Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-2brh9 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-27T22:53:31.677Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

The Relationship between Beliefs about Emotions and Emotion Regulation: A Systematic Review

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 November 2021

Eun-Jee Hong
Affiliation:
School of Psychological Sciences, Centre for Emotional Health, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales 2109, Australia
Maria Kangas*
Affiliation:
School of Psychological Sciences, Centre for Emotional Health, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales 2109, Australia
*
*Corresponding author: Maria Kangas, Macquarie University, School of Psychological Sciences, 4 First Walk, Ryde, NSW 2109, Australia. Email: [email protected]
Get access

Abstract

Emotion regulation is a known predictor for psychopathology and a target for treatment. A growing body of literature has examined the role of beliefs about emotions (BEs) in the emotion regulation process, yet the relationship between the two has yet to be systematically evaluated. A systematic review was conducted across five databases and 22 studies that assessed the relationship between BEs and emotion regulation were identified. The findings generally revealed a positive relationship between beliefs about the controllability and goodness of emotions and emotion regulation. There was strong evidence that beliefs about controllability were consistently associated with ‘active’ emotion regulatory strategies. This outcome has important implications for targeting change in therapy. However, further investigation is needed to establish consistent patterns regarding beliefs about the goodness of emotion and emotion regulation using longitudinal designs.

Type
Review Article
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the Australian Association for Cognitive and Behaviour Therapy

