Belén Lopéz-Pérez
Biographic Data
| ID | 179854 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Belén Lopéz-Pérez |
| GIVEN NAMES | Belén |
| FAMILY NAME | Lopéz-Pérez |
| SIGNATURE | LOPÉZ-PÉREZ B |
| AFFILIATIONS | Liverpool Hope University |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-8517-2236 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 22 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 12 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 22 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2014 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 2 |
Distraction over reappraisal strategies in interpersonal emotion regulation
Distraction (diversion from the emotional experience) has been suggested as generally less effective than reappraisal (engagement with the emotional experience through cognitive reframing) to change one’s own and others’ emotions. Hence, we examined if a predominant use of distraction over reappraisal in interpersonal emotion regulation can be problematic. In Study 1 (N = 274), we used a difference score to assess individuals’ dominant use of dis…
The Relations Among Prosocial Behavior, Life Satisfaction, and Hedonic Balance Among Young Adults
OBJECTIVE: This study examined the intra-individual associations between prosocial behavior and two dimensions of subjective well-being-life satisfaction and hedonic balance-in the daily lives of young adults. METHOD: Two samples of Italian and Spanish participants aged 18-35 completed self-report measures at different intervals: a daily sample assessed for ten consecutive days (N = 388; 76% women) and a weekly sample assessed for five consecutiv…
Daily dynamics between motives and strategies in interpersonal affect worsening
Interpersonal affect worsening involves intentionally making others feel bad and can stem from varied motives, including counterhedonic (to purely harm emotionally) and altruistic (to benefit others without personal gain) reasons. While prior research has examined these motives, their interplay with specific strategies remains underexplored. This study used ecological momentary assessment to investigate the links between motives (altruistic and c…
Exploring the potential of large language models to understand interpersonal emotion regulation strategies from narratives
Interpersonal emotion regulation involves using diverse strategies to influence others' emotions, commonly assessed with questionnaires. However, this method may be less effective for individuals with limited literacy or introspection skills. To address this, recent studies have adopted narrative-based approaches, though these require time-intensive qualitative analysis. Given the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) and large language model…
Development and Validation of the Children's and Adolescents' Wellbeing at School Scale
This research aimed to develop and validate a measure to assess school well‐being in children and adolescents, addressing limitations of previous tools and drawing on the PERMA model. Two studies were conducted: Study 1 included 487 children (ages 9–12) and 258 adolescents (ages 13–15) from UK schools, whereas Study 2 involved 219 UK children (ages 7–11) and 209 Spanish children (ages 9–12). Factor analyses revealed a two‐factor structure: positi…
The relations among prosocial behavior, hedonic, and eudaimonic well‐being in everyday life
INTRODUCTION: Existing research highlights the significance of prosocial behavior (voluntary, intentional behavior that results in benefits for another) to people's well-being. Yet, the extent to which this expected positive relation operates at the within-person level (e.g., is more prosocial behavior than usual related to a higher than usual level of well-being?) while taking into account stable interindividual differences, remains a research q…
The need for a unified language framework in extrinsic interpersonal emotion regulation research
With increasing research interest in extrinsic interpersonal emotion regulation, this article aims to address the critical need for a unified language framework to strengthen and support these research efforts. Despite increasing interest and research in this area, the lack of consistent terminology poses significant challenges to conceptual clarity and scientific progress. By examining the current landscape, the authors identify the proliferatio…
I want you to feel bad
Previous research has demonstrated how people are motivated to induce negative feelings in others, a phenomenon known as extrinsic interpersonal affect worsening. This process has been linked to decreased well-being for those involved in regulating these emotions. However, prior studies have primarily centered on experimental scenarios, neglecting the emotions (such as anger) experienced by those regulating extrinsic affect worsening as possible …
What do I want to feel? Emotion goals in childhood, adolescence, and adulthood
Beliefs about emotion utility can influence context-sensitive emotion goals (i.e., desired emotional responses). Although key for emotion regulation, emotion goals have been overlooked in children and adolescents. In 2018–2019 results of Studies 1 and 2 showed that children (N = 192, Mage = 8.65, 47% girls, 96% White) were less motivated by and found anger less useful in confrontation than adolescents (N = 192, Mage = 12.96, 50% girls, 93% White)…
The Relation between Self-Esteem and Regulatory Emotional Self-Efficacy in Daily Life
In the present study, we aimed to explore the dynamic relationships among self-esteem, self-efficacy in managing negative emotions (SRN), and expressing positive emotions (SEP) in a short-term, daily framework. We used data collected over 10 days from 101 Italian and 237 Spanish young adults. Results from a Random-Intercept Cross-Lagged Panel Model indicated that the relationships were mostly at the trait-level, since the positive correlations am…
Coronashaming
