| Existing literature argues that negative emotional states deplete individuals' resources so that individuals cannot exert self control. In contrast, this dissertation proposes and tests a strategic theory linking negative emotions, emotion-regulation goals, and self control. I argue that self control can be used strategically for emotion regulation, so that whether consumers increase or decrease self control in negative emotional states depends on which levels of self control they believe best serve their emotion-regulation goals.; Essay one examines this strategic theory in three studies. In study one emotion-regulation goals and consumer beliefs are independently manipulated. Results show that individuals with a salient emotion-regulation goal are sensitive to the perceived utility of self control for emotion regulation, whereas individuals with no salient emotion-regulation goal are not. Study two isolates the effect of the emotion-regulation goal and rules out possible alternative explanations including concept priming and resource depletion. This study demonstrates that different beliefs regarding the utility of self control for emotion regulation characterize different specific negative emotions. Consequently, specific emotion experienced determines self-control levels. Study three shows that self-control levels in specific negative emotions further vary depending on an individual emotion coping characteristic. This study also demonstrates that using self control for emotion regulation can be nonconscious. All three studies show that self control may increase following negative emotions, contrary to existing theory and findings.; The second essay examines the nonconscious use of self control for emotion regulation in more detail. In studies one and two, the interaction of emotion type by individual coping characteristic determines self-control levels on both a guilty-pleasure and a grim-necessity task. These effects occur without participants' awareness of the emotion prime, emotion construct activation, or the emotion-regulation goal. Studies three and four rule out an alternative explanation of semantic-priming and show that an emotion-regulation goal is driving these effects. In all four studies, specific, equally (negatively) valenced emotions are subliminally primed, remain inaccessible to conscious awareness, and differentially affect behavior. This is the first demonstration of such effects. |
