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Perceived effects of other people’s emotion regulation on their vicarious emotional response

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Abstract

Across two studies, we investigated how friends’ typically used emotion regulation strategies (rumination or reappraisal) influence judgements about their vicarious emotions (sympathy, tenderness, and personal distress) when presented with a photograph of a suffering toddler. Results of both studies demonstrated that participants reporting on a ruminative friend indicated that their friend would feel greater personal distress and less tenderness and would perceive the toddler as experiencing more need and pain than participants reporting on a reappraising friend. These results are consistent with the behavioural trajectories associated with rumination and reappraisal, and are discussed in light of their implications for interpersonal emotion regulation.

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Author notes

  1. Belén López-Pérez

    Present address: School of Psychology, Liverpool Hope University, Liverpool, L16 9JD, UK

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Psychology, Plymouth University, B-214 Drake Circus, Plymouth, PL4 8AA, UK

    Belén López-Pérez

  2. School of Management, University College of London, London, UK

    Janice Sanchez

  3. Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK

    Brian Parkinson

Authors
  1. Belén López-Pérez
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  2. Janice Sanchez
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  3. Brian Parkinson
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Correspondence to Belén López-Pérez.

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The authors declare that they do not have any conflict of interests.

Ethical approval

The research conducted has obtained ethical approval from the authors’ institution and was conducted in accordance with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. It was carried forth after obtaining informed consent from all participants.

Appendix: Picture used in the studies

Appendix: Picture used in the studies

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López-Pérez, B., Sanchez, J. & Parkinson, B. Perceived effects of other people’s emotion regulation on their vicarious emotional response. Motiv Emot 41, 113–121 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11031-016-9585-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11031-016-9585-3

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