Protestant and Buddhist Differences in Control and Acceptance Emotion Regulation Strategies and Their Mental Health Correlates Brooke Wilken and Yuri Miyamoto
[email protected] University of Wisconsin-Madison
Protestant
Buddhist
e.g., Cohen & Rozin, 2001 e.g., Hayes, 2002
Hypotheses • Religion teaches how to regulate emotions (religious teachings about emotion regulation) – Protestantism: control emotions – Buddhism: accept emotions
• Religion influences how people actually regulate emotions (actual emotion regulation) – Protestants: control emotions – Buddhists: accept emotions
Religious Teachings and Actual Emotion Regulation • Imagine that you are feeling each of the following emotions very strongly. According to your religion/in your own opinion, to what extent is it desirable to/do you actually enhance, maintain, dampen, or not influence them at all? Control Enhance excited serene
Maintain
Acceptance Dampen
Not influence at all
√ √
…
Riediger, Schmiedek, Wagner, & Lindenberger, 2009
# of acceptance strategy (out of 3)
Religious Teachings and Actual Emotion Regulation Buddhist Religious Teachings
Protestant Religious Teachings
Buddhist Actual
Protestant Actual
2.5 2 1.5 1 0.5 0 Pos Eng Pos Dis Pos Hi
Pos Lo Neg Eng Neg Dis Neg Hi Neg Lo
All ps < .009
Religious Teachings, Actual Emotion Regulation, and Depression .22* .47***
Religion
Actual Acceptance -.34**
.54***
Sobel: z = 3.55, p < .001
Religious .47*** Teachings of Acceptance *Replicated in 3 studies
Depression
QUESTIONS?
Emotion Categories VALENCE
AROUSAL
POSITIVE
NEGATIVE
HIGH
Excited, elated, enthusiastic
Nervous, hostile, fearful
LOW
Calm, peaceful, serene
Sluggish, dull, sleepy
ENGAGED
Close feelings, friendly feelings, respect
Angry, frustrated, sulky feelings
DISENGAGED
Superior, proud, top Indebted, ashamed, of the world guilty
ENGAGEMENT
Results # of acceptance strategy (out of 24)
16
14 12 10 Protestants
8
Buddhists
6 4 2 0 Religious Teachings
t(82)=-5.77, p
