Emotional Regulation Strategies And Decision Making Among Owners Of Small-Scale Businesses in Uyo Local Government Area of AkwaIbomState

Abstract This paper examined the relationship between emotional regulation strategies and decision making among owners of smallscale businesses in Uyo local government area of Akwa Ibom state.. Consequently, two (2) specific objectives, two (2) research questions and two (2) null hypotheses were drawn to guide the study. Theoretical framework were drawn from decision science, emotion regulation, and small scale businesses, the study reviewed empirical findings linking cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression to decision making bothering on risk perception, opportunity recognition, resource allocation, and strategic persistence. A correlational survey design was adopted for the study. The population for this study consisted of all 7337 registered small scale businesses in Uyo local government area of Akwa Ibom state. A sample size of 583 registered small scale business owners was selected through a simple random sampling technique. The researcher structured questionnaire titled “Emotional Regulation Strategies and Decision Making Questionnaire” (ERSDMQ) was developed and utilized for data analyses. Cronbach alpha formulae was used to determine a reliability of .91 which was deemed high for the study. The instrument was face validated by three (3) research experts in the Department of Business Education, University of Uyo, Uyo. Pearson Product Moment Correction ® was used to answer the research questions and analyze the null hypotheses. The study showed a significant positive relationship between the emotional regulation strategies and decision making of small scale businesses in Uyo local government area of Akwa Ibom state. The study recommended that small scale businesses should employ psychologists to help in managing emotional imbalances that could lead to poor decision making of small scale businesses. Keywords: Emotion regulation, decision making, small businesses, entrepreneurship, risk-taking, reappraisal, expressive suppression, mindfulness.