The four key characteristics of interpersonal emotion regulation

Examining Dyadic Stress Appraisal Processes Within Romantic Relationships from a Challenge and Threat Perspective

The biopsychosocial model of challenge and threat emphasizes how individuals appraise stress. Close relationship theories emphasize the interpersonal context, communication, and outcomes that arise from stress. We integrate these approaches by examining the individual variability surrounding appraisals of sufficient (more challenge, less threat) or insufficient (more threat, less challenge) resources to cope with demands and examining how these appraisals are associated with couples' behavior and feelings toward each other. Across three studies, 459 romantic couples (N = 918), and various potentially stressful in-lab conversations (extra-dyadic problem, dislikes about each other, dependability, and relationship conflict), we found evidence that stress appraisals indicative of more challenge and less threat were associated with more approach- and less avoidance-oriented behaviors within interactions. These approach- and avoidance-oriented behaviors were associated with greater feelings of relationship security and well-being after the conversation. However, whose (actors or partners) appraisals and behaviors were associated with security and well-being varied across the three studies. This work provides theoretical and empirical evidence for an interpersonal emphasis on intraindividual stress appraisal processes through a dyadic and close relationships lens. Our integrative theoretical framework breaks away from the idea that stress is inherently "bad" or "maladaptive" to show that appraising stress as more manageable (more challenge, less threat) is associated with more relationship behaviors that approach incentives and less that avoid threats and enhance feelings of relationship security and well-being.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s42761-024-00235-3.

Multilevel Latent Differential Structural Equation Model with Short Time Series and Time-Varying Covariates: A Comparison of Frequentist and Bayesian Estimators

Continuous-time modeling using differential equations is a promising technique to model change processes with longitudinal data. Among ways to fit this model, the Latent Differential Structural Equation Modeling (LDSEM) approach defines latent derivative variables within a structural equation modeling (SEM) framework, thereby allowing researchers to leverage advantages of the SEM framework for model building, estimation, inference, and comparison purposes. Still, a few issues remain unresolved, including performance of multilevel variations of the LDSEM under short time lengths (e.g., 14 time points), particularly when coupled multivariate processes and time-varying covariates are involved. Additionally, the possibility of using Bayesian estimation to facilitate the estimation of multilevel LDSEM (M-LDSEM) models with complex and higher-dimensional random effect structures has not been investigated. We present a series of Monte Carlo simulations to evaluate three possible approaches to fitting M-LDSEM, including: frequentist single-level and two-level robust estimators and Bayesian two-level estimator. Our findings suggested that the Bayesian approach outperformed other frequentist approaches. The effects of time-varying covariates are well recovered, and coupling parameters are the least biased especially using higher-order derivative information with the Bayesian estimator. Finally, an empirical example is provided to show the applicability of the approach.

The Contrast Avoidance Model: Conclusion and synthesis of new research in the special issue

In this special series, new research on the Contrast Avoidance Model (CAM) was presented, including studies on the role of CAM in the maintenance of chronic worry, the incremental validity of CAM, CAM as a mediator of the association between generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and other variables, CAM as transdiagnostic, and interpersonal behaviors as a means to avoid negative emotional contrasts (NECs). Furthermore, the role of perseverative thought in relation to positive emotional contrasts (PECs) was explored. Studies indicated that higher worry was positively and negatively reinforced, a factor that is likely to contribute to the maintenance of GAD. Further, research demonstrated that CAM contributed unique variance to understanding GAD above and beyond other variables associated with GAD, such as intolerance of uncertainty and negative problem orientation. Additional research revealed the transdiagnostic nature of contrast avoidance, as well as the association between contrast avoidance and problem-solving deficits. In addition, both worry and rumination increased the likelihood of PECs. Further, data suggested that anxious individuals may use interpersonal strategies to avoid NECs. Finally, savoring positive emotions was found to reduce contrast avoidance, providing a novel intervention strategy to address contrast avoidance in individuals with GAD.

