Webb, Thomas L, Schweiger Gallo, Inge, Miles, Eleanor, Gollwitzer, Peter M and Sheeran, Paschal (2012) Effective regulation of affect: an action control perspective on emotion regulation. European Review of Social Psychology, 23 (1). pp. 143-186. ISSN 1046-3283

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Abstract

The present review adopts an action control perspective on emotion regulation, contextualising the gap between emotion control goals (e.g., I want to remain calm) and emotional outcomes (e.g., anger, anxiety, and aggression) in terms of the broader literature on goal pursuit. We propose that failure to effectively regulate emotions can result from difficulties with the self-regulatory tasks of (i) identifying the need to regulate, (ii) deciding whether and how to regulate, and (iii) enacting a regulation strategy. Next we review evidence that a technique traditionally associated with regulating behavioural goals (forming implementation intentions or “if-then” planning) can help to overcome these difficulties. Meta-analysis indicated that forming implementation intentions is effective in modifying emotional outcomes, with a large effect relative to no regulation instructions (k = 21, N = 1306 d + = 0.91, 95% CI = 0.61 to 1.20) and a medium-sized effect relative to goal intention instructions (k = 29, N = 1208, d + = 0.53, 95% CI = 0.42 to 0.65). Our conclusion is that research on emotion regulation might benefit from an action control perspective and the interventions that this perspective offers.

Item Type:	Article
Schools and Departments:	School of Psychology > Psychology
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology
Depositing User:	Eleanor Miles
Date Deposited:	10 Jul 2013 11:37
Last Modified:	12 Mar 2017 16:39
URI:	http://srodev.sussex.ac.uk/id/eprint/45644

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