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Emotion Regulation Strategies

Emotional self-regulation or regulation of emotion is the ability to respond to the ongoing
demands of experience with the range of emotions in a manner that is socially tolerable and
sufficiently flexible to permit spontaneous reactions as well as the ability to delay spontaneous
reactions as needed.[1] It can also be defined as extrinsic andintrinsic processes responsible for
monitoring, evaluating, and modifying emotional reactions.[2] Emotion self-regulation belongs
to the broader set of emotion-regulation processes, which includes the regulation of one's own
feelings and the regulation of other people's feelings.[3][4]
Emotional regulation is a complex process that involves initiating, inhibiting, or
modulating one's state or behavior in a given situation – for example the subjective experience
(feelings), cognitive responses (thoughts), emotion-related physiological responses (for example
heart rate or hormonal activity), and emotion-related behavior (bodily actions or expressions).
Functionally, emotional regulation can also refer to processes such as the tendency to focus
one's attention to a task and the ability to suppress inappropriate behavior under instruction.
Emotional regulation is a highly significant function in human life.
Every day, people are continually exposed to a wide variety of potentially arousing stimuli.
Inappropriate, extreme or unchecked emotional reactions to such stimuli could impede
functional fit within society; therefore, people must engage in some form of emotion regulation
almost all of the time.[5] Generally speaking, emotional dysregulation has been defined as
difficulties in controlling the influence of emotional arousal on the organization and quality of
thoughts, actions, and interactions. Individuals who are emotionally dysregulated exhibit
patterns of responding in which there is a mismatch between their goals, responses, and/or
modes of expression, and the demands of the social environment.[6] For example, there is a
significant association between emotion dysregulation and symptoms of depression, anxiety,
eating pathology, and substance abuse.[7][8]Higher levels of emotion regulation are likely to be
related to both high levels of social competence and the expression of socially appropriate
emotions.[9][10]

Theory
Process model
The process model of emotion regulation is based upon the modal model of emotion. The
modal model of emotion suggests that the emotion generation process occurs in a particular
sequence over time. This sequence occurs as follows:
1. Situation: the sequence begins with a situation (real or imagined) that is emotionally
relevant.
2. Attention: attention is directed towards the emotional situation.
3. Appraisal: the emotional situation is evaluated and interpreted.
4. Response: an emotional response is generated, giving rise to loosely coordinated
changes in experiential, behavioral, and physiological response systems.
Because an emotional response (4.) can cause changes to a situation (1.), this model involves a
feedback loop from (4.) Response to (1.) Situation. This feedback loop suggests that the emotion
generation process can occur recursively, is ongoing, and dynamic.[11]
The process model contends that each of these four points in the emotion generation process
can be subjected to regulation. From this conceptualization, the process model posits five
different families of emotion regulation that correspond to the regulation of a particular point in
the emotion generation process. They occur in the following order:
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1. Situation selection
2. Situation modification
3. Attentional deployment
4. Cognitive change
5. Response modulation.[12]
The process model also divides these emotion regulation strategies into two categories:
antecedent-focused and response-focused. Antecedent-focused strategies (i.e., situation
selection, situation modification, attentional deployment, and cognitive change) occur before an
emotional response is fully generated. Response-focused strategies (i.e., response modulation)
occur after an emotional response is fully generated.[13]

Strategies
1. Situation selection
Situation selection involves choosing to avoid or approach an emotionally relevant situation. If
a person selects to avoid or disengage from an emotionally relevant situation, he or she is
decreasing the likelihood of experiencing an emotion. Alternatively, if a person selects to
approach or engage with an emotionally relevant situation, he or she is increasing the likelihood
of experiencing an emotion.[12]
Typical examples of situation selection may be seen interpersonally, such as when a parent
removes his or her child from an emotionally unpleasant situation.[14] Use of situation selection
may also be seen in psychopathology. For example, avoidance of social situations to regulate
emotions is particularly pronounced for those with social anxiety disorder[15] and avoidant
personality disorder.[16]
Effective situation selection is not always an easy task. For instance, humans display difficulties
predicting their emotional responses to future events. Therefore, they may have trouble making
accurate and appropriate decisions about which emotionally relevant situations to approach or
to avoid.[17]

2. Situation modification
Situation modification involves efforts to modify a situation so as to change its emotional
impact.[12] Situation modification refers specifically to altering one's external, physical
environment. Altering one's "internal" environment to regulate emotion is called cognitive
change.[11]
Examples of situation modification may include injecting humor into a speech to elicit
laughter[18] or extending the physical distance between him or herself and another person.[19]

