Effects of scaffolding emotion language use on emotion differentiation and psychological health
An Experience-Sampling Study
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 7149930 |
|---|---|
| Authors | T H Stanley Seah (0000-0002-8042-8319, Kent State University, corresponding author), Karin G Coifman (0000-0002-2372-0081, Kent State University) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 39 |
| Issue | 7 |
| Pages | 1719-1736 |
| Publication date | 2025-10-03 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Cognition & Emotion (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0269-9931 • E-ISSN: 1464-0600 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/02699931.2024.2382334 |
| PMID | 39048111 |
| OpenAlex | W4401007571 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
| References cited | 73 |
Emotion differentiation (ED) - complexity in the mental representation and description of one's emotional experiences - is important for mental health. However, less is known whether ED can be enhanced in adults. We investigated if scaffolding emotion language use during affect labelling - initial provision of emotion word prompts (close-ended) followed by free response (open-ended) - impacts ED and psychological health. Utilising a crossover design, 92 college students completed questionnaires assessing psychological health at three time-points and ecological momentary assessment of emotions, affect valence and emotional self-efficacy for 14 days. Participants were randomised to the "scaffolding" group, where they reported emotions using the close-ended (7 days) followed by open-ended (7 days) approach, or the reverse sequence (control group). We extracted two ED indices: traditional intraclass correlation coefficient from close-ended reports and novel specificity index from open-ended reports. Primary analyses examined group differences across weeks while exploratory analyses examined moment-to-moment differences using multilevel modelling. Relative to controls, the scaffolding group demonstrated greater ED during open-ended emotion reporting of negative emotions and associated shifts in negative affect and emotional self-efficacy. There were no significant group differences in psychological symptoms. Results provide preliminary evidence that scaffolding may enhance ED and have implications for psychological intervention
Developmental psychology · Experience sampling method · Mental health · Mindfulness · Multilevel model · Psychiatry · Psychotherapist · Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes · Behavioral Health and Interventions · Clinical Psychology · Communication · Mental Health Research Topics · Psychology · Social Psychology
Introducing Multilevel Modeling
Emotion–focused therapy
Putting Feelings Into Words
A Procedure for Evaluating Sensitivity to Within-Person Change
Unpacking Emotion Differentiation
Putting stress into words
Emotional attention, clarity, and repair
Target Articles
Ideal Affect
Knowing what you're feeling and knowing what to do about it
Understanding and estimating the power to detect cross-level interaction effects in multilevel modeling.
Perceived self-efficacy in the exercise of personal agency
Emotion regulation as a transdiagnostic treatment construct across anxiety, depression, substance, eating and borderline personality disorders
Feelings-as-Information Theory
Perceived Emotional Intelligence, Stress Reactivity, and Symptom Reports
Equivalence Testing for Psychological Research
Solving the Emotion Paradox
Diary Methods
Measuring emotion
The Role of Tutoring in Problem Solving
Day‐to‐day Relationships Between Self‐awareness, Daily Events, and Anxiety
Emotional complexity under high stress
Feeling hangry? When hunger is conceptualized as emotion
Emotion differentiation moderates the effects of rumination on depression
An experience sampling study examining the potential impact of a mindfulness-based intervention on emotion differentiation
Emotion words, emotion concepts, and emotional development in children
Morality in high definition
Mood, misattribution, and judgments of well-being
Why I don’t always know what I’m feeling
A circumplex model of affect
An argument for basic emotions
Increasing verbal knowledge mediates development of multidimensional emotion representations
Complex affect dynamics add limited information to the prediction of psychological well-being
| Unique citing works | 3 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 3 |
| Citation span | 2025 - 2025 (1) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 3 |