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

References*

Adam, A and Jensen, JD (2016). What is the effectiveness of obesity related interventions at retail grocery stores and supermarkets? A systematic review. BMC Public Health, 16, 1247. doi:10.1186/s12889-016-3985-x.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Akerblom, S, Perrin, S, Fischer, MR and McCracken, L (2016). The mediating role of acceptance in multidisciplinary cognitive-behavioral therapy for chronic pain. The Journal of Pain, 16, 606615.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Aldao, A and Nolen-Hoeksema, S (2012). The influence of context on the implementation of adaptive emotion regulation strategies. Behavior Research and Therapy, 50, 493501. doi:10.1016/j.brat.2012.04.004.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Aldao, A, Nolen-Hoeksema, S and Schweizer, S (2010). Emotion-regulation strategies across psychopathology: A meta-analytic review. Clinical Psychology Review, 30, 217237.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Aldao, A, Sheppes, G and Gross, JJ (2015). Emotion regulation flexibility. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 39, 263278. doi:10.1007/s10608-014-9662-4.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
*Amiri, S and Yaghobi, A (2018). Psychometric properties of the beliefs about emotions scale in a normal population. Neuropsychiatria i Neuropsychologia, 13, 8590. doi:10.5114/nan.2018.81248.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Arch, JJ, Wolitzky-Taylor, KB, Eifert, GH and Craske, MG (2012). Longitudinal treatment mediation of traditional cognitive behaviour therapy and acceptance and commitment therapy for anxiety disorders. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 50, 469478. doi:10.1016/j.brat.2012.04.007.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
*Backenstrass, M, Joest, K, Gehrig, N, Pfeiffer, N, Mearns, J and Catanzaro, SJ (2010). The German version of the generalized expectancies for negative mood regulation scale: A construct validity study. European Journal of Psychological Assessment, 26, 2838. doi:10.1027/1015-5759/a000005.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bandura, A (1991). Social cognitive theory of self-regulation. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 50, 248287.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Burnette, JL, O'Boyle, EH, VanEpps, EM, Pollack, JM and Finkel, EJ (2013). Mind-sets matter: A meta-analytic review of implicit theories and self-regulation. Psychological Bulletin, 139, 655701. doi:10.1037/a0029531.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
*Catanzaro, SJ, Horaney, F and Creasey, G (1995). Hassles, coping, and depressive symptoms in an elderly community sample: The role of mood regulation expectancies. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 42, 259265.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
*Catanzaro, SJ, Wasch, HH, Kirsch, I and Mearns, J (2000). Coping-related expectancies and dispositions as prospective predictors of coping responses and symptoms. Journal of Personality, 68, 757788.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Compas, BE, Jaser, SS, Bettis, AH, Watson, KH, Gruhn, MA, Dunbar, JP, …, Thigpen, JC (2017). Coping, emotion regulation, and psychopathology in childhood and adolescence: A meta-analysis and narrative review. Psychological Bulletin, 143, 939991. doi:10.1037/bul0000110.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Conklin, LR, Cassiello-Robbins, C, Brake, CA, Sauer-Zavala, S, Farchione, TJ, Ciraulo, DA and Barlow, DH (2015). Relationship among adaptive and maladaptive emotion regulation strategies and psychopathology during the treatment of comorbid anxiety and alcohol use disorders. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 73, 124130. doi:10.1016/j.brat.2015.08.001.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
*De Castella, K, Goldin, P, Jazaieri, H, Ziv, M, Dweck, CS and Gross, JJ (2013). Beliefs about emotion: Links to emotion regulation, well-being, and psychological distress. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 35, 497505. doi:10.1080/01973533.2013.840632.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
*De Castella, K, Platow, MJ, Tamir, M and Gross, JJ (2018). Beliefs about emotion: Implications for avoidance-based emotion regulation and psychological health. Cognition and Emotion, 32, 773795. doi:10.1080/02699931.2017.1353485.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dixon-Gordon, KL, Aldao, A and De Los Reyes, A (2015). ER in context: Examining the spontaneous use of strategies across emotional intensity and type of emotion. Personality and Individual Differences, 86, 271276. doi:10.1016/j.paid.2015.06.011.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dweck, CS (2017). From needs to goals and representations: Foundations for a unified theory of motivation, personality, and developments. Psychological Review, 124, 689719.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Edwards, ER and Wupperman, P (2019). Research on emotional schemas: A review of findings and challenges. Clinical Psychologist, 23, 314.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ford, BQ and Gross, JJ (2018). Emotion regulation: Why beliefs matter. Canadian Psychology, 59, 114.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ford, BQ and Gross, JJ (2019). Why beliefs about emotion matter: And emotion-regulation perspective. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 28, 7481.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goldin, PR, Ziv, M, Jazaieri, H, Werner, K, Kraemer, H, Heimberg, RG and Gross, JJ (2012). Cognitive reappraisal self-efficacy mediates the effects of individual cognitive-behavioral therapy for social anxiety disorder. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 80, 10341040. doi:10.1037/a0028555.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gross, JJ (1998). The emerging field of emotion regulation: An integrative review. Review of General Psychology, 2, 271299.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gross, JJ (2015). ER: Current status and future prospects. Psychological Inquiry, 26, 126.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
*Gunzenhauser, C, Heikamp, T, Gerbino, M, Alessandri, G, von Suchodoletz, A, Di Giunta, L, …, Trommsdorff, G (2013). Self-efficacy in regulating positive and negative emotions: A validation study in Germany. European Journal of Psychological Assessment, 29, 197204. doi:10.1027/1015-5759/a000151.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
