The process of affect labeling

Affect labeling can shape how emotions are experienced and shared, with important consequences for both well-being and relationships. While decades of research have explored the impact of articulating emotions through language, the labeling process itself has received limited attention until recently. We suggest that affect labeling can be considered analogous to perceptual decision making, as both involve accumulating evidence toward a decision. Building on perceptual theories of emotion, we explore how this perspective provides new insights into the mechanisms underlying affect labeling. We then review existing research applying sequential sampling models to affect labeling, illustrating how it accounts for the different processes involved in labeling and may explain mechanisms underlying individual differences in the labeling process.