Emotion regulation in romantic relationships (original) (raw)
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Expression and Regulation of Emotions in Romantic Relationships
2007
Romantic relationships are extremely important in people's physical and mental well being. One of the important determinants of the quality of romantic relationships is the expression and regulation of emotions. This study hypothesized that 1) expression of positive emotions is good for any relationship, 2) expression of negative emotions is good for only communal relationships, 3) expression of positive emotions is necessary alongside of negative ones to maintain a communal relationship, 4) in case negative emotions are expressed, providing explanations would help maintain the relationship, 5) suppression of emotions does not benefit communal relationship, and 6) expression of emotions correlates with a) secure attachment, b) partner's receptiveness to expression, and c) communal approach to relationship. The interactions predicted in this study were not found to be significant. The key study findings follow: 1) expression of positive and negative emotions, 2) communal orientation, 3) explanation of negative affect, 4) and general emotional expressivity correlate with higher relationship satisfaction. 5) Emotional suppression, 6) anxious attachment, and 7) higher year in school were related to lower satisfaction. Other findings suggested that 1) communal approach, 2) partner's receptiveness, and 3) female gender were related to more emotional expressivity. 4) Communal orientation was related to more and 5) avoidant attachment was related to less positive expression. 6) Secure attachment was related to less emotional suppression. Lastly, it was found that 1) secure attachment correlated with more partner's receptiveness. 2) Anxious attachment accompanied less explanations for negative affect., and, 3) older participants had more avoidant attachments. The major limitation of this study was that only one member the couple was assessed and the impact of the respondent's style and behavior on the partner as well as the dyadic factors contributing to the relationship were largely unknown.
Emotion regulation and the quality of romantic relationship
2005
Given the key role that emotions play in human social relations, the way emotions are experienced, regulated, and expressed is likely to affect the quality of romantic relations. This study attempted to examine the differences in romantic relationship satisfaction that might be attributable to the habitual expression of emotions and the use o f two emotion regulation strategies: emotional suppression and cognitive reappraisal. The study hypotheses were 1) individuals with higher emotional expressivity would be more satisfied with their romantic relationship, 2) if the study participants are in a relationship with a romantic partner who manifests emotions, the participants would be more satisfied with the relationship, 3) participants who suppress the experienced emotions would have lower relationship satisfaction, and 4) participants who utilize cognitive reappraisal to reframe the emotional events would have higher relationship satisfaction. Study results supported the second and third hypotheses but not the first and fourth one. Additional findings o f this study were 1) a positive correlation between age and the use o f cognitive reappraisal, 2) negative correlation between the relationship duration and use o f reappraisal, 3) the more extensive use of suppression by men as opposed to women, and 4) the negative correlation between emotional expressiveness of the two partners in a romantic relationship.
Emotion regulation and romantic partners’ relationship satisfaction
Psihologijske teme, 2021
Studies investigating the effects of emotion regulation on romantic partners’ relationship satisfaction (RS) found that proneness to use cognitive reappraisal exerts positive, whereas expressive suppression negative effects on both one’s own and partner’s satisfaction. However, no studies explored the effects of partner reported use of the two emotion regulation strategies on RS, which might allow the exclusion of method-related explanations of the previous findings and offer new insights into the mechanisms involved. We tested the hypotheses about the effects of reappraisal and suppression on RS on a sample of 205 romantic couples by using round-robin design and actor-partner interdependence modelling (APIM). Although the effects were relatively small, they were still in line with the assumptions that cognitive reappraisal has positive intra- and interpersonal effects on RS, that they can be generalized across self- and partner reports to a certain extent, and that they are somewha...
Emotion (Washington, D.C.), 2016
Emotion suppression is one of the most studied topics in emotion regulation. However, little is known about how response-focused regulation strategies unfold in romantic relationships from the perspectives of both emotion regulators and their interaction partners. Using the biopsychosocial (BPS) model of challenge and threat as an organizing framework, 2 experiments examined effects of expressive suppression (vs. expression) on affective, cognitive, physiological, and behavioral processes in regulators and their romantic partners. In Experiment 1 a crowd-sourced sample of individuals currently in a romantic relationship simulated scenarios in which the self or partner engaged in response-focused emotion regulation (expression or suppression of affective displays). Suppressors expected worse outcomes compared with expressers. However, individuals on the receiving end of suppression (suppression targets) did not differ from expression targets. Experiment 2 then examined romantic coupl...
