Evidence for utilitarian motives in emotion regulation

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Behavioral Economics

Background:

• Emotion regulation is a key aspect of human behavior.
• Understanding the drivers of emotion regulation is crucial for various fields, including negotiation and decision-making.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate whether considerations of utility per se can drive emotion regulation.
• To examine how motivation for confrontation versus collaboration influences the perceived utility of emotions like anger.
• To determine if expected rewards moderate the motivation to increase anger.

Main Methods:

• Participants prepared for a negotiation task.
• Motivation was manipulated (confrontation vs. collaboration).
• Perceived utility of anger and expected monetary rewards were assessed.

Main Results:

• Participants motivated to confront others believed anger would be more useful.
• Only those motivated to confront AND expecting a monetary reward increased their anger.
• Participants motivated to confront but without expected rewards did not increase anger, despite perceiving its utility.

Conclusions:

• People are motivated to experience unpleasant emotions, such as anger, to maximize their utility.
• The strategic use of emotions is contingent on the expected outcomes and rewards.
• Utility, rather than hedonic considerations, can be a primary driver of emotion regulation.