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Positive Emotion Regulation: Patterns and Associations with Psychological Health

Cregg, David Robert
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9945-7005
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1510769755167982

Abstract Details

2017, Master of Arts, Ohio State University, Psychology.
Evidence to date suggests that a higher level of positive emotion is generally associated with improved psychological health (e.g., Tugade, Fredrickson, & Barrett, 2004). However, the specific features characterizing the ways in which upregulation of positive emotion is associated with good psychological functioning are less understood. I investigated how three factors may link regulation of positive emotions to greater psychological health: 1) the presence of both a large repertoire and persistent use of regulation strategies; 2) a “match” between the features of a situation and the strategy used; and 3) the use of specific categories of regulatory strategies, such as expression (capitalization), and less use of suppression. One-hundred and thirty-four undergraduates (mean age = 19.22; 73% female; 78% Caucasian) indicated the strategies they would use to maintain or improve their mood in response to eleven hypothetical positive situations. After their initial response, participants were prompted four more times to report how they would respond if their initial strategy was not working. Participants then completed a battery of self-report measures assessing psychological health variables, including measures of positive emotion and psychopathology. Coders rated the quality (effectiveness) of each strategy and assigned them to categories. Coders also rated each situation for its degree of ambiguity (how ambivalent the situation was), and whether it represented a more hedonic (i.e., short-term pleasure) or eudaimonic (i.e., long-term meaning) form of well-being. Data were analyzed with a series of correlations and regression models using the three factors above as predictors and the psychological health (PH) measures as criterion variables. Repertoire was associated with several indices of positive emotion, but was unrelated to measures of psychopathology. In contrast, persistence was unrelated to PH, except for an inverse association with intensity of positive emotion across situations. The use of suppression was related to greater borderline personality disorder features and lower ratings of happiness, whereas the use of planning, past focus, or expression was related to higher reports of positive emotion. Finally, individuals using expression more frequently in situations of a more eudaimonic nature reported a higher intensity of positive emotion across situations (ß = .21, p = .02); likewise, individuals using cognitive awareness (savoring) more frequently in situations of a more hedonic nature also demonstrated a trend toward more intense positive emotion (ß = .16, p = .07). Collectively, these findings preliminarily suggest the importance of “regulatory diversity” (Quoidbach, Berry, Hansenne, & Mikolajczak, 2010), i.e., varying one’s use of strategies, and hint at the role of situation-strategy matches in upregulating positive emotion. However, several limitations of this study warrant cautious interpretation of the results, such as the correlational nature of the data, the large number of tests conducted, and the disproportionality among the frequencies of strategy categories. Suggestions for future research are discussed, such as the use of real-world data and experimental work to clarify the connection between repertoire and positive affect.
Jennifer Cheavens (Advisor)
Daniel Strunk (Committee Member)
Baldwin Way (Committee Member)
90 p.
Clinical Psychology; Psychology
emotion regulation; positive emotion; flexibility; psychological health; positive psychology; hedonic; eudaimonic

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Cregg, D. R. (2017). Positive Emotion Regulation: Patterns and Associations with Psychological Health [Master's thesis, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1510769755167982

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Cregg, David. Positive Emotion Regulation: Patterns and Associations with Psychological Health. 2017. Ohio State University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1510769755167982.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Cregg, David. "Positive Emotion Regulation: Patterns and Associations with Psychological Health." Master's thesis, Ohio State University, 2017. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1510769755167982

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu1510769755167982
629
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This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.