AFFECT REGULATION AND THE BREADTH OF INTERPERSONAL ENGAGEMENT

This study investigated the hypothesis that the breadth of responsiven ess to a social event rests on adaptive capacities that permit an indi vidual to experience those subjective states evoked by the interaction . Individuals with high or low ego adaptability were placed in same- o r mixed-sex dyads with another person of the same level of adaptabilit y and asked to complete a series of stimulating social interaction tas ks. Analysis of videotapes made of these interactions, scored for verb al and nonverbal behaviors that reflect emotional and interpersonal en gagement, strongly confirmed the hypothesis. In addition, post hoc exp lorations suggested that ego adaptability supported emotional expressi veness across social contexts, whereas its effect may have been attenu ated by gender-related display rules for the more interpersonal forms of social engagement.