Implicit theories of emotion shape regulation of negative affect

Abstract

Implicit theories of emotion—assumptions about whether emotions are fixed (entity theory) or malleable (incremental theory)—have previously been shown to influence affective outcomes over time. We examined whether implicit theories of emotion also relate to the immediate regulation of negative affect. Consistent with our hypotheses, we found that the more students endorsed an entity theory of emotion, the more discomfort they reported while watching an aversive movie clip, the more they avoided affective stimuli in this movie clip, the more negative affect they reported after the clip, and the less likely they were to watch the same clip again to learn about its ending. These findings suggest that implicit theories of emotion might produce poor affective outcomes immediately as well as over time. They also offer insight into why some people avoid negative affect while others confront it.

Keywords:

• Implicit theories of emotion
• Emotion regulation
• Negative affect
• Experiential avoidance

Acknowledgments

The research reported in this article was supported by the German Science Foundation Grant Ka 3382/1-1 to the first author.