Attachment orientations and emotion regulation: new insights from the study of interpersonal emotion regulation strategies

A crucial point for the understanding of the link between attachment and emotion regulation concerns the individual tendency in turning to others to alleviate distress. Most previous studies in this field have considered almost exclusively intra-personal forms of emotion regulation, neglecting the role of social interaction in emotion regulation processes. In the present study, instead, we focused on interpersonal emotion regulation. 630 adults were assessed for their attachment orientations, general difficulties in emotion regulation, and habitual intra-personal and interpersonal emotion regulation strategies. Results showed that the imbalance between the hyper-activation and deactivation of the attachment system, which characterize unsecure attachment, reflects a correspondent imbalance in the use of emotion regulation strategies, with an exaggerated dependence on other associated with attachment anxiety and pseudo-autonomy associated to attachment avoidance.

Cognitive Reappraisal and Expressive Suppression Evoke Distinct Neural Connections during Interpersonal Emotion Regulation

Interpersonal emotion regulation is the dynamic process where the regulator aims to change the target's emotional state, which is presumed to engage three neural systems: cognitive control (i.e., dorsal and ventral lateral PFC, etc.), empathy/social cognition (i.e., dorsal premotor regions, temporal-parietal junction, etc.), and affective response (i.e., insula, amygdala, etc.). This study aimed to identify the underlying neural correlate (especially the interpersonal one), of interpersonal emotion regulation based on two typical strategies (cognitive appraisal, expressive suppression). Thirty-four female dyads (friends) were randomly assigned into two strategy groups, with one assigned as the target and the other as the regulator to downregulate the target's negative emotions using two strategies. A functional near-infrared spectroscopy system was used to simultaneously measure participants' neural activity. Results showed that these two strategies could successfully downregulate the targets' negative emotions. Both strategies evoked intrapersonal and interpersonal neural couplings between the cognitive control, social cognition, and mirror neuron systems (e.g., PFC, temporal-parietal junction, premotor cortex, etc.), whereas cognitive reappraisal (vs expressive suppression) evoked a broader pattern. Further, cognitive reappraisal involved increased interpersonal brain synchronization between the prefrontal and temporal areas at the sharing stage, whereas expressive suppression evoked increased interpersonal brain synchronization associated with the PFC at the regulation stage. These findings indicate that intrapersonal and interpersonal neural couplings associated with regions within the abovementioned systems, possibly involving mental processes, such as cognitive control, mentalizing, and observing, underlie interpersonal emotion regulation based on cognitive reappraisal or expressive suppression.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT As significant as intrapersonal emotion regulation, interpersonal emotion regulation subserves parent-child, couple, and leader-follower relationships. Despite enormous growth in research on intrapersonal emotion regulation, the field lacks insight into the neural correlates underpinning interpersonal emotion regulation. This study aimed to probe the underlying neural correlates of interpersonal emotion regulation using a multibrain neuroimaging (i.e., hyperscanning) based on functional near-infrared spectroscopy. Results showed that both cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression strategies successfully downregulated the target's negative emotions. More importantly, they evoked intrapersonal and interpersonal neural couplings associated with regions within the cognitive control, social cognition, and mirror neuron systems, possibly involving mental processes, such as cognitive control, mentalizing, and observing. These findings deepen our understanding of the neural correlates underpinning interpersonal emotion regulation.

Mapping Interpersonal Emotion Regulation in Everyday Life

The growing literature on interpersonal emotion regulation has largely focused on the strategies people use to regulate. As such, researchers have little understanding of how often people regulate in the first place, what emotion regulation goals they have when they regulate, and how much effort they invest in regulation. To better characterize features of the regulation process, we conducted two studies using daily diary (N = 171) and experience sampling methods (N = 239), exploring interpersonal emotion regulation in the context of everyday social interactions. We found people regulated others' emotions nearly twice a day, regulated their own emotions through others around once a day, and regulated both their own and others' emotions in the same interaction roughly every other day. Furthermore, not only did people regulate others' emotions more often than regulating their own emotions through others, but they also put in more effort to do so. The goals of regulation were primarily to make themselves or others feel better, most often through increasing positive emotions, rather than decreasing negative emotions. Together, these findings provide a foundational picture of the interpersonal emotion regulation landscape, and lay the groundwork for future exploration into this emerging subfield of affective science.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s42761-023-00223-z.

