Mentor/s
Dorainne J. Green Kathryn M. Kroeper
Participation Type
Poster
Abstract
When called out for prejudiced behavior, people exhibit varied emotional and behavioral reactions. Emotions like guilt or empathy can drive adaptive behavioral responses like self-correction, while anger or resentment can provoke maladaptive responses, such as hostility and dismissiveness. This research explored how naturally occurring emotion regulation strategies, like cognitive reappraisal and rumination, influence these emotional and behavioral reactions. We asked 250 U.S. adults to recall a time when they had acted offensively and were consequently confronted for it. We then recorded their emotion regulation strategies and resultant responses. Our findings revealed that reappraisal led to self-correction by intensifying guilt and empathy while reducing anger and pride. However, rumination led to mixed responses: it increased guilt and empathy, as well as anger and distress, triggering a mixed bag of self-correction, hostility, and defensive explanations. These insights suggest potential pathways to guide individuals’ emotion regulation toward more productive responses when confronted about prejudice.
College and Major available
Psychology BS
Location
Digital Commons & West Campus West Building University Commons
Start Day/Time
4-26-2024 12:00 PM
End Day/Time
4-26-2024 2:00 PM
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 License.
Prize Categories
Most Scholarly Impact or Potential, Most Creative, Best Writing
Reappraisal vs. Rumination: Emotion Regulation Shapes Reactions to Prejudice Confrontation
Digital Commons & West Campus West Building University Commons
When called out for prejudiced behavior, people exhibit varied emotional and behavioral reactions. Emotions like guilt or empathy can drive adaptive behavioral responses like self-correction, while anger or resentment can provoke maladaptive responses, such as hostility and dismissiveness. This research explored how naturally occurring emotion regulation strategies, like cognitive reappraisal and rumination, influence these emotional and behavioral reactions. We asked 250 U.S. adults to recall a time when they had acted offensively and were consequently confronted for it. We then recorded their emotion regulation strategies and resultant responses. Our findings revealed that reappraisal led to self-correction by intensifying guilt and empathy while reducing anger and pride. However, rumination led to mixed responses: it increased guilt and empathy, as well as anger and distress, triggering a mixed bag of self-correction, hostility, and defensive explanations. These insights suggest potential pathways to guide individuals’ emotion regulation toward more productive responses when confronted about prejudice.
Students' Information
Sophia Rogers, Psychology, Honors, Spring 2026
Winner, Most Scholarly Impact or Potential 2024 Award