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The Association between Controlled Interpersonal Affect Regulation and Resource Depletion
Author(s) -
MartínezÍñigo David,
Poerio Giulia Lara,
Totterdell Peter
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
applied psychology: health and well‐being
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.276
H-Index - 31
eISSN - 1758-0854
pISSN - 1758-0846
DOI - 10.1111/aphw.12009
Subject(s) - affect (linguistics) , interpersonal communication , psychology , resource (disambiguation) , resource depletion , ego depletion , association (psychology) , social psychology , feeling , longitudinal field , self control , ecology , psychotherapist , communication , computer science , computer network , physics , quantum mechanics , magnetic field , biology
Background: This investigation focuses on what occurs to individuals' self‐regulatory resource during controlled Interpersonal Affect Regulation ( IAR ) which is the process of deliberately influencing the internal feeling states of others. Combining the strength model of self‐regulation and the resources conservation model, the investigation tested whether: (1) IAR behaviors are positively related to ego‐depletion because goal‐directed behaviors demand self‐regulatory processes, and (2) the use of affect‐improving strategies benefits from a source of resource‐recovery because it initiates positive feedback from targets, as proposed from a resource‐conservation perspective. Method: To test this, a lab study based on an experimental dual‐task paradigm using a sample of pairs of friends in the UK and a longitudinal field study of a sample of healthcare workers in Spain were conducted. Results: The experimental study showed a depleting effect of interpersonal affect‐improving IAR on a subsequent self‐regulation task. The field study showed that while interpersonal affect‐worsening was positively associated with depletion, as indicated by the level of emotional exhaustion, interpersonal affect‐improving was only associated with depletion after controlling for the effect of positive feedback from clients. Conclusion: The findings indicate that IAR does have implications for resource depletion, but that social reactions play a role in the outcome.