive assessment, for instance, are putting forward the significance of assessment of individual emotions and behaviors of the organizations behavior.

The emotional implication of an event is depending on the degree to which the incident is assessed as related to the person’s goal concerns.

The relationship between emotions and social responses

A significant feature of stimuli that evokes emotions and also emotional responses is that they are always very rapid, regularly creating the initial results before the occurrence of symbolic-level processing. This feature might have had serious endurance value when quick responses were required to shun threats, but it is also having a significant social consequence. In that it is permitting emotions to serve as a quick and ever-present lead to social connections. Levenson (1994) stated that the facial expressions, tone of the voice and posture are communicating how individuals are feeling to others and it can also move us to or keep us away from other people. The Social-functional approaches to emotions hypothesize that emotions are coordinating the interactions that are associated with the configuration and maintenance of social relations (Keltner & Kring, 1998). Three assumptions lie beneath this theory: expression of emotions indicates socially related information, secondly, induced responses in other people are connected with benefits, and thirdly, emotions are serving as enticements for other people’s actions. Due to the fact that emotions are perceived speedily, processes like such always happen outside awareness; however, they are still capable of having an impact on significant social procedures, like trust in other people, perceptions of sincerity, and the commitment of a group.

The capability to read and exhibit emotions may be learned openly, but usually learning like such might be basically understood, displaying regularities in family, cultural, organizational, or public cultures.

Literature review

Several researches have been conducted regarding emotional recognition and emotional regulation. Emotion regulation is referring to all the processes through which people influence the emotions that they are having, the time they are having them, and the manner they express and experience these emotions (Gross, 1998).

Due to the fact that Emotion regulation and regulation are significant concepts in social psychology and also in personality (Gross & John, 2003), personal differences occurring in them have been correlated to interpersonal performance, well-being and in authenticity (Gross & John, 2003), understanding in relationships that are close (Field, 1994), and open behavior in situations