Glossary // Glossary term Theoretical
Response modulation
The latest family of strategies in the process model of emotion regulation, acting on the experiential, behavioural or physiological response once an emotion is under way. Expressive suppression is the most studied example; on this site venting is also read as a form of response modulation. Because it acts after the appraisal, it can change how an emotion is shown without changing what the situation means. Gross's process model sorts regulation strategies by when they act on an emotion, and the extended model adds how strategies are chosen. This essay explains both, the evidence on strategy effects, and where venting and reappraisal sit. How catharsis moved from Aristotle's disputed katharsis through Breuer and Freud's discharge model to a testable hypothesis, what controlled studies found, and why expression without processing tends to bring relief rather than resolution. The works the definition rests on, with the level of evidence each was appraised at. (1998). The emerging field of emotion regulation: An integrative review. doi:10.1037/1089-2680.2.3.271 Supports definitions and the five-point process model used across the library. A conceptual framework, not a test of which strategies work. (2012). Dealing with feeling: A meta-analysis of the effectiveness of strategies derived from the process model of emotion regulation. doi:10.1037/a0027600 Supports the claims that cognitive change had a small-to-medium effect, distraction was effective, concentration on feelings was not, and suppressing the experience of emotion was ineffective. Effects come from short laboratory inductions and vary with moderators.Where the site uses it
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