A unifying taxonomy of dyadic emotional processes

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Social Psychology
• Affective Science

Background:

• Traditionally, emotions were viewed as intrapersonal.
• Emerging research highlights the interpersonal nature of emotions.
• Current studies on interpersonal emotional processes are fragmented across disciplines.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose a taxonomy for structuring empirical research on dyadic emotional processes.
• To review existing literature using this taxonomy to identify research gaps.
• To foster a unified framework for understanding interpersonal emotions.

Main Methods:

• Literature review of empirical studies on dyadic emotional processes.
• Development and application of a novel taxonomy to categorize research methodologies.
• Analysis of research trends to identify well-studied and neglected areas.

Main Results:

• Identified a lack of a unifying framework for interpersonal emotion research.
• Highlighted the need to consider context in empirical studies.
• Revealed a tendency for research to focus on simple bivariate relationships, neglecting complex interactions.

Conclusions:

• The proposed taxonomy offers a methodological foundation for unifying the literature.
• Future research should incorporate context and move beyond bivariate analyses.
• This work facilitates cumulative progress in understanding interpersonal emotional processes.