Seminar SCALab 08/06/2023

Emotional competences and emotional difficulties: The role of emotion regulation value belief

Abstract: To better understand and potentially reduce emotional difficulties, past studies have focused on deepening and improving emotional competences. Analyses on the relationship between emotional competences on the one hand and emotional reactivity and difficulties in emotion regulation on the other hand demonstrate however pleiotropic effects, which deserve closer attention. Moreover, other variables may also be involved in sustaining emotion regulation skills, and therefore mental health. This is potentially the case of emotion regulation value belief, i.e. how much  individuals believe that emotional regulation is an appropriate behavior, or whether they believe it would be better to avoid regulating one's own emotions. With this presentation, we will first explore the complex relationship there is between emotional competences and emotion difficulties. Preliminary data testing the hypothesis that emotion regulation value belief could play an important role in the unfolding of emotions, as well as in difficulties related to emotional regulation will also be presented. Ultimately, we hypothesize that, beyond individual competence, emotional symptoms and difficulties could also stem from beliefs that emotional regulation is not an appropriate behavior to engage in, triggering the absence of regulation or the implementation of maladaptive regulation.

Elise Dan-Glauser

Institute of Psychology, University of Lausanne, Switzerland

elise.danglauser@unil.ch