The association between controlled interpersonal affect regulation and resource depletion

Abstract

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.

Keywords: affect regulation; conservation of resources; ego-depletion; self-regulation.