Yes I can: Expected success promotes actual success in emotion regulation |
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Authors: | Yochanan E Bigman Iris B Mauss James J Gross Maya Tamir |
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Institution: | 1. Department of Psychology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel;2. Department of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA;3. Department of Psychology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA |
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Abstract: | People who expect to be successful in regulating their emotions tend to experience less frequent negative emotions and are less likely to suffer from depression. It is not clear, however, whether beliefs about the likelihood of success in emotion regulation can shape actual emotion regulation success. To test this possibility, we manipulated participants' beliefs about the likelihood of success in emotion regulation and assessed their subsequent ability to regulate their emotions during a negative emotion induction. We found that participants who were led to expect emotion regulation to be more successful were subsequently more successful in regulating their emotional responses, compared to participants in the control condition. Our findings demonstrate that expected success can contribute to actual success in emotion regulation. |
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Keywords: | Emotion emotion regulation beliefs efficacy expectancies |
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