Implicit Beliefs about Emotion Scale – Chinese Version

Description

The implicit belief theory of emotions posits that an individual’s beliefs can influence their understanding and judgment of information in adverse situations or environments, subsequently affecting their emotional states and behavioral responses, ultimately impacting their overall mental health and sense of well-being. Some individuals hold an entity belief regarding emotions, believing they cannot truly change their emotional experiences, while others maintain a growth belief, suggesting that people can control or regulate their own emotions. Research indicates that different types of emotional beliefs (e.g., overwhelming, shameful, destructive) are linked to psychological disorders such as anxiety and depression. For college freshmen in transitional periods, those with entity emotional beliefs receive less support from new friends and report more negative emotional experiences and less positive emotional experiences by the end of their first year. They experience increased feelings of depression, loneliness, and isolation from peers, resulting in lower social adaptability. In contrast, college students with growth emotional beliefs are able to receive more social support from new friends and experience more positive emotions like joy, pride, love, engagement, and passion, thereby encountering fewer issues with social adaptation and loneliness. Research on implicit emotional theories has largely focused on foreign contexts, and given cultural and social differences, it is necessary to conduct domestic studies on implicit beliefs in the emotional field to better guide mental health services for adolescents.

Authors and Contact Email

Information not available.

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between implicit emotional beliefs and emotional adaptability, particularly focusing on the impact these beliefs have on mental health and social support among college freshmen.

Test Year

Information not available.

Administration Method and Scoring

The Implicit Beliefs about Emotion Scale was developed by Tamir (2007) and Castella (2013), and adapted into Chinese by Liu Jiong and others. The scale comprises emotional entity and growth dimensions, each with two items, using a 6-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly agree) to 6 (strongly disagree). The scoring is calculated by summing the scores of the growth dimension items and the reverse scores of the entity dimension items.

Reliability and Validity

The internal consistency reliability of Liu Jiong’s version is α=0.79.

Factors and Subscales

The scale includes two dimensions:
– 情绪实体论 (Entity Belief)
– 成长论 (Growth Belief)

Keywords

Implicit Beliefs, Emotional Adaptability, Mental Health, College Freshmen, Entity Belief, Growth Belief

Items in Chinese

1. 只要我愿意，我就可以改变我自己的情绪。
2. 我可以学会控制自己的情绪。
3. 事实上，我很难控制自己的情绪。
4. 不管我怎样努力，我都很难改变自己的情绪。

Items in English

1. If I want to, I can change the emotions that I have.
2. I can learn to control my emotions.
3. The truth is, I have very little control over my emotions.
4. No matter how hard I try, I can’t really change the emotions that I have.

References

刘炯.大学生情绪可塑性信念对主观幸福感的影响[D].西北师范大学,2020.DOI:10.27410/d.cnki.gxbfu.2020.001720
王翠.内隐情绪理论对情绪调节动机的影响[D].曲阜师范大学,2013.
De Castella, K., Goldin, P., Jazaieri, H., Ziv, M., Dweck, C. S., & Gross, J. J. (2013). Beliefs About Emotion: Links to Emotion Regulation, Well-Being, and Psychological Distress. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 35(6), 497–505.