What are the emotion regulation models?

The process-oriented Gross emotion regulation process model, the trait-oriented Bar-On emotional intelligence model, and the embodied emotion regulation model that has emerged in recent years. There are a variety of emotion courses and regulation tools on the market, and most of the underlying logic cannot escape these three types of frameworks.

I have been doing emotion-related practice for almost seven years. The first and most commonly used model is Gross's model. What we often say "think about it from another perspective will stop you from getting angry" is essentially the cognitive reappraisal link in this model. For example, last week a visitor said that he was jumped in line on the high-speed train and almost got into an argument on the spot. However, he caught sight of the critical illness notice that the other person was carrying, and his anger subsided instantly. This is a typical "adjusting cognition before emotions arise", which is much more efficient than suppressing emotions once they arise. However, the academic community is not completely unquestioned about this model. Many scholars feel that it is too cognitive-led. For children under 12 years old whose prefrontal lobes have not yet fully developed, or for those who are unable to think rationally during panic attacks, they simply cannot wait to complete cognitive adjustments, and their practicality is compromised.

If Gross's model is an "operation manual when encountering emotions," Bar-On's emotional intelligence model is more like a "emotional ability checklist for daily practice." Most emotional intelligence training and emotional ability assessments on the market now use its framework, which is divided into several dimensions such as emotional perception, emotional management, empathy, and problem solving. When I was doing management training for Internet companies, there was a director of the technical department who couldn't help but get angry with his subordinates, which led to a high turnover rate in the team. Later, we didn't ask him to change his temper. Instead, we just practiced according to the "emotional awareness" dimension in the model. Every time before criticizing someone, he would touch the back of his neck to feel if his muscles were tight. With such a small move, after practicing for more than three months, he said that the frequency of losing his temper was reduced by half, and the department turnover rate dropped by 18% at the end of the year. Of course, this model also has shortcomings. When it was first proposed, many people complained that it was too biased towards "trait theory", as if people who are naturally emotionally sensitive cannot practice it. Later, many years of follow-up research also proved that these abilities can all be deliberately practiced. Don't believe the excuse "I am born with a bad temper and can't change it."

In the past two years, everyone has discovered more and more that sometimes when emotions arise, the mind cannot move. There is no need to force yourself to "think more openly." The embodied emotion regulation model can solve this problem - simply put, emotions are not only a matter of the brain, but also a matter of the body. Adjusting the physical state can directly stabilize the emotion. I once had a high school student visitor who was so nervous before the mock exam that he couldn't hold his pen and forgot all the knowledge he had memorized. We didn't tell him "don't be nervous", so we taught him to do "high-energy postures" for 10 seconds every time he entered the exam room: hands on hips, shoulders open, head raised and chest raised for a while, or holding an eraser for 30 seconds to feel the touch of the rubber. After trying it twice, he said that the nervousness could be eliminated by more than half. This final exam was more than 20 points better than the last time. Of course, this model is still in the development stage, and many researchers feel that its physiological mechanism has not been fully understood, and it is a bit "empirical". However, the threshold for daily use is too low. The stress-reducing kneading music and punching bags placed in many primary and secondary school emotional corners are essentially the implementation of this model.

In fact, if you really want to use it yourself, you don't have to worry about which model is more "authoritative". When you don't encounter problems, you can practice your awareness according to the emotional intelligence model. If you encounter sudden emotions, first use embodied methods to stabilize them. When you calm down, you can use cognitive reappraisal to look at the problem from a different angle. Just do whatever comes naturally.