Get what you need: Need fulfillment as implicit emotion regulation for conflict resolution

Anger constitutes a barrier to conflict resolution, often leading to escalation and hindering reconciliation. Accordingly, examining reconciliation through the lens of emotion regulation is crucial. Two prominent approaches to the study of reconciliation have focused either solely on emotion regulation or solely on need fulfillment. By integrating these theoretical frameworks, we extend existing conflict resolution approaches and suggest that need fulfillment functions as a form of implicit emotion regulation. In five preregistered experiments (total N = 1,877), we induced unfulfilled needs associated with anger across a workplace conflict scenario (Experiments 1-2 and 5), a close relationship conflict scenario (Experiment 3), and a real-time experience (Experiment 4). Fulfilling the need for status (Experiments 1-2 and 5) and justice (Experiments 3-5) decreased anger and increased willingness to reconcile with the offender. These effects emerged both when the need was fulfilled by the offender (Experiments 1-4) and by a third party (Experiment 5). We discuss the theoretical and practical implications, as well as the benefits and challenges of need fulfillment as a form of interpersonal emotion regulation for conflict resolution. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).