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Psychology and Law
2021. Vol. 11, no. 2, 26–39
doi:10.17759/psylaw.2021110203
ISSN: 2222-5196 (online)

Emotion Sensitivity in Individuals with Various Degrees of Expressive Suppression: The Case of Policemen

274

M.A. Padun, E.A. Sorokko, E.A. Suchkova, D.V. Lyusin

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Abstract

The article examines emotion sensitivity in policemen and its relationships with emotion suppression. It was hypothesized that individuals with high emotion suppression were less efficient in recognizing others’ negative emotions. Forty-nine policemen from the Arkhangelsk region of Russia aged from 22 to 50 took part in the study. Emotion sensitivity was measured presenting faces with dynamic changes in emotional expression from neutral to the one of four emotion categories, namely happiness, sadness, anger, and fear. Emotion suppression was measured with Gross’ Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ). Happiness was recognized faster and more accurately compared to negative emotions. Among negative emotions, the least intensity was needed for the recognition of fear, more intensity for the recognition of sadness, and even more for anger. Fear was recognized more accurately compared to anger; there was no difference in the accuracy of the recognition of fear and sadness. Individuals high in expressive suppression recognized happiness faster and mistook sadness for anger more often. The results are discussed in the context of the specific features of policemen professional activity.

General Information

Keywords: emotions, sensitivity to emotions, accuracy of emotional perception, emotion regulation, repression of one's emotional expression

Journal rubric: Psychology of Professional Activity

Article type: scientific article

DOI: https://doi.org/10.17759/psylaw.2021110203

Funding. The work is carried out as a government contract reg. no. 0159-2020-0004 of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation (by Padun M.A.) and as part of the Fundamental Research program of the HSE (Higher School of Economics) University in 2020 (by Suchkova E.A., Lyusin D.V.).

Acknowledgements. The authors are grateful to M. Jackson for the provision of experimental materials on the methodology for evaluating personal sensitivity in perception of emotions.

For citation: Padun M.A., Sorokko E.A., Suchkova E.A., Lyusin D.V. Emotion Sensitivity in Individuals with Various Degrees of Expressive Suppression: The Case of Policemen [Elektronnyi resurs]. Psikhologiya i pravo = Psychology and Law, 2021. Vol. 11, no. 2, pp. 26–39. DOI: 10.17759/psylaw.2021110203. (In Russ., аbstr. in Engl.)

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Information About the Authors

Maria A. Padun, PhD in Psychology, Senior Research Assistant, Institute of Psychology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9876-4791, e-mail: maria_padun@inbox.ru

Evgenia A. Sorokko, Senior psychologist, Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia in the Arkhangelsk region, Severodvinsk, Russia, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0643-6521, e-mail: eu.sorokko@yandex.ru

Ekaterina A. Suchkova, Research Assistant, National Research University Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russia, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8295-1111, e-mail: suchkova.e.a@yandex.ru

Dmitry V. Lyusin, PhD in Education, senior researcher, laboratory of psychology and psychophysiology of creativity, The Institute of Psychology, the Russian Academy of Science, associate Professor of the Institute of psychology. L. S. Vygotsky, Russian state University for Humanities; senior researcher, laboratory for cognitive research, national research University "Higher school of Economics», Moscow, Russia, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4429-8086, e-mail: ooch@mail.ru

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