Why We Need a Shared Language for Research on How we Influence Others' Emotions

What is it about?

Over the past decade, research into how people help regulate others' emotions—known as extrinsic interpersonal emotion regulation—has grown significantly. This research explores how we influence others’ emotional experiences, whether by cheering up a friend or helping a child manage stress. However, the field faces a major challenge: inconsistent terminology. Different researchers often use different terms to describe similar concepts, like "interpersonal emotion regulation," "extrinsic emotion regulation", "social emotion regulation," or "co-regulation." This lack of agreement can cause confusion, limit collaboration, and slow progress in understanding how emotion regulation works across contexts, such as schools, workplaces, or relationships. This paper proposes the creation of a unified language framework to address these issues. By standardising terms and definitions, researchers can better compare studies, build on each other’s work, and make meaningful advancements in the field. The authors propose a collaborative approach, called a Delphi study, to bring together experts from various disciplines to reach a consensus on key terms and definitions. This method ensures inclusivity, transparency, and collective decision-making. Developing a unified language is not about limiting creativity but fostering clarity and precision. Similar frameworks have been successfully used in other fields, like genetics and pharmacology, to avoid confusion and improve communication. A shared language will not only enhance research quality but also help apply findings to real-world challenges, such as improving education systems or workplace well-being. This paper marks an important step toward a more cohesive and impactful understanding of how we regulate emotions in social contexts.

Featured Image

Photo by Marvin Meyer on Unsplash

Photo by Marvin Meyer on Unsplash

Why is it important?

This purpose of this work is to collaboratively create a shared language for studying how people help regulate others’ emotions, making research clearer and easier to apply. By standardising terms, we can better understand and address real-world challenges, like improving mental health support in schools, workplaces, and relationships.

Perspectives