*Gutentag, T, Halperin, E, Porat, R, Bigman, YE and Tamir, M (2017). Successful emotion regulation requires both conviction and skill: Beliefs about the controllability of emotions, reappraisal, and regulation success. Cognition and Emotion, 31, 12251233. doi:10.1080/02699931.2016.1213704.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Haga, SM, Kraft, P and Corby, E-K (2009). ER: Antecedents and well-being outcomes of cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression in cross-cultural samples. Journal of Happiness Studies, 10, 271291. doi:10.1007/s10902-007-9080-3.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
*Hutchison, JA and Gunthert, KC (2013). Measuring beliefs about automatic mood regulation: Development of a self-report scale. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 37, 12431256. doi:10.1007/s10608-013-9559-7.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
*Kneeland, ET and Dovidio, JF (2020). Emotion malleability beliefs and coping with the college transition. Emotion, 20, 452461. doi:10.1037/emo0000559.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
*Kneeland, ET, Nolen-Hoeksema, S, Dovidio, JF and Gruber, J (2016). Beliefs about emotion's malleability influence state emotion regulation. Motivation and Emotion, 40, 740749. doi:10.1007/s11031-016-9566-6.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kneeland, ET, Dovidio, JF, Joormann, J and Clark, MS (2016). Emotion malleability beliefs, emotion regulation, and psychopathology: Integrating affective and clinical science. Clinical Psychology Review, 45, 8188.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
*Kneeland, ET, Goodman, FR and Dovidio, JF (2020). Emotion beliefs, emotion regulation, and emotional experiences in daily life. Behavior Therapy. doi:10.1016/j.beth.2019.10.007.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
*Lane, AM, Beedie, CJ, Devonport, TJ and Stanley, DM (2011). Instrumental emotion regulation in sport: Relationships between beliefs about emotion and emotion regulation strategies used by athletes. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports, 21, 445451. doi:10.1111/j.1600-0838.2011.01364.x.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
*Lei, N and Pellitteri, J (2017). Help-seeking and coping behaviors among Asian Americans: The roles of Asian values, emotional intelligence, and optimism. Asian American Journal of Psychology, 8, 224234. doi:10.1037/aap0000086.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Levy, HC, Worden, BL, Gilliam, CM, D'Urso, C, Steketee, G, Frost, RO and Tolin, DF (2017). Changes in saving cognitions mediate hoarding symptom change in cognitive-behavioral therapy for hoarding disorder. Journal of Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders, 14, 112118.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Oftedal, B, Karlsen, B and Bru, E (2010). Life values and self-regulation behaviors among adults with type 2 diabetes. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 19, 23752669.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
*Ouimet, AJ, Kane, L and Tutino, JS (2016). Fear of anxiety or fear of emotions? Anxiety sensitivity is indirectly related to anxiety and depressive symptoms via emotion regulation. Cogent Psychology, 3. doi:10.1080/23311908.2016.1249132.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
*Qu, Y and Telzer, EH (2017). Cultural differences and similarities in beliefs, practices, and neural mechanisms of emotion regulation. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 23, 3644. doi:10.1037/cdp0000112.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Schraub, EM, Stegmaier, R and Sonntag, K (2011). The effect of change on adaptive performance: Does expressive suppression moderate the indirect effect of strain? Journal of Change Management, 11, 2144. doi:10.1080/14697017.2010.514002.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
*Schroder, HS, Dawood, S, Yalch, MM, Donnellan, MB and Moser, JS (2015). The role of implicit theories in mental health symptoms, emotion regulation, and hypothetical treatment choices in college students. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 39, 120139. doi:10.1007/s10608-014-9652-6.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sirriyeh, R, Lawton, R, Gardner, P and Armitage, G (2011). Reviewing studies with diverse designs: The development and evaluation of a new tool. Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice, 18, 746–572.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
*Sydenham, M, Beardwood, J and Rimes, KA (2017). Beliefs about emotions, depression, anxiety and fatigue: A mediational analysis. Behavioral and Cognitive Psychotherapy, 45, 7378. doi:10.1017/S1352465816000199.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
*Tamir, M, John, OP, Srivastava, S and Gross, JJ (2007). Implicit theories of emotion: Affective and social outcomes across a major life transition. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 92, 731744. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.92.4.731.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Tottenham, N, Hare, TA and Casey, BJ (2011). Behavioral assessment of emotion discrimination, emotion regulation, and cognitive control in childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. Frontiers in Psychology. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2011.00039.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
*Tran, L and Rimes, KA (2017). Unhealthy perfectionism, negative beliefs about emotions, emotional suppression, and depression in students: A mediational analysis. Personality and Individual Differences, 110, 144147. doi:10.1016/j.paid.2017.01.042.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Webb, TL, Miles, E and Sheeran, P (2012). Dealing with feeling: A meta-analysis of the effectiveness of strategies derived from the process model of emotion regulation. Psychological Bulletin, 138, 775808.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wigfield, A (1994). The role of children's achievement values in the self-regulation of their learning outcomes. In Schunk, DH and Zimmerman, BJ (eds), Self-regulation of learning and performance: Issues and educational applications (pp. 101124). Hillsdale, N.J: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.Google Scholar
Yoon, S, Dang, C, Mertz, J and Rottenberg, J (2018). Are attitudes towards emotions associated with depression? A conceptual and meta-analytic review. Journal of Affective Disorders, 232, 329340. doi:10.1016/j.jad.2018.02.009.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed