Collective and personal processes in regulating emotions: Emotion and self in Japan and the US

Abstract

According to a dual process model of emotion regulation, a network of prac­tices and public meanings of culture render the experience of certain emo­tions far more likely than the experience of certain other emotions. Moreover, these practices and meanings reinforce, either positively or negatively, certain emotions more than certain others. These collective-level processes of emo­tion regulation give rise to a number of spontaneous emotions, which may in turn be deliberately and optionally controlled by personal regulatory strate­gies. Available evidence for the model was reviewed to show that whereas socially disengaging emotions such as pride and anger are strongly afforded and reinforced in North America, socially engaging emotions such as friendly feelings and shame are strongly afforded and reinforced in Japan. Implications for cultural psychological research on emotion are discussed.The main goal of this volume is to present, in an integrated framework, the newest, most contemporary perspectives on emotion regulation. The book includes empirically-grounded work and theories that are central to our understanding of the processes that constitute emotion regulation and their consequences. This volume has several secondary aims, as well. One is to highlight several newer subareas in the domain of emotion regulation that hold much promise, such as the relationship between psychopathology and emotion regulation. The book also presents data and theory that have applied value that may be useful for people working in such fields as communication, psychotherapy, and counseling. Finally, the volume gathers contributions across a variety of subfields and includes authors working not just in North America but in other areas of the world. To help achieve these goals, the volume has been organized to begin with the presentation of the most molecular aspects of emotion regulation and to end with the most molar ones. It comprises four parts, each integrating different lines of research from related domains. Part I is devoted to basic processes in emotion regulation, such as neurological, physiological or cognitive processes; part II examines the interplays between emotion regulation and individual regulation; part III presents work on individual differences and developmental processes in emotion regulation; and part IV examines the social functions and constraints of emotion regulation.status: publishe