What do people gain from differentiating their emotions? A replication in Belgium ...

Theory proposes that emotion differentiation is beneficial because more specific emotion labels provide us with information we can use to regulate our emotions in desired ways. For example, we can regulate our emotions to feel better in the moment (hedonic motive), or gain benefits in task performance, learning, social relations, and personal growth (instrumental motives). Thus, emotion differentiation may be linked to motivations to regulate emotions to achieve this broad range of benefits. To test this link, initially we analysed experience sampling data from an Australian sample which found... Mehr ...