Abstract
Previous research has linked the use of certain emotion regulation strategies to the vicarious experience of personal distress (PD) and empathic concern (EC). However, it has not yet been tested whether (1) vicarious PD is positively associated with maladaptive emotion regulation strategies, (2) vicarious EC is positively associated with adaptive emotion regulation strategies or whether (3) PD and EC mediate the link between emotion regulation and reports of approach/avoidance in response to a person in distress. To that end, we assessed people’s reports of PD (i.e., anxious, troubled and upset) and EC (i.e., concerned, sympathetic and soft-hearted) in response to a video depicting a person in a threatening situation (n = 78). Afterwards, we assessed participants’ reports of avoidance and approach with regard to the character and their disposition to use maladaptive and adaptive emotion regulation strategies. Results showed that both PD and EC were positively related to maladaptive strategies and negatively related to adaptive strategies, and that the association between maladaptive regulation strategies (i.e., rumination) and the willingness to avoid the person in distress was mediated by reports of greater PD. This study thus expands previous evidence on the relationship between maladaptive regulation strategies and affective empathy and provides novel insights into the main role that PD plays in the association between maladaptive strategies and social avoidance.
Highlights
In the field of emotion regulation, most research has focused on its intrapersonal outcomes
To better understand the role of emotion regulation in affective empathy, we focus on situational empathic concern (EC) and personal distress (PD)
The main aim of the study was to provide a deeper understanding of the role of dispositional adaptive and maladaptive regulation strategies (1) in the experience of PD and EC when facing someone in distress and (2) in the willingness to avoid or approach this person
Summary
In the field of emotion regulation, most research has focused on its intrapersonal outcomes. The interpersonal domain has been neglected so far. The present research sought to fill this gap by examining the association between emotion regulation strategies, either adaptive or maladaptive, affective empathy and social behaviors. Emotion regulation corresponds to a set of processes by which individuals assess and influence their own emotions, when they experience them, and how they express them [1].
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