Abstract
Emotion regulation research has exponentially grown in the past several years. However, to date, there is little information regarding its relation to cheerfulness, understood as a positive affective predisposition to sense of humor. The aim of the present study was to analyze the relationship between emotion regulation strategies and the state and trait dimensions of cheerfulness. More precisely, we wanted to explore whether trait cheerfulness moderates the effect of emotion regulation strategies on the participants’ reported affective state after they are exposed to both amusing and sad stimuli. To achieve our goal, we randomly assigned 248 undergraduate psychology students (178 women) to one of the following conditions: expressive exaggeration, down-regulation reappraisal, expressive suppression, and control. They watched amusing, neutral, and sad clips, reporting their affective state several times throughout the study. In general, the results showed that the exaggeration group showed the largest affective changes, whereas the down-regulation reappraisal group showed the smallest affective changes with both amusing and sad stimuli. Critically, trait cheerfulness moderated the changes in the participants’ affective state as a consequence of their being exposed to the amusing film clip in the exaggeration group. The effects were not affected by social desirability or reappraisal/suppression tendencies (as measured with the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire). The results are discussed highlighting the idea that the higher level of sensitivity to amusing affective contexts of high-trait-cheerfulness individuals could be due to a higher ability to exaggerate the behavior together with their more habitual and efficient use of reappraisal strategies.
Similar content being viewed by others
Availability of data and materials
Not applicable.
Notes
Ruch (1993) defined exhilaration as: “either the process of making cheerful or the temporary rise and fall of a cheerful state” (p. 606). In the theoretical model, trait and state manifestations of sense of humor modulate the exhilaration emotional response. That is, cheerfulness promotes the exhilaration response, whereas seriousness—and especially bad mood—contribute to inhibit it.
The level of significance for all Bonferroni post-hoc tests was .05. All analyses were repeated controlling for self-reported emotion regulation strategies (ERQ-R and ERQ-S). The results replicated data patterns for all dependent variables (state cheerfulness, amusement, and sadness).
References
Aiken, L. S., & West, S. G. (1991). Multiple regression: Testing and interpreting interactions. Sage.
Aldao, A., Nolen-Hoeksema, S., & Schweizer, S. (2010). Emotion-regulation strategies across psychopathology: A meta-analytic review. Clinical Psychology Review. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2009.11.004
Beermann, U., & Ruch, W. (2009a). How virtuous is humour? What we can learn from current instruments. Journal of Positive Psychology, https://doi:https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760903262859
Brans, K., Koval, P., Verduyn, P., Lim, Y. L., & Kuppens, P. (2013). The regulation of negative and positive affect in daily life. Emotion. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0032400
Cabello, R., Salguero, J. M., Fernández-Berrocal, P., & Gross, J. J. (2013). A Spanish adaptation of the emotion regulation questionnaire. European Journal of Psychological Assessment. https://doi.org/10.1027/1015-5759/a000150
Carretero-Dios, H., Benítez, I., Delgado-Rico, E., Ruch, W., & López-Benítez, R. (2014). Temperamental basis of sense of humor: The Spanish long form of the trait version of the State-Trait-Cheerfulness-Inventory. Personality and Individual Differences. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2014.03.045
Carretero-Dios, H., Eid, M., & Ruch, W. (2011). Analyzing multitrait-multimethod data with multilevel confirmatory factor analysis: An application to the validation of the State-Trait Cheerfulness Inventory. Journal of Research in Personality. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2010.12.007
Coles, N. A., Larsen, J. T., & Lench, H. C. (2019). A meta-analysis of the facial feedback literature: Effects of facial feedback on emotional experience are small and variable. Psychological Bulletin. https://doi.org/10.1037/bul0000194
Crowne, D. P., & Marlowe, D. (1960). A new scale of social desirability independent of psychopathology. Journal of Consulting Psychology, 24, 349–354
Delgado-Domínguez, C. J., Escudero-Contreras, A., Font-Ugalde, P., Ruiz-Vílchez, D., Collantes-Estévez, E., & Carretero-Dios, H. (2016). Upswings in cheerful mood and disease activity in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. International Journal of Behavioral Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12529-016-9550-2
Delgado-Domínguez, C. J., Font-Ugalde, P., Ruiz-Vílchez, D., Carretero-Dios, H., & Collantes-Estévez, E. (2014). Positive and negative affective states and disease activity in ankylosing spondylitis. Rheumatology International. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00296-014-3107-y
DeSteno, D., Gross, J. J., & Kubzansky, L. (2013). Affective science and health: The importance of emotion and emotion regulation. Health Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0030259
Feinberg, M., Willer, R., Antonenko, O., & John, O. P. (2012). Liberating reason from the passions. Psychological Science. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797611434747
