Influence of interpersonal distance and the creativity of strategies on interpersonal emotion regulation

doi:10.3724/SP.J.1041.2025.0125

Abstract

Abstract: Emotional regulation is not a lonely individual struggle; rather, it happens in the context of relationships. Interpersonal emotional regulation is an important form of emotional regulation. Social baseline theory suggests that interpersonal distance is partly a function of the energy benefits conferred by social relationships and that when intimacy is maintained or re-established, the brain becomes less alert to potential threats. Prior experience makes individuals prefer to receive social support from friends rather than strangers, and social support provided by friends has a more beneficial effect on interpersonal emotional regulation. Creative cognitive reappraisal is a more effective cognitive reappraisal strategy than ordinary cognitive reappraisal is. However, little is known about the effects of the creativity of cognitive reappraisal strategies and interpersonal distance on interpersonal emotional regulation. Therefore, we manipulated the interpersonal distance and creativity of strategy in the context of interpersonal emotion regulation and examined the question “when you are comforted, which is more important: ‘the person who is comforting you' or ‘the words they use'?”.
In this study, we used behaviour experiments and event-related potential (ERP) techniques and adapted 2 (interpersonal distance: friend, stranger) × 2 (the creativity of strategies: creative cognitive reappraisal, ordinary cognitive reappraisal) to examine the influence of interpersonal distance and cognitive reappraisal creativity on interpersonal emotional regulation. In the experiment, the participants were primed with negative picture stimuli and then used strategies involving objects with different interpersonal distances to regulate their negative emotions. The participants were asked to record their emotional valence and emotional arousal after engaging in emotional regulation, and the strategies involving different objects were all from the same strategy pack. The experiment included 4 conditions, with 30 trials for each condition, for a total of 120 trials. In addition, the Stimulus-Preceding Negativity (SPN) and Late Positive Potential (LPP) were detected in this study to further test the effect on interpersonal emotional regulation.
This study involved a behavioural experiment via a scenario simulation method and ERP techniques. The results are as follows. The emotional valence of participants was significantly greater after using the strategies provided by friends than after using those provided by strangers. Regardless of whether the provider of a certain strategy was a friend or a stranger, participants using the creative cognitive reappraisal strategy experienced significantly greater emotion valence and arousal than did those using the ordinary cognitive reappraisal strategy. Compared with the ordinary cognitive reappraisal strategy, the creative cognitive reappraisal strategy evoked larger LPP and SPN waves. In addition, when all the strategies used were creative cognitive reappraisal strategies, the SPN amplitude and self-reported valence were greater when the strategy was provided by a friend. However, when all the strategies used were ordinary cognitive reappraisal strategies, the differences in SPN and the valence of interpersonal distance were no longer significant.
The results showed that strategies provided by friends have greater effects on interpersonal emotional regulation than those provided by strangers do. Compared with ordinary cognitive reappraisal strategies, creative cognitive reappraisal strategies lead to better interpersonal emotional regulation. The effect of interpersonal distance is more important in the context of a creative cognitive reappraisal strategy. Interpersonal distance may have a greater influence on the effect of interpersonal emotional regulation in the context of creative cognitive reappraisal strategies.

Key words: interpersonal distance, creative cognitive reappraisal strategies, ordinary cognitive reappraisal strategies, creativity of strategies, interpersonal emotion regulation

YAO Yujia, YAN Zhiyue, LIN Huihui, CHEN Jingquan, XUAN Yuyang. (2025). Influence of interpersonal distance and the creativity of strategies on interpersonal emotion regulation. Acta Psychologica Sinica, 57(1), 125-134.

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