Effects of regulating emotional expression on authenticity and likeability in stranger dyads

The present study compares effects of expressive suppression to a less researched form of expression-focused emotion regulation (namely, amplification) in terms of impact on authenticity and socioemotional outcomes. We expected amplification to result in more positive outcomes than suppression because of its role in facilitating communication. Participants (N = 306) formed 153 previously unacquainted dyads and were randomly assigned to a suppression of expression, amplification of expression, or control condition. After discussing recent personal negative events, participants reported their subjective authenticity, emotional experience, and impressions of their partner. Results revealed that suppressors felt less authentic compared to amplifiers and participants in the control condition. Partners’ perceptions of authenticity, however, did not differ across conditions, and only suppressors were rated as less likeable than those in the control condition. Consistent with prior work, amplification was unrelated to change in emotional experience, while suppression predicted decreased positive emotions from before to after the interaction. Building on prior work, these findings support the notion that expressive suppression can lead to interpersonal costs that hinder relationship formation, even though the inauthenticity suppression creates may largely go undetected by others. In contrast, amplification may serve as a relatively more adaptive expression-based strategy, at least in the context of non-close interactions.