Individual Differences in Emotion Regulation in Infancy: A Thematic Collection

There has been considerable scientific interest in the study of emotion regulation. Consequently, several developmental models, conceptualizations, and debates have emerged (Campos, Campos, & Barrett, 1989; Fox, 1994; Kopp, 1989; Thompson, 1994). The concept of emotion regulation has been considered by at least three developmental domains: the emotion domain, the temperament domain, and the cognitive domain. As might be expected, each perspective approaches the development of emotion regulation differently. Early conceptualizations of emotion regulation by emotion researchers were that emotions needed to be controlled, thus socialization processes (i.e., display rules) were emphasized. The more recent functionalist approach to emotion, however, views emotions as relational processes whereby emotions have both interpersonal and intrapersonal regulatory consequences (Barrett & Campos, 1987). Cognitive perspectives on emotion and emotion regulation suggest that the emergence of emotions and the ability to regulate emotions is dependent on cognitive processes such as means–end behavior, language, and memory (Kopp, 1982). Finally, temperament theorists have included individual differences in emotional responses in their conceptual frameworks. Likewise, individual differences in approach or withdrawal or attentional processes have been conceptualized as