Emotion Suppression Is a Universal and Culturally Regulated Form of Emotion Regulation

Emotion Suppression is a Universal and Culturally Regulated Form of Emotion Regulation Emotion regulation is a process whereby an individual internally regulates his or her emotions and externally modifies the way those emotions are outwardly expressed (Arens, Balkir & Barnow, 2013; Matsumoto & Juang, 2008). A common type of emotion regulation which is employed cross-culturally is emotion suppression. Emotion suppression is a form of emotion regulation in which the outward expression of emotion is inhibited during a period of emotional arousal (Gross & Levenson, 1993). Emotion suppression occurs in a diverse range of social situations and during instances of both positive and negative affect. However, and it is the types of social situations and the types of positive and negative affect under which individuals employ emotion suppression which differ most across cultures. For example, Miyamoto and Ma (2011) find evidence that European Americans, in comparison to Japanese individuals, utilize emotion suppression during both different social settings and while experiencing different types of emotions. Similarly, Haga, Kraft, and Corby (2007) found that European Americans, in comparison to Australians and Norwegians, utilize emotion suppression more when experiencing negative emotions and had a higher likelihood of long-term negative emotional impact as a result. Although a cross-cultural difference in the outward expression of emotions may imply different degrees of emotional experience, there is evidence that the physiological experience of emotion between individuals of different cultures does not differ significantly (Roberts, Levenson & Gross, 2008). Due to the similar physiological experience among individuals experiencing emotions, the impact of suppressing emotions has been shown to have both significant and lasting negative consequences (Miyamoto & Ma, 2011).
Literature Review
The use of emotion suppression as a form of emotion regulation is well