Understanding and Improving Emotion Regulation: Lessons from Psychological Science and the Humanities

Most psychology researchers define emotion regulation as manipulating the quality, duration, of intensity of emotions. This definition often assumes that the goal of life is to maximize positive emotions and minimize negative ones (hedonism). To understand the limitations of this definition, and the possibility of other definitions of emotion regulation, one must look to the humanities. Philosophy and research can be used to discuss the paradox of hedonism: direct attempts to feel good often lead to feeling bad. Rather than emotion regulation being about feeling good, the authors suggest it can be about doing good. They discuss how people can use the study of the humanities to improve five emotion-regulation skills: (1) the ability to guide behavior based on value and virtue (ethics, moral philosophy); (2) the use of reasoning (e.g., philosophy, logic) in emotional situations, and the ability to recognize the limits of reasoning and to let go of it (e.g., Eastern philosophy focused on mindfulness and paradox); (3) awareness of emotions; (4) the ability to broaden and build one’s emotional responses; and (5) the ability to take perspective of the self and others, a skill that can be improved by reading history and literature. The authors briefly discuss the dangers of a feel-good approach to emotion regulation for society. The humanities allow one to see that most acts of prejudice, discrimination, and indifference to suffering stem from a desire to feel good (safe, guilt free, powerful, prestigious) at the expense of others.