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. 2016 Nov;30(7):1380-7.
doi: 10.1080/02699931.2015.1067188. Epub 2015 Jul 29.

Yes I can: Expected success promotes actual success in emotion regulation

Yochanan E Bigman  1 , Iris B Mauss  2 , James J Gross  3 , Maya Tamir  1
Affiliations

Yes I can: Expected success promotes actual success in emotion regulation

Yochanan E Bigman et al. Cogn Emot. 2016 Nov.

Abstract

People who expect to be successful in regulating their emotions tend to experience less frequent negative emotions and are less likely to suffer from depression. It is not clear, however, whether beliefs about the likelihood of success in emotion regulation can shape actual emotion regulation success. To test this possibility, we manipulated participants' beliefs about the likelihood of success in emotion regulation and assessed their subsequent ability to regulate their emotions during a negative emotion induction. We found that participants who were led to expect emotion regulation to be more successful were subsequently more successful in regulating their emotional responses, compared to participants in the control condition. Our findings demonstrate that expected success can contribute to actual success in emotion regulation.

Keywords: Emotion; beliefs; efficacy; emotion regulation; expectancies.

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