Learning emotion regulation: An integrative framework.

Abstract

Improving emotion regulation abilities, a process that requires learning, can enhance psychological well-being and mental health. Empirical evidence suggests that emotion regulation can be learned-during development and the lifespan, and most explicitly in psychotherapeutic interventions and experimental training paradigms. There is little work however that directly addresses such learning mechanisms. The present article proposes that learning in specific components of emotion regulation-emotion goals, emotional awareness, and strategy selection-may drive skill learning and long-term changes in regulatory behavior. Associative learning (classical and instrumental conditioning) and social learning (including observational, instructed, or interpersonal emotion regulation processes) are proposed to function as underlying mechanisms, while reinforcement-learning models may be useful for quantifying how these learning systems operate. A framework for how people learn emotion regulation will guide basic science investigations and impact clinical interventions. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).