Part 1: Emotion goals matter (What)

  1. Emotion goals variety
  2. Emotion goals set the direction (increase or decrease) and potential outcomes of emotion regulation
    • Tamir, M. and B. Q. Ford (2009). “Choosing to be afraid: Preferences for fear as a function of goal pursuit.” Emotion 9(4): 488. 如果负性情绪有利于个体，那么个体会选择增加自己的负性情绪。
    • Tamir, M., et al. (2008). “Hedonic and instrumental motives in anger regulation.” Psychological Science 19(4): 324-328. 当个体预期要发生对抗性任务时，他们倾向于增加自己的愤怒情绪；而且愤怒情绪也在对抗性而没有在非对抗性任务中提高了他们的表现。这表明情绪调节并不仅仅是一种本能，个体也会由于功效的考虑进行情绪调节；在一定的情景下，个体愿意牺牲享乐动机(hedonic costs)而去体验有利于自己的情绪（instrumental emotions）。
    • Hackenbracht, J. & Tamir. M. (2010). Preferences for sadness when eliciting help: Instrumental motives in sadness regulation. Motivation and Emotion, 34, 306-315. 人们越认为悲伤有用，越倾向于体验悲伤。
  3. Emotion goals influence strategy selectivity
  4. Emotion goals carry important implications

Part 2 Why Do People Regulate Their Emotions?

简而言之，先是人们得相信情绪能够被调节（Implicit theory of emotion），然后人们需要相信情绪有利于提高某种任务表现（The instrumental approach to emotion regulation），这两点都会影响到情绪目标的构建和方向

2.1 Believe that emotions can be regulated: Implicit theory of emotion

Tamir, M., et al. (2007). “Implicit theories of emotion: Affective and social outcomes across a major life transition.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 92(4): 731.

Tamir编制的这个问卷非常简单，只有四道题目，每个题目1-5评分。

其他类似测量情绪或情绪调节信念的问卷：

  1. NMR Catanzaro, S. J. and J. Mearns (1990). “Measuring generalized expectancies for negative mood regulation: Initial scale development and implications.” Journal of Personality Assessment 54(3-4): 546-563.
  2. 本问卷基于Tamir的问卷而来，更为全面。 Veilleux, J. C., et al. (2015). “Multidimensional assessment of beliefs about emotion: Development and validation of the emotion and regulation beliefs scale.” Assessment 22(1): 86-100.

2.2 What motivates emotion regulation：The instrumental approach to emotion regulation (Tamir, M., 2016a)

  • key classes of motives in emotion regulation

2.3 Higher-order Goals

  • 观点1：高层次的目标或价值观会影响我们对情绪的偏好。为了达到目标获得工具性的利益（to attatin instrumental benefits），人们也可以激活自己的负性情绪（例如士兵处于愤怒之中，更加勇敢作战）。
    • The theory of human values (Schwartz, 1992)
    • Values reflect how people want to experience the world; emotions reflect how people actually experience the world. Therefore, we propose that across cultures people desire emotions that are consistent with their values. (Tamir, M., 2016b)
  • 观点2： 情绪的类别也会影响我们的目标。例如，Tamir and Ford (2012)发现在快乐的时候，我们更偏向于合作（collaboration）的目标；愤怒的时候，更偏向于对抗（confrontation）的目标。Tamir, M. and B. Q. Ford (2012). “When feeling bad is expected to be good: Emotion regulation and outcome expectancies in social conflicts.” Emotion 12(4): 807.

2.4 The actual value of emotions

  • 对情绪的信念影响情绪的功能，相信某种情绪有积极作用，则其起到促进作用；反之亦然。
  • Tamir 2017

情绪调节目标的动机作用

  1. Millgram, Y., Sheppes, G., Kalokerinos, E. K., Kuppens, P., & Tamir, M. (2019). Do the ends dictate the means in emotion regulation?. Journal of experimental psychology. General, 148(1), 80–96. https://doi.org/10.1037/xge0000477

  2. Tamir, M., Vishkin, A., & Gutentag, T. (2020). Emotion regulation is motivated. Emotion (Washington, D.C.), 20(1), 115–119. https://doi.org/10.1037/emo0000635

References

  • Tamir, M. (2016a). “Why do people regulate their emotions? A taxonomy of motives in emotion regulation.” Personality and Social Psychology Review 20(3): 199-222.
  • Tamir, M., et al. (2016b). “Desired emotions across cultures: A value-based account.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 111(1): 67.
  • Tamir, M. and B. Q. Ford (2012). “When feeling bad is expected to be good: Emotion regulation and outcome expectancies in social conflicts.” Emotion 12(4): 807.
  • Tamir, M., & Bigman, Y. E. (2017). Expectations influence how emotions shape behavior.