TY - JOUR
T1 - Emotional Integration and Reappraisal During Goal Pursuit
T2 - Testing Within- and Between-Person Differences
AU - Benita, Moti
AU - Liberman, Hadar Azoulay
AU - Arbel, Reout
AU - Niemiec, Christopher P.
N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2024 American Psychological Association
PY - 2024/12
Y1 - 2024/12
N2 - Goal pursuit is rife with obstacles triggering negative emotions. To persist in goal pursuit, individuals need to regulate these emotions using adaptive emotion regulation strategies. Reappraisal and emotional integration are two such strategies. Reappraisal involves people’s attempts to reframe how they are thinking about an emotional situation, whereas emotional integration involves taking an interest in emotions as they arise. In three studies, we examined the distinct effects of these two strategies on goal pursuit at the within-person and the between-person levels. Study 1 (N = 264) was a three-wave, short-term longitudinal study. At the within-person level, emotional integration predicted goal progress and goal effort but also predicted negative affect, while reappraisal predicted goal progress and positive affect. At the between-person level, emotional integration was positively related to optimal goal pursuit outcomes, whereas reappraisal was negatively related. Study 2 (N = 154) and Study 3 (N = 366) used daily methodologies and followed participants across 10 days. At the daily within-person level, reappraisal was a stronger predictor of goal progress, goal effort, and positive affect than emotional integration. Emotional integration predicted daily negative affect. In contrast, at the between-person level, emotional integration better predicted these outcomes than reappraisal. Collectively, these studies provide a nuanced understanding of how adaptive emotion regulation strategies relate to goal pursuit. The results show that within-participants reappraisal is more strongly related to increased goal progress, effort, and positive affect than emotional integration. However, habitual emotional integration aligns with greater overall goal effort and progress than habitual reappraisal.
AB - Goal pursuit is rife with obstacles triggering negative emotions. To persist in goal pursuit, individuals need to regulate these emotions using adaptive emotion regulation strategies. Reappraisal and emotional integration are two such strategies. Reappraisal involves people’s attempts to reframe how they are thinking about an emotional situation, whereas emotional integration involves taking an interest in emotions as they arise. In three studies, we examined the distinct effects of these two strategies on goal pursuit at the within-person and the between-person levels. Study 1 (N = 264) was a three-wave, short-term longitudinal study. At the within-person level, emotional integration predicted goal progress and goal effort but also predicted negative affect, while reappraisal predicted goal progress and positive affect. At the between-person level, emotional integration was positively related to optimal goal pursuit outcomes, whereas reappraisal was negatively related. Study 2 (N = 154) and Study 3 (N = 366) used daily methodologies and followed participants across 10 days. At the daily within-person level, reappraisal was a stronger predictor of goal progress, goal effort, and positive affect than emotional integration. Emotional integration predicted daily negative affect. In contrast, at the between-person level, emotional integration better predicted these outcomes than reappraisal. Collectively, these studies provide a nuanced understanding of how adaptive emotion regulation strategies relate to goal pursuit. The results show that within-participants reappraisal is more strongly related to increased goal progress, effort, and positive affect than emotional integration. However, habitual emotional integration aligns with greater overall goal effort and progress than habitual reappraisal.
KW - emotion regulation
KW - emotional integration
KW - goal pursuit
KW - reappraisal
KW - within- and between-person effects
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85202705249&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - https://doi.org/10.1037/emo0001395
DO - https://doi.org/10.1037/emo0001395
M3 - Article
C2 - 38976423
SN - 1528-3542
JO - Emotion
JF - Emotion
ER -