Embracing the Emotion in Emotional Intelligence Measurement: Insights from Emotion Theory and Research

Emotional intelligence (EI) has gained significant popularity as a scientific construct over the past three decades, yet its conceptualization and measurement still face limitations. Applied EI research often overlooks its components, treating it as a global characteristic, and there are few widely used performance-based tests for assessing ability EI. The present paper proposes avenues for advancing ability EI measurement by connecting the main EI components to models and theories from the emotion science literature and related fields. For emotion understanding and emotion recognition, we discuss the implications of basic emotion theory, dimensional models, and appraisal models of emotion for creating stimuli, scenarios, and response options. For the regulation and management of one's own and others' emotions, we discuss how the process model of emotion regulation and its extensions to interpersonal processes can inform the creation of situational judgment items. In addition, we emphasize the importance of incorporating context, cross-cultural variability, and attentional and motivational factors into future models and measures of ability EI. We hope this article will foster exchange among scholars in the fields of ability EI, basic emotion science, social cognition, and emotion regulation, leading to an enhanced understanding of the individual differences in successful emotional functioning and communication.

Peer facilitation of emotion regulation in adolescence

Emotion regulation is particularly important for adolescents as they undergo normative developmental changes in affective systems and experience heightened risk for psychopathology. Despite a high need for emotion regulation during adolescence, commonly studied emotion regulation strategies like cognitive reappraisal are less beneficial for adolescents than adults because they rely on neural regions that are still developing during this period (i.e., lateral prefrontal cortex). However, adolescence is also marked by increased valuation of peer relationships and sensitivity to social information and cues. In the present review, we synthesize research examining emotion regulation and peer influence across development to suggest that sensitivity to peers during adolescence could be leveraged to improve emotion regulation for this population. We first discuss developmental trends related to emotion regulation at the level of behavior and brain in adolescents, using cognitive reappraisal as an exemplar emotion regulation strategy. Next, we discuss social influences on adolescent brain development, describing caregiver influence and increasing susceptibility to peer influence, to describe how adolescent sensitivity to social inputs represents both a window of vulnerability and opportunity. Finally, we conclude by describing the promise of social (i.e., peer-based) interventions for enhancing emotion regulation in adolescence.

How to Improve Others' Emotions: Reappraise and be Responsive

People often try to improve others' emotions. However, it is unclear which interpersonal emotion regulation strategies are most effective and why. In 121 candid dyadic conversations between undergraduate students via video conferencing, target participants recounted a stressful event to regulator participants. Three strategies used by regulators during these conversations to change targets' emotions were obtained from the regulator after the conversation: extrinsic reappraisal, extrinsic suppression, and extrinsic acceptance. Perceived regulator responsiveness was obtained from targets to examine the social consequences of extrinsic emotion regulation and its mediating role in successful extrinsic emotion regulation. We found that regulators' extrinsic reappraisal use was associated with improved target emotions measured across two distinct classes of outcomes: targets' emotions during the conversation and targets' perception that the regulator improved their emotions. Regulators' extrinsic suppression and acceptance, in contrast, were not related with improved target emotions or perceptions of improvement. Instead, all extrinsic regulatory strategies were associated with improved targets' emotions when mediated by targets' perceptions of regulator responsiveness. Finally, observer-ratings of regulators' extrinsic reappraisal and suppression use were found to be consistent with regulators' self-ratings and follow the same pattern of results on the outcome measures. These findings provide insight into why the social regulation of emotions can succeed or fail and hold implications for interventions aimed at guiding people toward more successfully improving others' emotions.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s42761-023-00183-4.

The role of empathy in shared intentionality: Contributions from Inter-Processual Self theory

Research in psychology related to the conceptualization of empathy has been on the rise in the last decades. However, we argue that there is still space for further research to help capture the important notion of empathy and its theoretical and conceptual depth. Following a critical review of the current state of the research that conceptualizes and measures empathy, we focus on works that highlight the importance of a shared vision and its relevance in psychology and neuroscience. Considering the state of the art of current neuroscientific and psychological approaches to empathy, we argue for the relevance of shared intention and shared vision in empathy-related actions. Upon review of different models that emphasize a shared vision for informing research on empathy, we suggest that a newly developed theory of self, human growth and action–the so-called Inter-Processual Self theory (IPS)–can significantly and novelly inform the theorization on empathy beyond what the literature has stated to date. Then, we show how an understanding of integrity as a relational act that requires empathy is an essential mechanism for current key research on empathy and its related concepts and models. Ultimately, we aim to present IPS as a distinctive proposal to expand upon the conceptualization of empathy.