Experiencing empathy for others has been linked to worsening others’ feelings against their wishes. These paternalistic empathic goals have been theorised to happen at the dyad level when an agent aims to worsen a target’s emotional state. They may also operate at a broader level when agents are third-party observers of COVID-19 lockdown rule violations. In these instances, agents can impact transgressors’ affect engaging in Coronashaming. In thr…
Theory of Mind and children’s comforting behaviour ( La Teoría de la Mente y el comportamiento infantil de consuelo )
In order to comfort others, children need to exhibit Theory of Mind (ToM) skills. The goal of the present study was to investigate the role of ToM in association with children’s spontaneous comforting behaviour in a laboratory task. Forty-seven children between 26 and 57 months of age completed three ToM tasks: diverse desires, diverse beliefs and belief-emotion. To evaluate comforting, we used a previously evaluated procedure in which an experim…
The link between cognitive and affective empathy and interpersonal emotion regulation direction and strategies
Interpersonal emotion regulation (ER) refers to the different processes aimed at changing the emotional states of others. Some authors have speculated about the pivotal role of empathy for interpersonal ER to happen. However, the very limited empirical evidence suggests that only cognitive empathy as opposed to affective empathy may be a necessary antecedent. As previous research only considered interpersonal affect improvement and showed mixed e…
Cheering my friends up
A systematic investigation has been lacking regarding children’s deliberate regulation of others’ emotions which is labeled interpersonal emotion regulation (ER). Based on a theoretically derived model of Interpersonal Affect Classification, we examined children’s interpersonal ER strategy use in the peer group. Participants were 398 fourth and fifth grade children from the Midwestern United States. Children rated themselves regarding their use o…
Children’s and Adolescents’ Happiness Conceptualizations at School and their Link with Autonomy, Competence, and Relatedness
Interpersonal emotion regulation in children
Interpersonal emotion regulation entails a wide array of strategies aimed at influencing others' emotions. Despite its importance for successful social interactions, only a few studies have evaluated interpersonal emotion regulation in children. In detail, the study of developmental changes in the use of emotion regulation strategies overlooked age, gender and cultural differences across different emotions. To address this gap, the present study …
When punishment is emotion‐driven
When do children, adolescents, and adults decide to punish fairness violations? Two studies with 9‐year‐old children, 13‐year‐old adolescents, and adults investigated whether the link between unfairness and punishment was mediated by negative emotional reactions (measured through galvanic skin responses and emotion ratings). Study 1 ( N = 117) examined this question in the context of second‐party punishment, where the punisher is a direct victim …
Should I just listen to you or change your mind too? Target's perceived efficacy of agents' interpersonal affect improvement strategies
People shape and influence others' emotions every day. If these attempts are perceived as successful, they may have a positive effect on people's relationships and well-being. Across two studies, targets' perceived efficacy of regulation strategies to improve their sadness and anxiety/stress has been investigated. In Study 1, participants (n = 120) were provided with two scenarios depicting sadness and anxiety/stress and asked to imagine themselv…
Predicting prostate cancer treatment choices
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer among males in the United States, and there is lack of consensus as to whether active surveillance or radical prostatectomy is the best course of treatment. In this study, we examined the role of numeracy, time discounting, and risk taking on decision-making about prostate cancer treatment-in 279 men over age 50 without a prior prostate cancer diagnosis. Results showed that active surveillance was the mos…
The Effect of Enclothed Cognition on Empathic Responses and Helping Behavior
Based on the enclothed cognition framework, we tested whether the physical experience of wearing a tunic and identifying it with a nursing scrub may enhance empathic and helping responding, compared to the solely physical experience of wearing the scrub or associating with its symbolic meaning. Results of Study 1 (United Kingdom; n = 150) showed that participants who wore a tunic and identified it with a nursing scrub reported higher empathic con…
Costly third-party interventions
Testing the qualitative differences between empathy and personal distress
In two studies the emotional valence, the level of arousal and self-orientation of empathic concern and personal distress are tested. The empathic concern prevalence versus personal distress prevalence is induced through pictures in Study 1 (N = 62) and perspective-taking instructions in Study 2 (N = 60). Results of Study 1 show that participants in the personal distress-prevalence condition report significantly more negative emotional valence (d…
Costly third-party interventions
The relations among prosocial behavior, hedonic, and eudaimonic well‐being in everyday life
INTRODUCTION: Existing research highlights the significance of prosocial behavior (voluntary, intentional behavior that results in benefits for another) to people's well-being. Yet, the extent to which this expected positive relation operates at the within-person level (e.g., is more prosocial behavior than usual related to a higher than usual level of well-being?) while taking into account stable interindividual differences, remains a research q…
Should I just listen to you or change your mind too? Target's perceived efficacy of agents' interpersonal affect improvement strategies
