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Performance and learning goals for emotion regulation

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Abstract

Goal orientation theory is concerned with performance and learning goals in academic, athletic, and other ability areas. Here we examine performance and learning goals for emotion regulation. We define performance goals for emotion regulation as seeking to prove one’s ability to manage emotions; learning goals for emotion regulation are defined as seeking to improve one’s ability to manage emotions. In two studies, we tested the hypothesis that performance goals for emotion regulation would be associated with greater use of defensive emotion regulation strategies and depressive symptoms. Results from both studies showed that individuals with greater performance goals for emotion regulation reported higher levels of rumination and thought suppression and greater depressive symptoms, while individuals with greater learning goals reported greater use of cognitive reappraisal. The findings suggest that goals for emotion regulation may help explain individual differences in use of defensive versus constructive emotion regulation strategies.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported in part by a Faculty Research Awards Committee grant from Tufts University. The authors are grateful to Johnmarshall Reeve for his editorial guidance, and to Anna Drapkin, Lindsay Fogerty, Charlene Gay, Dominique Lieu, Linda Sullivan, and Eden Wall for their assistance with the research, and to Hee-Sun Lee and Kristen Bethke Wendell for advice on the initial draft.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Eliot-Pearson Department of Child Development, Tufts University, 105 College Ave., Medford, MA, 02155, USA

    Natalie Rusk & Fred Rothbaum

  2. Department of Psychology, The Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel

    Maya Tamir

  3. Department of Psychology, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA, USA

    Maya Tamir

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  1. Natalie Rusk
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  2. Maya Tamir
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  3. Fred Rothbaum
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Correspondence to Fred Rothbaum.

Appendices

Appendix 1: Goals for emotion regulation, Measure A

See Table 4.

Table 4 Loadings for two-component solution for goals for emotion regulation, Measure A, Study 1, adapted from Dykman (1998) Goal Orientation Inventory
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Appendix 2: Goals for emotion regulation, Measure B

See Table 5.

Table 5 Loadings for three-component solution for goals for emotion regulation, Measure B, Study 2, adapted from the Achievement Goal Scale (Elliot and Church 1997)
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Rusk, N., Tamir, M. & Rothbaum, F. Performance and learning goals for emotion regulation. Motiv Emot 35, 444–460 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11031-011-9229-6

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