Emotion, 2013
Romantic couples (N ϭ 127) engaged in a relationship conflict interaction during which their autonomic physiology, emotional experience, and emotional behavior were recorded. Couples were assigned randomly to one of two interventions, or to a control condition: In the affective suppression condition, one partner was instructed to refrain from expressing emotions. In the positive mindset condition, one partner was instructed to think about the positive aspects of the relationship. Results revealed that emotion regulation interventions influenced the physiology, emotional behavior, and emotional experience of both the manipulated person and his or her partner, who was oblivious to regulation manipulations. Specifically, suppression increased, and positive mindset decreased cardiovascular arousal and negative affect. These effects were generally exacerbated among those high on attachment anxiety and attenuated among those high on attachment avoidance. The results of this research corroborate and extend the Temporal Interpersonal Emotion Systems model in the context of relationship conflict interactions.
Emotion dynamics and responsiveness in intimate relationships
Emotion, 2019
Responding appropriately to an intimate partner's emotional signals and needs requires that one's emotional responses be reactive to significant interpersonal experiences. The adaptive function of emotions is likely compromised if an individual's emotional states are insufficiently attuned to interpersonal events. The present studies examine how individual differences in moment-to-moment emotion dynamics affect interpersonal responsiveness and relationship satisfaction. Study 1 examines associations between emotion dynamics and emotional reactivity to positive and negative relationship events. Emotion dynamics were operationalized using assessments of emotional inertia, which is defined as the degree to which emotions are resistant to change over time. Momentary assessments from 44 participants were collected four times per day over 4 weeks. Emotional inertia showed a curvilinear association with context-sensitive emotional responses to conflict, with individuals high or low in emotional inertia experiencing blunted emotional reactions to conflict. Study 2 assessed emotion dynamics based on four emotion reports per day over 10 days of both partners in a total of 103 couples. Associations of emotion dynamics with perceptions of partners' responsiveness and relationship satisfaction over 12 months were examined. Partners of individuals with high (inert) or low (erratic) emotional inertia perceived them to be less responsive, which then predicted steeper declines in their relationship satisfaction across 12 months. The results suggest that individuals with inert or erratic emotion dynamics exhibit less context-sensitive emotional responding to conflicts and are perceived by their partners to be less responsive which subsequently undermines the quality of their intimate relationships. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
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 -worsenin...
Frontiers in Psychology, 2021
In romantic relationships, individual differences are determinant factors for relational quality. Specifically, romantic attachment (RA) and difficulties in emotional regulation influence each other and may have predictive potential for the perceived dyadic adjustment (DA) level. This paper aims to identify the developmental parallel between behavioral patterns built since childhood and the construction of the emotional regulation skills that characterize them. Our analysis was based on the attachment theory and the concepts of romantic relationship and DA. In this way, we sought to further the understanding of relationship dynamics, beyond the usual focus on a single element and on associative relationships, and by exploring other effects among the different dimensions of relational functioning. In particular, we explored the predictive ability of emotional regulation patterns (more flexible individual characteristics) in discriminating between RA styles (more perennial influences)...
Revista De Cercetare Si Interventie Sociala, 2022
Although interpersonal emotion regulation (IER) has gained more attention in recent years, few studies focus on IER in romantic relationships. In this study, using a qualitative-quantitative approach, we assessed the most commonly-used IER strategies employed by couples in both positive and negative interactions, and the anticipated self and partner's emotions arising from their utilization. One hundred and ninety-nine couples participated in this research. The participants had to read a vignette that had a positive connotation and imagine they were the main character and write answers to four questions. Then, they had to repeat the process, using the negative connotation vignette. The questions were focused on the assessment of the self-anticipated IER strategies as well as the self and partner's anticipated emotional reactions associated with the self-anticipated IER strategies. The thematic analysis showed that most of the participants described IER strategies that fi t either into the 'cognitive engagement' category or in the 'put own feelings fi rst' category. The most frequently anticipated self and partner's emotions were 'calm', 'joy' or 'sadness'. IER strategies have an eff ect not only on the target but also on the regulator. This aspect can contribute to a better understanding of couple relationships.