Fernández, C., Pascual, J. C., Soler, J., Elices, M., Portella, M. J., & Fernández-Abascal, E. (2012). Physiological responses induced by emotion-eliciting films. Applied Psychophysiology Biofeedback. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10484-012-9180-7
Fernández, C., Pascual, J. C., Soler, J., & Fernández-Abascal, E. (2011). Spanish validation of an emotion-eliciting set of films. Psicothema, 23, 778–785
Ferrando, P. J., & Chico, E. (2000). Adaptación y análisis psicométrico de la escala de deseabilidad social de Marlowe Crowne [A Spanish version of the Marlowe and Crowne’s social desirability scale]. Psicothema, 12, 383–389
Ford, B. Q., & Tamir, M. (2012). When getting angry is smart: Emotional preferences and emotional intelligence. Emotion. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0027149
Fredrickson, B. L. (2001). The role of positive emotions in positive psychology. American Psychologist. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.56.3.218
Giuliani, N. R., McRae, K., & Gross, J. J. (2008). The up- and downregulation of amusement: Experiential, behavioral, and autonomic consequences. Emotion. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0013236
Gross, J. J. (1998a). Antecedent- and response-focused emotion regulation: Divergent consequences for experience, expression, and physiology. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.74.1.224
Gross, J. J. (1998b). The emerging field of emotion regulation: An integrative review. Review of General Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1037/1089-2680.2.3.271
Gross, J. J. (2015). Emotion regulation: Current status and future prospects. Psychological Inquiry. https://doi.org/10.1080/1047840X.2014.940781
Gross, J. J., & John, O. P. (2003). Individual differences in two emotion regulation processes: Implications for affect, relationship, and well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.85.2.348
Gross, J. J., & Levenson, R. W. (1993). Emotional suppression: Physiology, self–report, and expressive behavior. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 64, 970–986
Gruber, J., Kogan, A., Quoidbach, J., & Mauss, I. B. (2013). Happiness is best kept stable: Positive emotion variability is associated with poorer psychological health. Emotion. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0030262
Hayes, A. F. (2013). Introduction to mediation, moderation, and conditional process analysis-A regression based approach. Guilford.
Henry, J. D., Green, M. J., de Lucia, A., Restuccia, C., McDonald, S., & O’Donnell, M. (2007). Emotion dysregulation in schizophrenia: reduced amplification of emotional expression is associated with emotional blunting. Schizophrenia Research. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.schres.2007.06.002
Izard, C. E., Dougherty, F. E., Bloxom, B. M., & Kotsch, N. E. (1974). The Differential Emotions Scale: A method of measuring the meaning of subjective experience of discrete emotions. Vanderbilt University, Department of Psychology.
Kross, E., & Ayduk, O. (2011). Making meaning out of negative experiences by self-distancing. Current Directions in Psychological Science. https://doi.org/10.1177/0963721411408883
Kunzmann, U., Kupperbusch, C. S., & Levenson, R. W. (2005). Behavioral inhibition and amplification during emotional arousal: a comparison of two age groups. Psychology and Aging. https://doi.org/10.1037/0882-7974.20.1.144
Lanzetta, J. T., Cartwright-Smith, J., & Kleck, R. E. (1976). Effects of nonverbal dissimulation on emotional experience and autonomic arousal. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 33, 354–370
López-Benítez, R., Acosta, A., Lupiáñez, J., & Carretero-Dios, H. (2018). High trait cheerfulness individuals are more sensitive to the emotional environment. Journal of Happiness Studies. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-017-9871-0
López-Benítez, R., Acosta, A., Lupiáñez, J., & Carretero-Dios, H. (2019). Are you ready to have fun? The Spanish state form of the state-trait cheerfulness–inventory. Journal of Personality Assessment. https://doi.org/10.1080/00223891.2017.1368022
López-Benítez, R., Coll-Martín, T., Carretero-Dios, H., Lupiáñez, J., & Acosta, A. (2020). Trait cheerfulness sensitivity to positive and negative affective states. Humor. https://doi.org/10.1080/00223891.2017.1368022
Lyubomirsky, S., King, L., & Diener, E. (2005). The benefits of frequent positive affect: Does happiness lead to success? Psychological Bulletin. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.131.6.803
Martin, R. A. (2007). The psychology of humor: An integrative approach. Elsevier Academic Press.
Miller, E. M., Rodriguez, C., Kim, B., & McClure, S. M. (2014). Delay discounting: A two-systems perspective. In J. J. Gross (Ed.), Handbook of emotion regulation. (pp. 93–110). Guilford.
Mori, K., & Mori, H. (2009). Another test of the passive facial feedback hypothesis: When your face smiles, you feel happy. Perceptual and Motor Skills. https://doi.org/10.2466/pms.109.1.76-78
Nezlek, J. B., & Kuppens, P. (2008). Regulating positive and negative emotions in daily life. Journal of Personality. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6494.2008.00496.x
Papousek, I., & Schulter, G. (2010). Don’t take an X for a U. Why laughter is not the best medicine, but being more cheerful has many benefits. In I. Wells (Ed.), Psychological well-being (pp. 1–75). Hauppauge, NY: Nova Science Publishers.
