Savoring Versus Dampening: Self-Esteem Differences in Regulating Positive Affect.

Abstract

Five studies examined the hypotheses that when people experience positive affect, those low in self-esteem are especially likely to dampen that affect, whereas those high in self-esteem are especially likely to savor it. Undergraduate participants' memories for a positive event (Study 1) and their reported reactions to a success (Study 2) supported the dampening prediction. Results also suggest that dampening was associated with worse mood the day after a success (Study 2), that positive and negative affect regulation are distinct, that self-esteem is associated with affect regulation even when Neuroticism and Extraversion are controlled (Studies 3 and 4), and that self-esteem may be especially important for certain types of positive events and positive affect regulation (Study 5).

The costs and benefits of writing, talking, and thinking about life's triumphs and defeats.

“…Furthermore, researchers have identified individual differences in the ways that people respond to positive experiences-that is, whether they tend to savor or dampen their PA (Wood, Heimpel, & Michela, 2003). These findings suggest that savoring is a valuable and beneficial exercise, which, we submit, comes more easily when an individual replays a positive event than when he or she systematically analyzes it.…”

Rain on my parade: Perceiving low self-esteem in close others hinders positive self-disclosure

“…Although no research to date examines whether LSEs are less responsive to others" capitalization attempts, given LSEs" tendency to behave negatively under threat, an unpleasant response to such an upward social comparison seems plausible Mikulincer & Shaver, 2005). Moreover, research on mood regulation demonstrates that LSEs often attempt to dampen their positive moods (Wood, Heimpel, & Michela, 2003), and so perhaps they would attempt to do this for others as well. Overall, if people expect that it wouldn"t be much of a celebration, why would they bother sharing?…”

“…It may be difficult, however, for HSEs to imagine how a close other"s good news could be unwelcome. On the other hand, evidence that HSEs are interested in savoring positive moods suggests they may be especially motivated to avoid letting LSEs bring them down (Wood et al, 2003). Throughout my studies I have included participant self-esteem as a potential moderator to investigate these possibilities.…”

Understanding the Processes that Regulate Positive Emotional Experience: Unsolved Problems and Future Directions for Theory and Research on Savoring

“…For example, Chadwick and Jose (2010) have categorized different savoring responses as reflecting either engaged savoring (e.g., absorption) or dismissive savoring (e.g., kill-joy thinking). Others have distinguished between savoring responses intended to amplify positive emotion and dampening responses intended to suppress positive emotion (Wood, Heimpel, & Michela, 2003). Extending this latter framework, Quoidbach, Berry, Hansenne, and Mikolajczak (2010) have distinguished among four broad types of savoring strategies (behavioral display, focusing attention on the present moment, capitalizing, and positive mental time travel) and four broad types of dampening strategies (suppression, fault finding, distraction, and negative mental time travel).…”