ORCID
0000-0003-4712-6543
Date of Award
5-7-2024
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Degree Type
Dissertation
Abstract
Being able to effectively regulate one’s emotions is important to maintaining well-being. However, when it comes to studying how people successfully regulate their emotions in everyday life, past research has either focused on whether people use emotion regulation (ER) strategies deemed effective based on laboratory evidence or whether strategy use is associated with maximizing positive affect and minimizing negative affect. Aim 1 was to closely capture ER success defined as achieving one’s idiosyncratic ER goals through measuring perceived ER success and motive satisfaction as well as assessing their validity. For Aim 2, we used these novel indicators to test whether strategies show varying levels of average ER success, and whether ER strategies are used more successfully if they fit the situational demands. For Aim 3, we tested whether idiographic patterns emerge in which strategies individuals implement successfully in daily life and whether using a diverse range of strategies successfully is associated with well-being. In a sample of N = 215 undergraduate students, we show that, as predicted, perceived ER success is distinct from positive and negative affect, and perceived success and motive satisfaction are associated with higher well-being as well as trait ER beliefs and ability. We also found that some ER strategies are associated with higher success (e.g., positive reappraisal, acceptance, savoring) but largely failed to show support for specific strategy-situation pairings in which higher success is experienced. Lastly, N=1 idiographic models revealed that people differed widely in which strategies they used successfully. Overall, this study highlights the value of assessing ER success as separate from positive and negative affect in daily life situations due to the diverse ER goals people pursue in daily life and underscores the potential of more person-specific approaches in understanding effective ER.
Language
English (en)
Chair and Committee
Tammy English
Recommended Citation
Springstein, Tabea, "Perceived Emotion Regulation Success and Emotion Regulation Motive Satisfaction in Daily Life: Assessment, and Nomothetic and Idiographic Associations with Situations and Strategy Use" (2024). Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 3061.
https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/art_sci_etds/3061