UC Irvine

The ability to regulate or manage affect is crucial for well-being, and deficits in affect regulation are common in psychopathology. Factors such as sleep or cognitive load are linked to difficulties in regulating; however, little is known about factors that may support successful affect regulation. A presumed individual difference and necessary step of affect regulation is emotional awareness. Although facets of emotional awareness are theoretically a precursor for affect regulation, findings regarding their associations with habitual use of regulation strategies are mixed. It may be that while low emotional awareness is linked to greater difficulties in affect regulation, heightened emotional awareness may not be directly linked to how often regulation strategies are used. Furthermore, intensity of affect may be an important, relevant factor to consider in investigating the link between emotional awareness and affect regulation. The current dissertation systematically examined how facets of emotional awareness, as well as affect intensity, relate to affect regulation ability and success. The dissertation is comprised of three studies using distinct methodological approaches. Study 1 is a large cross-sectional study that (1) investigated links between trait-level emotional awareness and subjective affect regulation ability and (2) tested whether affect intensity moderated these potential links. Study 2 builds upon Study 1 by using an idiographic, temporal, and more ecologically valid approach (i.e., a longitudinal daily diary study) and tested the relations among emotional awareness, affect intensity, and successful affect regulation in daily life. Lastly, Study 3 is an electroencephalography experimental study that assessed links between trait-level emotional awareness and objectively measured state affect regulation success. Altogether, the current dissertation offers empirical contributions to the field of affective science that may inform future efforts aimed at supporting affective well-being.