Interpersonal contrast avoidance as a mechanism for the maintenance of worry

Despite consistent links between interpersonal problems and worry, mechanisms explaining this relationship remain unknown. The Contrast Avoidance Model (CAM; Newman & Llera, 2011) posits that individuals at risk for chronic worry and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) fear sudden negative mood shifts, using worry to perpetuate negative moods and avoid these negative emotional contrasts. We propose interpersonal (IP) contrast avoidance (e.g., acting friendly to prevent others from causing mood shifts) as a novel explanation for interpersonal dysfunction in worriers. This study investigated IP contrast avoidance and worry in two samples. A nonclinical sample ranging in GAD symptoms (Study 1; N = 92) reported IP problems at baseline then IP contrast avoidance and worry over eight weeks (637 diaries). As expected, baseline IP problems prospectively predicted worry indirectly through chronic IP contrast avoidance. Affiliative, submissive, cold, and total IP contrast avoidance strategies predicted same-week and lagged next-week worry increases; affiliative, submissive, and total strategies also predicted maintenance of worry over eight weeks in growth models. Lastly, Study 2 showed the relevance of IP contrast avoidance strategies in a treatment-seeking clinical sample (N = 40), correlating with interpersonal problems and worry. Overall, results provide proof-of-concept for extending the CAM to the interpersonal domain.

The Influence of Personality on Interpersonal Emotion Regulation in the Context of Psychosocial Stress

Interpersonal emotion regulation is common in everyday life and important to various outcomes. However, there is a lack of understanding about the personality profiles of people who are good at regulating others' emotions. We conducted a dyadic study, pairing 89 'regulators' and 'targets', with the targets subjected to a psychosocial stressor in the form of a job interview, and the regulators instructed to manage the targets' feelings prior to the interview. We did not observe any relationship between the regulators' personality traits and the strategies that they reported using when trying to manage the targets' feelings, nor between the regulators' personalities and the targets' job interview performance. However, the anxiety levels of the targets who were paired with more extraverted regulators fluctuated less across the multiple measures throughout the study, suggesting more effective interpersonal emotion regulation. Our findings suggest that extraversion may be the most relevant trait in shaping interpersonal emotion regulation, and that the influence of personality on regulatory effectiveness is unlikely to arise due to preferences for using different types of strategies.

Emotional interdependence: the key to studying extrinsic emotion regulation

The literature on extrinsic emotion regulation or the intention to modify other people’s emotions has grown in recent years, accompanied by proposals in which its definition is made more precise, the way to understand it in relation to other related processes is delimited, and the consequences of its use in the quality of close relationships are evidenced. Conceptual reviews on this topic recognize the importance of examining the affect and dyadic dynamics that arise between those who regulate each other extrinsically. This dynamic refers to emotional interdependence, the potential of the members of a dyad to shape each other’s emotions reciprocally, particularly in those who share a close bond, such as that of a romantic couple. There is little theoretical development regarding the relevance of this characteristic in relation to EER. This article has two objectives: (1) to make a narrative synthesis of the characteristics that define EER and (2) to expand and complexify the existing model by including the emotional interdependence as a vital component in the understanding of the functioning of EER. Lastly, the role of emotional interdependence in the emergence, maintenance, and satisfaction concerning couple relationships is made explicit through phenomena such as shared reality.

Planning with Theory of Mind

Understanding Theory of Mind should begin with an analysis of the problems it solves. The traditional answer is that Theory of Mind is used for predicting others' thoughts and actions. However, the same Theory of Mind is also used for planning to change others' thoughts and actions. Planning requires that Theory of Mind consists of abstract structured causal representations and supports efficient search and selection from innumerable possible actions. Theory of Mind contrasts with less cognitively demanding alternatives: statistical predictive models of other people's actions, or model-free reinforcement of actions by their effects on other people. Theory of Mind is likely used to plan novel interventions and predict their effects, for example, in pedagogy, emotion regulation, and impression management.

