Abstract:

Emotional complexity refers to the variety and differentiation of individuals’ emotional experiences. Emotional complexity may play an important role in the development of psychiatric symptoms. It may affect psychiatric symptoms by changing the frequency and extent of emotion regulation strategies, and by moderating the relationship between emotion regulation strategies and psychiatric symptoms. Interventions based on emotional complexity can enhance the efficacy of exposure therapy. Mindfulness can improve emotional complexity, but it probably bases on different mechanisms. Future research should focus on the multiple assessments, the moderators and neuropsychological mechanisms of emotion complexity.

Key words: emotional complexity, psychiatric symptom, emotion regulation, emotional awareness, emotion differentiation