Emotion Malleability Beliefs| Implications for Emotional Experiences, Emotion Regulation, Psychopathology, and Treatment

• Main Author: Kneeland, Elizabeth Tepe
• Language: EN
• Published: Yale University 2019
• Subjects: Clinical psychology
• Online Access: http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=13851894

<p> Emotion dysregulation, or difficulties regulating one's emotions, has been increasingly identified as a transdiagnostic factor that can increase risk for and maintain a wide range of psychiatric disorders (Fernandez, Jazaieri, &amp; Gross, 2016). Emotion malleability beliefs represent a potent psychological factor that relates to emotion regulation and, relatedly, holds important clinical implications for our conceptualizations of and treatment for a range of psychiatric disorders. The current dissertation includes one literature review and four empirical investigations that used an array of methodological approaches and possess different clinical and theoretical emphases to deepen and broaden the established influence of emotion malleability beliefs on emotion regulation and mental health.</p><p> Chapter 2 provides a theoretical model and discussion of how emotion malleability beliefs could aid in our understanding of several clinical disorders and could be harnessed to enhance motivation for and engagement in psychological treatment. The study described in Chapter 3 is an experimental investigation in which we demonstrate that emotion malleability beliefs can be experimentally manipulated and such an induction can exert a significant influence on individuals' state emotion regulation when coping with unwanted negative affect. The study presented in Chapter 4 consists of a longitudinal investigation that examines how emotion malleability beliefs relate to emotional experiences, emotion regulation, and clinical symptoms in first-year college students. The investigation included as Chapter 5 is of a daily diary study that elucidates how emotion malleability beliefs are tied to daily emotional experiences and emotion regulation as currently depressed individuals. Finally, the experimental study described in Chapter 6 clarifies how beliefs about emotion's malleability relate to treatment willingness, perceptions of agency over depression, and beliefs regarding prognosis. Overall, the work presented in this dissertation complement and extend past work on the role of emotion malleability beliefs in how individuals navigate their emotional worlds and cope with unwanted emotional experiences with the ultimate goal of promoting psychological adjustment and attenuating psychological distress. Future directions for theoretical and empirical work in this domain are presented in Chapter 7.</p><p>