The Moderator Role of Interpersonal Emotion Regulation on the Associations between Commitment, Intimacy, and Couple Satisfaction

Couple satisfaction is seen as very important by all those in a romantic relationship; however, there are no recipes for it. Using a dyadic approach, we investigate how commitment and intimacy influence couple satisfaction and the moderator role of interpersonal emotion regulation (affect-improving and -worsening strategies). To achieve the scope of the study, we collected data from 131 couples, which were later analyzed using the actor-partner interdependence model with moderation (APIMoM). The results showed that the actor-effect of both commitment and intimacy on couple satisfaction is significant. We found mixed results for the partner-effect of the two variables. Both partners' strategies moderated the association between commitment and couple satisfaction. Women's use of affect-worsening strategies moderated the link between men's intimacy and women's couple satisfaction. The impact of the interactions of commitment or intimacy with interpersonal affect-improving and -worsening strategies on couple satisfaction is discussed further, as well as the implications and importance of the results.

Difficulties in interpersonal regulation of emotions (DIRE) questionnaire: Psychometric Properties of the Italian Version and Associations with psychopathological symptoms

The goal of this research was to validate an Italian adaptation of the questionnaire Difficulties in Interpersonal Regulation of Emotions (DIRE) and to investigate its associations with psychopathology. An Italian sample (N = 630) completed the DIRE and the Symptom Checklist-90 (SCL-90). We tested the factorial structure of the DIRE using explorative and confirmatory factorial analyses; we analysed the convergent validity in terms of zero-order correlations with SCL-90 dimensions; and, we conducted multiple regressions to test the predictivity of DIRE factors on specific SCL-90 dimensions. The Italian DIRE replicated the four-factor structure of the original measure, with two interpersonal (Vent and Reassurance-seek) and two intrapersonal (Accept and Avoid) factors. Interpersonal factors resulted correlated with SCL-90 global indexes of psychopathology. Moreover, specific association between DIRE factors and SCL-90 dimensions were found. The Italian DIRE is a reliable and valid measure to evaluate clinically-relevant forms of emotion dysregulation.

Perceived teacher empathy and teenagers’ positive academic emotions: The mediating effect of interpersonal emotion regulation

Although teacher empathy has an important influence on adolescents’ positive academic emotions, the mediating mechanism between these two factors remains unclear. This study examines whether interpersonal emotion regulation plays a mediating role in the relationship between perceived teacher empathy and teenagers’ positive academic emotions. A total of 755 teenagers completed the Interpersonal Reactivity Index, the Adolescents’ Academic Emotions Questionnaire, and the Interpersonal Regulation Questionnaire. The results revealed significant correlations between two subscales of the Interpersonal Reactivity Index, perspective-taking and empathic concern; two dimensions of the Adolescents’ Academic Emotions Questionnaire, high and low positive arousal; and two dimensions of the Interpersonal Regulation Questionnaire, positive and negative emotion interpersonal emotion regulation. Perceived teacher empathy positively predicted teenagers’ positive academic emotions, and interpersonal emotion regulation played a mediating role.

Psychometric properties of the interpersonal emotion regulation questionnaire among couples in India

The aim of the present study was to translate the Interpersonal Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (IERQ) into the Tamil language and examine its psychometric properties in the Indian cultural context. Data were collected from a dyadic sample of 340 married heterosexual couples (N = 680) currently residing in India. The mean age of husbands was 39.57 (SD = 6.10; 26 ≥ range ≤ 58), and the wives’ was 35.33 (SD = 5.72; 23 ≥ range ≤ 54). Descriptive results indicated that husbands and wives reported similar levels of interpersonal emotion regulation. Confirmatory factor analysis showed a 20-item model with four factors—enhancing positive affect, perspective-taking, soothing and social modeling, similar to the original version, fits the data well. Furthermore, the multiple-group analysis indicated robust measurement invariance across gender (husbands vs. wives), family type (joint vs. nuclear) and marriage type (arranged vs. love), indicating that the Tamil version of the IERQ operates similarly across these groups. Besides, the Tamil version of the IERQ showed good convergent and discriminant validity with measures of dyadic coping and relationship satisfaction. Implications for research and couples therapy in the Indian cultural context are discussed.

