A Person-Specific Emotion Regulation Flexibility Framework: Taking an Integrative Approach

Abstract

Despite advances in understanding emotion regulation (ER) flexibility (e.g., flexibly using ER strategies to meet situational demands), there is heterogeneity in conceptualizations. To address this, we provide a unifying operationalization for ER flexibility and a person-specific ER flexibility framework. We define ER flexibility as the ability to continuously monitor the effectiveness of chosen ER strategies to meet one's goals for a situation and to adjust strategies, as needed, in response to changes in internal states (e.g., affect, beliefs about emotions) and external contextual demands (e.g., regulatory goals, situational factors/demands). This paper discusses existing ER flexibility frameworks, their empirical research, and potential limitations. We then present our person-specific ER flexibility framework. We highlight methodological applications, future research directions, and limitations.