Definition
Emotional expression refers to how one conveys emotional experience through both verbal and nonverbal behavior (Gross 1998b, 1999). Emotional expression should be distinguished from emotional experience in that it is possible to experience emotions without expressing them. Emotional expression is an important part of emotion regulation and can affect health outcomes. Emotional expression is embedded in the broader domain of emotion regulation, which is defined as how individuals, either consciously or unconsciously, influence, experience, and express emotions (Gross 1999). Emotion regulation unfolds over time in a given situation either before emotional experience, during emotional experience, or in response to emotional experience (Gross 1998a). Emotion regulation involves coordination of several systems including how one thinks about emotion, physiological reactivity elicited by emotion, and behavioral responses such as emotional expression and utilizing coping strategies...
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
References and Further Reading
Baumeister, R. F., & Vohs, K. D. (Eds.). (2004). Handbook of self-regulation: Research, theory, and applications. New York: Guilford Press.
Gottman, J. M. (2000). The seven principles of making marriage work. New York: Three Rivers Press.
Gross, J. J. (1998a). Antecedent- and response-focused emotion regulation: Divergent consequences for experience, expression, and physiology. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74, 224–237.
Gross, J. J. (1998b). The emerging field of emotion regulation: An integrative review. Review of General Psychology, Special Issue: New directions in research on emotion, 2(3), 271–299.
Gross, J. J. (1999). Emotion regulation: Past, present, and future. Cognition & Emotion, 13(5), 551–573.
Gross, J. J. (2002). Emotion regulation: Affective, cognitive, and social consequences. Psychophysiology, 39, 281–291.
Gross, J. J. (Ed.). (2007). Handbook of emotion regulation. New York: Guilford Press.
Hatfield, E., Cacioppo, J. T., & Rapson, R. L. (1994). Emotional contagion. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Kennedy-Moore, E., & Watson, J. C. (1999). Expressing emotion: Myths, realities, and therapeutic strategies. New York: Guilford Press.
Lazarus, R. S. (1991). Emotion and adaptation. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Section Editor information
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature
About this entry
Cite this entry
Skinner, M. (2019). Emotional Expression. In: Gellman, M. (eds) Encyclopedia of Behavioral Medicine. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6439-6_951-2
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6439-6_951-2
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-1-4614-6439-6
Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-6439-6
eBook Packages: Springer Reference MedicineReference Module Medicine