Individual vs. Team Sport Failure-Similarities, Differences, and Current Developments

The construct of "choking under pressure" is concerned with the phenomenon of unexpected, sudden, and significant declines in individual athletes' performances in important situations and has received empirical attention in the field of sport psychology. Although a number of theories about the reasons for the occurrence of choking under pressure exist and several intervention approaches have been developed, underlying mechanisms of choking are still under debate and the effectiveness of existing interventions remains contested. These sudden performance declines also occur in team sport. "Collective sport team collapse," which describes the situation when an entire sport team underperforms significantly within an important competitive situation, has received less empirical attention, in comparison to individual choking research. While there are a few studies that have investigated causes of collective team collapse, understandably, there has been limited empirical investigation of preventative and intervention strategies. Although the two constructs appear to share several similar characteristics and mechanisms, research has not yet examined the conceptual, theoretical, empirical, and practical links between choking under pressure and collective sport team collapse. In this review article, we seek to examine these similarities and differences and identify new ways of thinking about future interventions. Furthermore, current empirical understandings in the field of choking under pressure and collective sport team collapse are presented and the most effective intervention approaches for both constructs are introduced. On the basis of this examination, we modestly make some initial recommendations for sport psychological practitioners and future research.

Smiling won't make you feel better, but it might make people like you more: Interpersonal and intrapersonal consequences of response-focused emotion regulation strategies

Emotion regulation (ER) is integral to well-being and relationship quality. Experimental studies tend to explore the intrapersonal effects of ER (i.e. impacts of ER on oneself) and leave out the interpersonal impacts (i.e. the bidirectional impact of ER on the regulator and partner). The ER strategy expressive suppression shows maladaptive interpersonal and intrapersonal consequences during distressing conversations. We aimed to explore whether other ER strategies that modify facial expressions (i.e. expressive dissonance) have similar consequences to suppressing emotional expressions. We randomly assigned 164 women participants to use expressive dissonance and expressive suppression or to naturally express emotions, while engaging in a conversation task with a confederate. We observed intrapersonal outcomes, including electrodermal activity and self-reported affect throughout the experiment, and memory performance after. Video coders unaware of the study goals assessed the conversation on interpersonal qualities (e.g. friendliness and likeability). There were no differences between conditions on intrapersonal outcomes. Participants engaging in expressive dissonance, however, were rated more positively, and participants in the expressive suppression condition were rated more negatively on interpersonal qualities, relative to the control condition. Although neither strategy appeared to impact the participant, intrapersonally, both notably influenced the observer's impression of the participant.

Coronashaming: interpersonal affect worsening in contexts of COVID-19 rule violations

ABSTRACTExperiencing empathy for others has been linked to worsening others' feelings against their wishes. These paternalistic empathic goals have been theorised to happen at the dyad level when an agent aims to worsen a target's emotional state. They may also operate at a broader level when agents are third-party observers of COVID-19 lockdown rule violations. In these instances, agents can impact transgressors' affect engaging in Coronashaming. In three studies, we measured British people's (N_total = 767) vulnerability (Study 1), age (Studies 2 and 3), and empathy towards COVID-19 victims and presented them with different scenarios depicting a breach of lockdown rules to assess the emotions participants wanted to inflict in transgressor, the strategies used, and whether they wanted stricter rules to be enforced. Results confirmed shame as the emotion preferred to induce in violators, with this preference linked to higher use of engagement strategies (i.e. to make transgressors understand what they did wrong). Finally, empathy was positively linked to higher affect worsening and wanting stricter rules to be enforced. This suggests that empathy towards potential victims of COVID-19 rules violations can motivate people to worsen the feelings of transgressors.

Exploring the Moderating Effect of Interpersonal Emotion Regulation Between the Integration of Opportunity and Resource and Entrepreneurial Performance

This study explains how start-ups obtain a high accumulated performance by aligning and employing an integration between opportunities and resources (IOR) in a dynamic environment and whether these potential benefits are associated with interpersonal emotion regulation. Using 274 enterprise samples, the findings confirm that an IOR has a significant positive effect on entrepreneurial performance. In addition, positive emotion and interpersonal relationship regulation positively moderate the relationship between IOR and entrepreneurial performance. This paper proposes a new concept of the IOR and measures it for the first time. Then, the relationship was explored between the IOR, interpersonal emotion regulation, and entrepreneurial performance. This research not only systematically integrates opportunities and resources and avoids their separation but also helps to reveal the context of entrepreneurship research, enrich entrepreneurship theory, and expand the boundaries.

