In social science, journalism, and popular culture we hear a lot about ideological differences in everyday domains such as life satisfaction, empathy, and intergroup relations. At the heart of these issues are the emotional experiences and reactions of individuals in their daily lives. Some research has examined ideological differences in emotional reactions and attitudes toward outgroups. This project examines more complex, deliberative processes namely, the ways in which individuals attempt to control or regulate their emotions in various domains of life. Understanding the various ways in which people regulate their emotions has implications not only for understanding ideological differences in fundamental emotional processes, but also for the outcomes of these processes. Furthermore, an appreciation of the different types of emotion regulation strategies that work best may hold the key to developing interventions designed to improve personal well-being as well as relations among various groups in society.
The proposed research involves three phases designed to illuminate ideological differences in emotion regulation processes in these two domains of life, explain these differences, and to develop catered interventions based on these differences. In 11 studies conducted in two countries (the United States and Israel, the latter of which is supported by the Israeli government), Dr. John Jost from New York University and his Israeli collaborator, Dr. Eran Halperin, will combine different methodologies to meet all three objectives. The first phase examines and maps how ideology shapes emotion regulation in the two domains using large-scale surveys, experience sampling, and EEG. In the second stage they examine four possible mechanisms that may drive ideological differences in emotion regulation through experimental manipulation of these mechanisms. Finally, in the third stage, they develop emotion regulation-based psychological interventions and test their effectiveness in improving well-being and intergroup relations.