3. Attentional deployment
Attentional deployment involves directing one's attention towards or away from an emotional
situation.[12]
Distraction
Distraction, an example of attentional deployment, is an early selection strategy, which involves
diverting one's attention away from an emotional stimulus and towards other content.[20]
Distraction has been shown to reduce the intensity of painful[21] and emotional experiences,[22] to
decrease facial responding associated with emotion,[22] as well as to alleviate emotional
distress.[23] As opposed to reappraisal, individuals show a relative preference to engage in
distraction when facing stimuli of high negative emotional intensity. This is because distraction
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easily filters out high-intensity emotional content, which would otherwise be relatively difficult
to appraise and process.[24]
Rumination
Rumination, an example of attentional deployment,[16] is defined as the passive and repetitive
focusing of one's attention on one's symptoms of distress and the causes and consequences of
these symptoms. Rumination is generally considered to be a maladaptive emotion regulation
strategy, as it tends to exacerbate emotional distress. It has also been implicated in a host of
disorders including major depression.[25]
Worry
Worry, an example of attentional deployment,[16] involves directing attention to thoughts and
images concerned with potentially negative events in the future.[26] By focusing on these events,
worrying serves to aid in the downregulation of intense negative emotion and physiological
activity.[16] While worry may sometimes involve problem solving, incessant worry is generally
considered maladaptive, being a common feature of anxiety disorders, particularly generalized
anxiety disorder.[27]
Thought suppression
Thought suppression, an example of attentional deployment, involves efforts to redirect one's
attention from specific thoughts and mental images to other content so as to modify one's
emotional state.[16] Although thought suppression may provide temporary relief from
undesirable thoughts, it may ironically end up spurring the production of even more unwanted
thoughts.[28] This strategy is generally considered maladaptive, being most associated with
obsessive-compulsive disorder.[16]

4. Cognitive change
Cognitive change involves changing how one appraises a situation so as to alter its emotional
meaning.[12]
Reappraisal
Reappraisal, an example of cognitive change, is a late selection strategy, which involves
reinterpreting the meaning of an event so as to alter its emotional impact.[12] For example, this
might involve reinterpreting an event by broadening one's perspective to see "the bigger
picture."[29] Reappraisal has been shown to effectively reduce physiological,[30] subjective,[13] and
neural[31] emotional responding. As opposed to distraction, individuals show a relative
preference to engage in reappraisal when facing stimuli of low negative emotional intensity
because these stimuli are relatively easy to appraise and process.[24]
Reappraisal is generally considered to be an adaptive emotion-regulation strategy. Compared to
suppression, which is correlated negatively with many psychological disorders,[7]associated
with better interpersonal outcomes, and positively related to wellbeing.[32] However, some
researchers argue that context is important when evaluating the adaptiveness of a strategy,
suggesting that in some contexts reappraisal may be maladaptive.[33]
Distancing
Distancing, an example of cognitive change, involves taking on an independent, third-person
perspective when evaluating an emotional event.[34] Distancing has been shown to be an
adaptive form of self-reflection, facilitating the emotional processing of negatively valenced
stimuli,[35] reducing emotional and cardiovascular reactivity to negative stimuli, and increasing
problem-solving behavior.[36]
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Humor
Humor, an example of cognitive change, has been shown to be an effective emotion regulation
strategy. Specifically, positive, good-natured humor has been shown to effectively upregulate
positive emotion and downregulate negative emotion. On the other hand, negative, mean-
spirited humor is less effective in this regard.[37]

5. Response modulation
Response modulation involves attempts to directly influence experiential, behavioral, and
physiological response systems.[12]
Expressive suppression
Expressive suppression, an example of response modulation, involves inhibiting emotional
expressions. It has been shown to effectively reduce facial expressivity, subjective feelings of
positive emotion, heart rate, and sympathetic activation. However, the research is mixed
regarding whether this strategy is effective for downregulating negative emotion.[38] Research
has also shown that expressive suppression may have negative social consequences, correlating
with reduced personal connections and greater difficulties forming relationships.[39]
Expressive suppression is generally considered to be a maladaptive emotion-regulation
strategy. Compared to reappraisal, it is correlated positively with many psychological
disorders,[7] associated with worse interpersonal outcomes, is negatively related to wellbeing,[32]
and requires the mobilization of a relatively substantial amount of cognitive resources.[40]
However, some researchers argue that context is important when evaluating the adaptiveness
of a strategy, suggesting that in some contexts suppression may be adaptive.[33]
Drug use
Drug use, an example of response modulation, can be a way to alter emotion-associated
physiological responses. For example, alcohol can produce sedative and anxiolyticeffects[41] and
beta blockers can affect sympathetic activation.[11]
Exercise
Exercise, an example of response modulation, can be used to downregulate the physiological
and experiential effects of negative emotions.[11] Regular physical activity has also been shown
to reduce emotional distress and improve emotional control.[42]
Sleep
Sleep plays a role in emotion regulation, although stress and worry can also interfere with sleep.
Studies have shown that sleep, specifically REM sleep, down-regulates reactivity of the
amygdala, a brain structure known to be involved in the processing of emotions, in response to
previous emotional experiences.[43] On the flip side, sleep deprivation is associated with greater
emotional reactivity or overreaction to negative and stressful stimuli. This is a result of both
increased amygdala activity and a disconnect between the amygdala and the prefrontal cortex,
which regulates the amygdala through inhibition, together resulting in an overactive emotional
brain.[43] Due to the subsequent lack of emotional control, sleep deprivation may be associated
with depression, impulsivity, and mood swings. Additionally, there is some evidence that sleep
deprivation may reduce emotional reactivity to positive stimuli and events and impair emotion
recognition in others.[44]