How Outward Bound co-instructor relationships create a context for emotional support during stressful course situations

Youth program leaders may experience considerable stress when they encounter emotionally demanding situations in their work. This stress can negatively affect their well-being or interfere with their ability to provide meaningful experiences for youth. Using Outward Bound (OB) youth expedition courses as a context, this study examined how co-instructors provided emotional support to instructors during stressful situations. Qualitative analysis of 31 OB instructor interviews showed co-instructors used three strategies: allowing instructors to momentarily exit the situation, validating instructors' emotions, and reframing negative situations. In addition, certain relationship factors facilitated the provision of support: building holistic relationships, establishing open communication patterns, and conveying commitment. The findings suggest that these factors increased instructors' perception of support availability, which facilitated them receiving support. This study makes a strong case for the value of co-worker relationships as a source of support for individuals in occupations where they experience emotionally stressful work situations.

Unpacking the Emotional Dimension of Doctoral Supervision: Supervisors' Emotions and Emotion Regulation Strategies

Successful completion of a PhD is challenging for both the candidate and the supervisor. While doctoral students' emotional burdens received much attention, their supervisors' emotional experiences remain under-explored. Moreover, while teacher education research stressed the importance of teacher emotion regulation, empirical studies on doctoral supervisors' emotion regulation barely exist. The current qualitative study explored 17 computer science supervisors' emotions unfolding in doctoral supervision and their emotion regulation strategies. Semi-structured interviews revealed the supervisors' wide-ranging emotions, with their negative emotions more diverse and common than positive ones. The supervisors also regulated their emotions through multiple strategies within antecedent-focused and response-focused approaches. As one of the initial studies on doctoral supervisors' emotion and emotion regulation in their own right, the current study not only uncovers the complexity of the emotion-laden dimension of supervision, but also highlights the need for all stakeholders to attend to supervisors' psychological well-being in tandem with their students'.

Can Less Ever Be More? A Model of Emotion Regulation Repertoire of Social Support (ERROSS)

Do people really fare better if they can rely on many social ties? Research suggests that benefits of interpersonal emotion regulation (ER) can be derived from both large and small social networks. Building on the intrapersonal regulatory flexibility model, we propose the emotion regulation repertoire of social support (ERROSS) model that views effective socioemotional support as the combination of network size and ER strategies, resulting in a repertoire of ER resources one can draw on. Best outcomes in mental health should follow from both a large network and a diverse repertoire of strategies. ERROSS is applied as an example in the context of bereavement, and specific contributions of the model are highlighted.

The Effectiveness of EMOVERE: An Emotional Education Program for Young Couples

Our aim was to assess the effectiveness of EMOVERE, a psychoeducational and experiential program to increase emotion regulation in couples. Forty-four young couples (n = 88) aged between 18 and 36 years old participated in the study (53.4% women; M = 24.18; SD = 4.34). Twenty-two couples belonged to the experimental group (received the intervention) and 22 to the control group (received no intervention). The intervention program consisted of seven two-hour sessions over a month, in groups of four to five couples. The variables studied were sociodemographic characteristics, emotional intelligence (TMMS-24), emotional inter-regulation with the partner (SIERC), attachment (ECR-S) and satisfaction with the relationship (RAS). The proposed design was quasi-experimental, with two randomized groups (experimental and control group) and longitudinal data from two occasions. SPSS version 24.0 was used to perform analysis of variance (MANOVA and MANCOVA), multiple hierarchical regression and reliable change index. PROCESS was also used for moderation analyses. The results indicate that the program is effective in increasing emotional self-regulation and emotion regulation with the partner, as well as reducing couples' avoidance of intimacy. Age, relationship duration and previous relationship satisfaction moderate the effectiveness of the program. The importance of continuing this research line to address well-being of young populations is discussed.

With a little help from my friends: The effect of social proximity on emotion regulation-related brain activity

When experiencing negative emotions, individuals often reach out for social support to help regulate their emotions. In times of an acute crisis, however, close friends might not be available, and physical closeness might be impossible. This functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study investigated the effect of social proximity on the effectiveness of social support for regulating emotions and the underlying neural mechanisms. Participants regulated their emotions in response to negative images either alone (intrapersonal regulation), or with help of a picture and supporting sentence provided by the best friend, or by a stranger (interpersonal regulation). Regulation success was enhanced for the support of friends compared to regulating alone or with the support of strangers. This effect was accompanied by the interplay of large-scale brain networks involved in processing emotions, social cognition, and cognitive control. Interpersonal regulation appeared to be implemented by lateral prefrontal regions. The amygdala showed increased activation for strangers. The activation profile of the social cognition network suggests a role in supporting empathic and mentalizing processes. The results highlight the power of social connectedness for boosting emotion regulation ability and the different neural networks that contribute to this effect.

