How Will You Regulate My Emotions?: A Multistudy Investigation of Dimensions and Outcomes of Interpersonal Emotion Regulation Interactions

Recent conceptual and empirical advances have directed attention toward interpersonal emotion regulation (IER). We conducted a series of autobiographical recall and daily diary studies to investigate a wide range of provider behaviors conveyed during IER interactions, ascertain the number of dimensions required to capture these behaviors, and then to examine associations of those dimensions with the outcomes of IER interactions. To do so, we created a new questionnaire, the Interpersonal Regulation Interaction Scale (IRIS), which can be used to obtain recipients’ ratings of providers’ behaviors within an IER interaction. In Study 1 (n = 390), an exploratory factor analysis of the IRIS yielded four dimensions, which we labeled responsiveness, hostility, cognitive support, and physical presence. Each dimension was uniquely associated with the perceived benefits of receiving IER. In Studies 2-4 (199-895), we collected multiple, diverse samples and found support for the replicability and generalizability of key findings from Study 1, including the factor structure and associations with perceived benefits. Finally, in Study 5, we examined concurrent (i.e., same-day) and prospective (i.e., next-day) associations between ratings of IER provider behaviors and a broader array of psychosocial outcomes using a daily diary approach. Across studies, our findings suggest that the outcomes of IER interactions are tied to the contents of IER interactions as reflected in the dimensions of provider behavior measured by the IRIS, with evidence that each of these dimensions convey unique information relevant to outcomes.