Quoidbach, J., Mikolajczak, M., & Gross, J. J. (2015). Positive interventions: An emotion regulation perspective. Psychological Bulletin. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0038648
Robinson, J. L., & Demaree, H. A. (2009). Experiencing and regulating sadness: Physiological and cognitive effects. Brain and Cognition. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bandc.2008.06.007
Rowe, G., Hirsh, J. B., & Anderson, A. K. (2007). Positive affect increases the breadth of attentional selection. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0605198104
Ruch, W. (1993). Exhilaration and humor. In M. Lewis & J. Haviland (Eds.), The handbook of emotions. (pp. 605–616). Guilford Publications.
Ruch, W. (1997). State and trait cheerfulness and the induction of exhilaration: A FACS study. European Psychologist. https://doi.org/10.1027/1016-9040.2.4.328
Ruch, W., & Hofmann, J. (2012). A temperament approach to humor. In P. Gremigni (Ed.), Humor and health promotion. (pp. 79–113). Nova Science Publishers.
Ruch, W., & Köhler, G. (2007). A temperament approach to humor. In W. Ruch (Ed.), The sense of humor: Explorations of a personality characteristic. (pp. 203–230). Mouton de Gruyter.
Ruch, W., Köhler, G., & van Thriel, C. (1996). Assessing the “humorous temperament”: Construction of the facet and standard trait forms of the State-Trait-Cheerfulness-Inventory—STCI. In W. Ruch (Ed.), Measurement of the sense of humor [special issue]. Humor: International Journal of Humor Research, 9, 303–339.
Ruch, W., Köhler, G., & van Thriel, C. (1997). To be in good or bad humor: Construction of the state form of the State-Trait-Cheerfulness-Inventory—STCI. Personality and Individual Differences. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0191-8869(96)00231-0
Ruch, W., Proyer, R. P., Esser, C., & Mitrache, O. (2011). Cheerfulness and everyday humorous conduct. In Romanian Academy, “George Barit” Institute of History, Department of Social Research (Ed.), Studies and Researches in Social Sciences (pp. 67–87). Cluj-Napoca: Argonaut Press.
Samson, A. C., & Gross, J. J. (2012). Humour as emotion regulation: The differential consequences of negative versus positive humour. Cognition & Emotion. https://doi.org/10.1080/02699931.2011.585069
Schmeichel, B. J., Demaree, H. A., Robinson, J. L., & Pu, J. (2006). Ego depletion by response exaggeration. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2005.02.005
Schneider, W., Escaman, A., & Zuccolotto, A. (2002). E-Prime user´s guide. Psychology Software Tools Inc.
Shaver, P. R., & Mikulincer, M. (2014). Adult attachment and emotion regulation. In J. J. Gross (Ed.), Handbook of emotion regulation. (pp. 237–250). Guilford Press.
Stepper, S., & Strack, F. (1993). Proprioceptive determinants of emotional and nonemotional feelings. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.64.2.211
Strack, F., Martin, L. L., & Stepper, S. (1988). Inhibiting and facilitating conditions of the human smile: A nonobtrusive test of the facial feedback hypothesis. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.54.5.768
Tugade, M. M., & Fredrickson, B. L. (2004). Resilient individuals use positive emotions to bounce back from negative emotional experiences. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.86.2.320
Yip, J. A., & Martin, R. A. (2006). Sense of humor, emotional intelligence, and social competence. Journal of Research in Personality. https://doi.org/10.2466/PR0.66.1.51-58
Zweyer, K., Velker, B., & Ruch, W. (2004). Do cheerfulness, exhilaration, and humor production moderate pain tolerance? A FACS study. Humor, http://doi:https://doi.org/10.1515/humr.2004.009
Funding
This research is part of the doctoral dissertation by Raúl López-Benítez, and it was supported by the Spanish Ministerio de Educación, Cultura, y Deporte with a predoctoral grant (FPU-AP2012-1806) and with the Spanish grants of PSI2014-52764-P, from Ministerio de Economía, Industria, y Competitividad (MINECO), and PSI2013-45567P from Dirección General de Investigación Científica y Técnica-Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia (DGICYT-MEC).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
Not applicable.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Ethics approval
The study was conducted in accordance with the ethical standards of the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki.
Consent to participate
All participants filled out a written consent prior to the experiment.
Consent for publication
All the authors gave their consent for publication the present research.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Supplementary Information
Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
López-Benítez, R., Carretero-Dios, H., Lupiáñez, J. et al. Influence of Emotion Regulation on Affective State: Moderation by Trait Cheerfulness. J Happiness Stud 23, 303–325 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-021-00400-6
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-021-00400-6