Behavioral Regulation Foci and Emotion Regulation

Promotion and prevention are two regulatory foci of behavior. Their prominence may affect the strategies of emotional regulation. This article reviews contemporary studies on motivational orientation and emotion regulation within the framework of general self-regulation. The empirical research included 164 respondents aged 17 to 56 years (M = 26.1 years). The data obtained from the Regulatory Focus Questionnaire, Emotion Regulation Questionnaire, Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire, Ruminative Responses Scale, and White Bear Suppression Inventory scales were subjected to correlation analysis. For female respondents, the promotion focus positively correlated with such conditionally adaptive regulatory strategies as positive reappraisal, refocus on planning, and positive refocusing. Furthermore, it negatively correlated with conditionally maladaptive strategies, namely self-blaming and catastrophizing. The prevention focus showed no significant associations with the majority of emotion regulation strategies, except for weak negative associations with rumination and thought suppression. In contrast, male respondents demonstrated only a positive correlation between the promotion focus and positive reappraisal. Their prevention focus was inversely related to positive refocusing and blaming others. Crucially, higher scores in both foci negatively correlated with the tendency to resort to maladaptive emotional ruminations in problematic situations and to suppress negative thoughts that later resurface uncontrollably. Overall, the promotion focus was associated with constructive emotional regulation. Both foci proved to be action-oriented, which explains their opposition to unproductive inner experiences. These data on self-regulation may be of interest to prac ticing psychologists and theorists.