Emotion regulation (reappraisal & suppression)

The Emotion Regulation Questionnaire describes how you manage your feelings through two independent strategies: cognitive reappraisal — reinterpreting a situation to change the emotion it produces — and expressive suppression — keeping the outward signs of emotion in check. The two are separate dimensions rather than opposite ends of one scale, so you can lean high or low on each. Research links habitual reappraisal with more positive emotion and closer relationships, while the effects of suppression vary with the person and cultural setting — so this maps a style, not a verdict.

The Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (Gross & John, 2003) is the research-standard measure of two everyday strategies for managing feelings — cognitive reappraisal (rethinking a situation to change the emotion it brings) and expressive suppression (holding back the outward show of emotion). The two are independent dimensions, so you can lean high or low on each. (Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ))

Dimensions

• Cognitive reappraisal (Takes it as it comes – Reframer) — Leaning high means you often rethink what a situation means to soften or shift the emotion it brings; leaning low means you tend to take events as you first read them rather than reframing them.
• Expressive suppression (Wears it openly – Keeps it contained) — Leaning high means you keep emotions from showing on the outside even when you feel them strongly; leaning low means your feelings are usually visible and freely expressed.

References

• Gross, J. J., & John, O. P. (2003). Individual differences in two emotion regulation processes: Implications for affect, relationships, and well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
• Gross, J. J. (1998). The emerging field of emotion regulation: An integrative review. Review of General Psychology
• Butler, E. A., Lee, T. L., & Gross, J. J. (2007). Emotion regulation and culture: Are the social consequences of emotion suppression culture-specific?. Emotion

Related topics

• Neurodivergence
• Mental-health experience
• What supports your wellbeing
• Your stress response
• How you cope with hard times
• What makes you flourish (PERMA)
• Self-compassion

All topics on ArtaQuest