People shape and influence others' emotions every day. If these attempts are perceived as successful, they may have a positive effect on people's relationships and well-being. Across two studies, targets' perceived efficacy of regulation strategies to improve their sadness and anxiety/stress has been investigated. In Study 1, participants (n = 120) were provided with two scenarios depicting sadness and anxiety/stress and asked to imagine themselv…
The Effect of Enclothed Cognition on Empathic Responses and Helping Behavior
Based on the enclothed cognition framework, we tested whether the physical experience of wearing a tunic and identifying it with a nursing scrub may enhance empathic and helping responding, compared to the solely physical experience of wearing the scrub or associating with its symbolic meaning. Results of Study 1 (United Kingdom; n = 150) showed that participants who wore a tunic and identified it with a nursing scrub reported higher empathic con…
Testing the qualitative differences between empathy and personal distress
In two studies the emotional valence, the level of arousal and self-orientation of empathic concern and personal distress are tested. The empathic concern prevalence versus personal distress prevalence is induced through pictures in Study 1 (N = 62) and perspective-taking instructions in Study 2 (N = 60). Results of Study 1 show that participants in the personal distress-prevalence condition report significantly more negative emotional valence (d…
The Effect of Enclothed Cognition on Empathic Responses and Helping Behavior
Based on the enclothed cognition framework, we tested whether the physical experience of wearing a tunic and identifying it with a nursing scrub may enhance empathic and helping responding, compared to the solely physical experience of wearing the scrub or associating with its symbolic meaning. Results of Study 1 (United Kingdom; n = 150) showed that participants who wore a tunic and identified it with a nursing scrub reported higher empathic con…
Costly third-party interventions
Predicting prostate cancer treatment choices
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer among males in the United States, and there is lack of consensus as to whether active surveillance or radical prostatectomy is the best course of treatment. In this study, we examined the role of numeracy, time discounting, and risk taking on decision-making about prostate cancer treatment-in 279 men over age 50 without a prior prostate cancer diagnosis. Results showed that active surveillance was the mos…
Should I just listen to you or change your mind too? Target's perceived efficacy of agents' interpersonal affect improvement strategies
People shape and influence others' emotions every day. If these attempts are perceived as successful, they may have a positive effect on people's relationships and well-being. Across two studies, targets' perceived efficacy of regulation strategies to improve their sadness and anxiety/stress has been investigated. In Study 1, participants (n = 120) were provided with two scenarios depicting sadness and anxiety/stress and asked to imagine themselv…
Interpersonal emotion regulation in children
Interpersonal emotion regulation entails a wide array of strategies aimed at influencing others' emotions. Despite its importance for successful social interactions, only a few studies have evaluated interpersonal emotion regulation in children. In detail, the study of developmental changes in the use of emotion regulation strategies overlooked age, gender and cultural differences across different emotions. To address this gap, the present study …
When punishment is emotion‐driven
When do children, adolescents, and adults decide to punish fairness violations? Two studies with 9‐year‐old children, 13‐year‐old adolescents, and adults investigated whether the link between unfairness and punishment was mediated by negative emotional reactions (measured through galvanic skin responses and emotion ratings). Study 1 ( N = 117) examined this question in the context of second‐party punishment, where the punisher is a direct victim …
Children’s and Adolescents’ Happiness Conceptualizations at School and their Link with Autonomy, Competence, and Relatedness
Coronashaming
Experiencing empathy for others has been linked to worsening others’ feelings against their wishes. These paternalistic empathic goals have been theorised to happen at the dyad level when an agent aims to worsen a target’s emotional state. They may also operate at a broader level when agents are third-party observers of COVID-19 lockdown rule violations. In these instances, agents can impact transgressors’ affect engaging in Coronashaming. In thr…
Theory of Mind and children’s comforting behaviour ( La Teoría de la Mente y el comportamiento infantil de consuelo )
In order to comfort others, children need to exhibit Theory of Mind (ToM) skills. The goal of the present study was to investigate the role of ToM in association with children’s spontaneous comforting behaviour in a laboratory task. Forty-seven children between 26 and 57 months of age completed three ToM tasks: diverse desires, diverse beliefs and belief-emotion. To evaluate comforting, we used a previously evaluated procedure in which an experim…
The link between cognitive and affective empathy and interpersonal emotion regulation direction and strategies
Interpersonal emotion regulation (ER) refers to the different processes aimed at changing the emotional states of others. Some authors have speculated about the pivotal role of empathy for interpersonal ER to happen. However, the very limited empirical evidence suggests that only cognitive empathy as opposed to affective empathy may be a necessary antecedent. As previous research only considered interpersonal affect improvement and showed mixed e…
Cheering my friends up
