Emotion differentiation as a predictor of emotion regulation effectiveness: An experience sampling study
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.54359/gegmb293Keywords:
emotion differentiation, emotion regulation, negative affect, experience samplingAbstract
Emotional differentiation refers to an individual's ability to accurately distinguish and label their emotional experiences. While it is often assumed that high emotional differentiation supports more effective emotion regulation, empirical findings remain mixed, revealing a complex pattern of associations. The present study investigated the role of negative emotion differentiation in emotion regulation. A total of 110 participants took part in an experience sampling study. Over the course of ten days, seven times per day, participants rated the intensity of seven negative emotions and reported their use of six emotion regulation strategies—three considered putatively adaptive (reappraisal, acceptance, problem-solving) and three putatively maladaptive (suppression, rumination, avoidance). The results showed that individuals with higher levels of negative emotion differentiation reported more frequent use of suppression and avoidance. Moreover, higher differentiation was associated with more effective use of putatively maladaptive strategies, but showed no significant relationship with the effectiveness of adaptive strategies. Overall, emotional differentiation was linked to both the frequency and effectiveness of emotion regulation strategy use, with stronger associations observed for maladaptive strategies.
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