Reappraisal frequency and reappraisal ability : understanding their roles in the relationship between emotional awareness and negative affect, and the effects of reappraisal self-efficacy

Abstract

Existing research has identified reappraisal frequency and reappraisal ability as distinct measures of cognitive reappraisal. Reappraisal frequency measures how often one uses cognitive reappraisal, while reappraisal ability measures the efficacy of using cognitive reappraisal, but their differences remain unclear. This study aimed to clarify their roles in the regulation of negative emotions. Emotional awareness is said to be a precursor of reappraisal as it helps individuals identify the need to regulate emotions. Part I of this study examined whether both reappraisal frequency and reappraisal ability mediated the relationship between emotional awareness and negative affect. Part II explored whether reappraisal self-efficacy moderated this mediation. Two hundred fifty-one young adults were administered self-report measures of emotional awareness, reappraisal frequency, reappraisal self-efficacy, and negative affect. They also completed a film experiment to measure their reappraisal ability, but this data was excluded from the mediation and moderation analyses as manipulation appeared unsuccessful. Mediation analysis revealed a partial mediation where those with higher emotional awareness used reappraisal more often, and thus experienced less negative affect. Moderation analysis indicated reappraisal self-efficacy moderated the path between emotional awareness and reappraisal frequency. There was a positive relationship among those with low and average self-efficacy, while there was no relationship among those with high self-efficacy. However, self-efficacy did not moderate the overall mediation model. These findings reiterated the importance of offering emotional awareness and reappraisal training to wider audiences to alleviate negative affect. The paper discussed the need to differentiate reappraisal frequency and reappraisal ability in future research.