A systematic investigation has been lacking regarding children’s deliberate regulation of others’ emotions which is labeled interpersonal emotion regulation (ER). Based on a theoretically derived model of Interpersonal Affect Classification, we examined children’s interpersonal ER strategy use in the peer group. Participants were 398 fourth and fifth grade children from the Midwestern United States. Children rated themselves regarding their use o…
What do I want to feel? Emotion goals in childhood, adolescence, and adulthood
Beliefs about emotion utility can influence context-sensitive emotion goals (i.e., desired emotional responses). Although key for emotion regulation, emotion goals have been overlooked in children and adolescents. In 2018–2019 results of Studies 1 and 2 showed that children (N = 192, Mage = 8.65, 47% girls, 96% White) were less motivated by and found anger less useful in confrontation than adolescents (N = 192, Mage = 12.96, 50% girls, 93% White)…
The Relation between Self-Esteem and Regulatory Emotional Self-Efficacy in Daily Life
In the present study, we aimed to explore the dynamic relationships among self-esteem, self-efficacy in managing negative emotions (SRN), and expressing positive emotions (SEP) in a short-term, daily framework. We used data collected over 10 days from 101 Italian and 237 Spanish young adults. Results from a Random-Intercept Cross-Lagged Panel Model indicated that the relationships were mostly at the trait-level, since the positive correlations am…
The need for a unified language framework in extrinsic interpersonal emotion regulation research
With increasing research interest in extrinsic interpersonal emotion regulation, this article aims to address the critical need for a unified language framework to strengthen and support these research efforts. Despite increasing interest and research in this area, the lack of consistent terminology poses significant challenges to conceptual clarity and scientific progress. By examining the current landscape, the authors identify the proliferatio…
I want you to feel bad
Previous research has demonstrated how people are motivated to induce negative feelings in others, a phenomenon known as extrinsic interpersonal affect worsening. This process has been linked to decreased well-being for those involved in regulating these emotions. However, prior studies have primarily centered on experimental scenarios, neglecting the emotions (such as anger) experienced by those regulating extrinsic affect worsening as possible …
Daily dynamics between motives and strategies in interpersonal affect worsening
Interpersonal affect worsening involves intentionally making others feel bad and can stem from varied motives, including counterhedonic (to purely harm emotionally) and altruistic (to benefit others without personal gain) reasons. While prior research has examined these motives, their interplay with specific strategies remains underexplored. This study used ecological momentary assessment to investigate the links between motives (altruistic and c…
Exploring the potential of large language models to understand interpersonal emotion regulation strategies from narratives
Interpersonal emotion regulation involves using diverse strategies to influence others' emotions, commonly assessed with questionnaires. However, this method may be less effective for individuals with limited literacy or introspection skills. To address this, recent studies have adopted narrative-based approaches, though these require time-intensive qualitative analysis. Given the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) and large language model…
Development and Validation of the Children's and Adolescents' Wellbeing at School Scale
This research aimed to develop and validate a measure to assess school well‐being in children and adolescents, addressing limitations of previous tools and drawing on the PERMA model. Two studies were conducted: Study 1 included 487 children (ages 9–12) and 258 adolescents (ages 13–15) from UK schools, whereas Study 2 involved 219 UK children (ages 7–11) and 209 Spanish children (ages 9–12). Factor analyses revealed a two‐factor structure: positi…
The relations among prosocial behavior, hedonic, and eudaimonic well‐being in everyday life
INTRODUCTION: Existing research highlights the significance of prosocial behavior (voluntary, intentional behavior that results in benefits for another) to people's well-being. Yet, the extent to which this expected positive relation operates at the within-person level (e.g., is more prosocial behavior than usual related to a higher than usual level of well-being?) while taking into account stable interindividual differences, remains a research q…
Distraction over reappraisal strategies in interpersonal emotion regulation
Distraction (diversion from the emotional experience) has been suggested as generally less effective than reappraisal (engagement with the emotional experience through cognitive reframing) to change one’s own and others’ emotions. Hence, we examined if a predominant use of distraction over reappraisal in interpersonal emotion regulation can be problematic. In Study 1 (N = 274), we used a difference score to assess individuals’ dominant use of dis…
The Relations Among Prosocial Behavior, Life Satisfaction, and Hedonic Balance Among Young Adults
OBJECTIVE: This study examined the intra-individual associations between prosocial behavior and two dimensions of subjective well-being-life satisfaction and hedonic balance-in the daily lives of young adults. METHOD: Two samples of Italian and Spanish participants aged 18-35 completed self-report measures at different intervals: a daily sample assessed for ten consecutive days (N = 388; 76% women) and a weekly sample assessed for five consecutiv…
Psychology (22 works) · Social Psychology (19 works) · Developmental psychology (17 works) · Interpersonal communication (10 works) · Social Psychology (9 works) · Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development (8 works) · Cognitive psychology (6 works) · Interpersonal relationship (6 works) · Cognition (5 works) · Psychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction (5 works)