Review of The handbook of emotion regulation (2nd ed.).

Abstract

The Handbook of Emotion Regulation (2nd ed.), by James J. Gross (Ed.). New York, NY: Guilford Press, 2013. 669 Pages, $95.00Reviewed by ALEXANDER L. CHAPMANDOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/cap0000012The scientific field of emotion regulation has grown considerably over the past two decades. Researchers are using a variety of methods to better understand how emotions are regulated (either automatically or with conscious effort) from self-report to ecological momentary assessment, psychophysiological, neuro-imaging, and other methods. The growth of this field is attributable at least in part to the seminal work, theory, and frameworks established by the editor of the Handbook of Emotion Regulation, 2nd ed., Dr. James Gross (e.g., see Gross, 1998). Development in research and theory on emotion regulation has further influenced and, in some cases, has formed the backbone of existing empirically supported treatments for a variety of clinical problems (e.g., Barlow et al., 2011; Gratz & Gunderson, 2006; Linehan, 1993a, 1993b, 2014). The Handbook of Emotion Regulation, 2nd ed., provides a vivid snapshot of the well-established and growing field of emotion regulation across many domains.Covering a broad range of topics related to emotions and emotion regulation, this book will appeal to people with expertise in this area as well as to students, researchers, and clinicians who wish to know more about the field of emotion regulation. Chapters cover the conceptual and empirical foundations of emotions and emotion regulation, biological bases and models of emotion regulation, cognitive factors, the development of emotion regulation from childhood through older adulthood, social factors (including cultural considerations), personality and temperament, psychopathology, treatment, and health. Some of the chapters, such as those addressing biological factors, might require some background information on brain structure and functioning, but the chapters are generally written in a manner that should be accessible to readers with a variety of background knowledge.This reader will find this book useful either as a start-to-finish read, or as a reference book, where chapters are read when in isolation when applicable. One advantage of reading this book from start to finish is that the earlier chapters, which focus on theory and biological bases of emotion regulation, set the stage for the rest of the book. Once the theory and biological frameworks are established, the reader can relate material in subsequent chapters to these frameworks. This approach, in my experience, promotes an integrative view of the field of emotion regulation and sparks interesting research questions that cut across disciplines. That said, the individual chapters all follow a logical structure and are very useful independently as references or snapshots of the research in each respective domain.Although it is not possible in this review to highlight the many excellent contributions made by all 36 chapters, I would like to comment on a few highlights. In the opening chapter, Dr. Gross does an excellent job of defining and discussing the importance of emotions and the growing field of emotion regulation. This chapter is written in a sophisticated but user-friendly manner that I believe will appeal to audiences both intimately familiar with this area of research and those with less familiarity. I particularly appreciated the discussion of the dynamic interplay of emotions and situations. A situation might elicit an emotion, and the sequelae of the emotion and related actions create a new situation, sparking a new emotion. This chapter provides a framework, the modal model of emotions, which is largely consistent with and helps the reader integrate the material in the remaining chapters.In Chapter 2, the authors describe a valuation-based theory related to the neural bases of emotion and emotion regulation. They define emotion as a perception-valuation-action sequence. …