Putting the emotion regulation process into person-specific context: An experience sampling and mobile sensing study

Abstract

Emotion regulation is theorized to be situation-dependent. Thus far, researchers have looked for situational predictors of emotion regulation across individuals without considering that associations could vary from person to person. In a 14-day experience sampling and mobile sensing study (N = 164), we used Group Iterative Multiple Model Estimation (GIMME) to test how the emotion regulation process (goals, motives, strategies, and success) is linked to aspects of situations. A variety of idiographic associations between situations and emotion regulation emerged. Both self-reported subjective situations and passively sensed objective situations predicted emotion regulation, though more effects emerged for self-reported subjective situations (e.g., perceived negativity, sociality, or duty). Implications are discussed for personalized prediction of and intervention on daily emotion regulation.