I know you so I will regulate you: Closeness but not target’s emotion type affects all stages of extrinsic emotion regulation.

= 266) were randomly allocated to 1 of 4 conditions to read 3 vignettes where a close/distant target expressed anger/anxiety. Compared to distant targets, close targets elicited significantly greater intention to regulate, social sharing (but not humor, reappraisal, or distancing), self-efficacy of implementation and empathy. There was no support for emotion type or emotion-by-closeness hypotheses. We conclude that closeness but not emotion type affects emotion regulation at all 3 stages of the Extended Process model of Emotion Regulation. Future research could include the effect of closeness on additional processes (such as direct situation modification, or giving space). (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).