The role of interpersonal emotional regulation on maternal mental health

PURPOSE

Symptoms of depression and anxiety during the perinatal period have a negative impact on mothers and their developing children. A significant body of research has demonstrated an association between mental health and both individual and interpersonal emotion regulation. Yet, this association has not been studied during the perinatal period. The aim of this study was to explore the association between emotion regulation, maternal mental health, and interpersonal emotion regulation during the transition to motherhood in a sample of Chilean women.

METHODS

Women in their third trimester of pregnancy (n = 253) provided self-reports of emotion regulation and symptoms of depression and anxiety during pregnancy and three months postpartum. Additional self-reports of interpersonal emotion regulation were obtained from individuals who were identified as social support persons by these women. Results: Maternal emotion regulation contributed to maternal symptoms of depression and anxiety during pregnancy and after childbirth. The association between emotion regulation and maternal mental health was moderated by specific interpersonal emotion regulation strategies reported by the participant's social support persons. Strategies including modulating the emotional response, situation modification, attentional deployment and cognitive change, modified the association between poor regulation strategies and anxiety symptoms. Also, an infrequent use of these interpersonal emotion regulation strategies strengthened the association between these maternal emotional regulation difficulties and anxiety symptoms.

CONCLUSION

Our findings suggest that interpersonal emotional regulation strategies impact the association of maternal emotional regulation strategies and maternal emotional wellbeing.

Integrating Empathy and Interpersonal Emotion Regulation

When individuals experience empathy , they often seek to bolster others’ well-being. But what do empathizers want others to feel? Though psychologists have studied empathy and prosociality for decades, this question has yet to be clearly addressed. This is because virtually all existing research focuses on cases in which improving others’ well-being also comprises heightening their positive affect or decreasing their negative affect and helping them reach their own emotional goals. In this review, I argue that real-life empathic goals encompass a broader range—including sometimes worsening targets’ affect or contravening their wishes in order to improve their well-being—that can be productively integrated into the framework of interpersonal emotion regulation (IER). I review the empathic IER spectrum in a number of contexts, including close relationships, professional caregiving, and group-based emotions. Integrating empathy and IER provides a synthetic and generative way to ask new questions about how social emotions produce prosocial actions.

Psychometrische Eigenschaften der deutschsprachigen Version des Interpersonal Emotion Regulation Questionnaire

Zusammenfassung. Prozessen der Emotionsregulation wird in den letzten Jahren im Rahmen psychologischer Forschung große Bedeutung beigemessen. Während im Kontext dieser Forschung mehrere Fragebogen zur Erhebung von intrapersonellen Emotionsregulationsprozessen entwickelt und validiert wurden, gibt es nur wenige Messinstrumente zur Erfassung von Emotionsregulation in interpersonellen Kontexten. In der vorliegenden Studie wurde deshalb eine deutschsprachige Version des Interpersonal Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (IERQ) von Hofmann, Carpenter und Curtiss (2016) entwickelt und in 2 Stichproben mit N = 206 und N = 729 Probanden im Hinblick auf ihre psychometrischen Eigenschaften untersucht. Faktorenanalytisch konnte die dimensionale Struktur des englischsprachigen IERQ mit 4 Faktoren bestätigt werden. Cronbachs α-Werte lagen für die 4 ermittelten Skalen zwischen .81 und .91, für die Retest-Reliabilitäten ergaben sich Werte zwischen .72 und .74. Hinsichtlich der Validität zeigten sich sehr ähnliche Zusammenhänge zu Maßen der intrapersonellen Emotionsregulation, wie sie mit der Originalversion ermittelt wurden. In Bezug zu anderen Konstrukten wie z. B. Depressivität wichen die hier erhobenen Korrelationen von der englischsprachigen Version ab. Weitere Analysen zur konvergenten und diskriminanten Validität bestätigten jedoch die Güte des Instrumentes, sodass bei der deutschen Version des IERQ von einem reliablen und validen Instrument zur Erfassung Interpersoneller Emotionsregulation auszugehen ist.