The building blocks of emotion regulation flexibility: correlational and causal evidence for the influence of sensitive classification of emotional intensity on flexible strategy selection

Conceptual accounts define Emotion Regulatory Flexibility as composed of two sequential elements: (a) classification of affective contexts that is sensitive to their varying nature (b) flexible selection of regulatory strategies that matches varying affective contexts. Despite conceptual agreement, existing evidence focuses on the second element, leaving evidence for the first element and for the relationship between elements indirect. We provide correlational and causal evidence for the role of sensitive classification of emotional intensity, a central contextual variable, on flexible behavioural selection between distraction and reappraisal regulatory strategies. Confirming the correlational hypothesis, across subjects, trials involving sensitive classification of emotional intensity (vs. insensitive classification), were related to higher flexible selection between strategies. Confirming the causal hypothesis, experimentally providing information on sensitive emotional intensity classification to one group (vs. no-information group), led to increased flexible selection from before to after the manipulation. Broad implications for basic and applied science are discussed.