Food for love: the role of food offering in empathic emotion regulation
نویسندگان
چکیده
The present article examines the interpersonal and intrapersonal antecedents and consequences of food offering. Food offering is one of the earliest biobehavioral regulatory interactions between parent and child. It ensures survival of the child who is fully dependent on food provision by others. The quality of these early interactions influences how people respond to situations later in life, and food offering in particular may be closely related to emotion regulation throughout the lifespan. While research has examined other forms of emotion regulation, and food consumption has been studied from an intrapersonal perspective, we know little about the interpersonal effects of food offering. After reviewing literature from a wide range of disciplines, we propose that one mechanism underlying these effects is empathic emotion regulation (EER). We conceptualize EER as an interpersonal regulation system in which an empathic response to another person's emotional state aims to regulate both emotion within the provider and across interaction partners. We suggest that the offer of food by an empathic provider is motivated by the emotional state of one's interaction partner (recipient). By offering food, the provider not only aims to attenuate the recipient's negative affect but also her own. Food offering thereby becomes a means to increase positive affect for both recipient and - when the offer has the desired effect - provider. We further propose that the sharing of food resources as well as the use of food as a support behavior increases interpersonal closeness. Finally, we frame the process of food offering within a developmental perspective. If the regulatory success of food offering becomes a replacement for other support behaviors, children will learn from an early age to use food as a primary means to soothe self and others, possibly resulting in eating disorders and a restricted range of coping behavior.
منابع مشابه
Prediction of Food Craving Based on the Incompatible Domains of Personality with the mediating role of Non-Adaptive Strategies of Cognitive Emotion Regulation
Introduction: Obesity and overweight are some problems in this century in the field of mental health. Objective: This study was done to Predict food craving based on the incompatible domains of personality with the mediating role of non-adaptive strategies of cognitive emotion regulation. Materials and Methods: The present study was descriptive-correlational, a type of path analysis model. The ...
متن کاملStructural Modeling of Object Relations Mediated by Cognitive Emotion Regulation to Predict the Love Trauma Syndrome in Female Students
Background: Love trauma syndrome includes a set of symptoms manifesting after the end of an emotional relationship and negatively affecting performance in various areas. Objectives: The current study aimed at determining the effect of object relations mediated by cognitive emotion regulation on the prediction of love trauma syndrome in female students. Methods: The correlation-based structura...
متن کاملEffectiveness of Attachment-Based Intervention in Body Mass Index, Emotion Regulation and Food-Cravings Obese Adolescent Girls: A Randomized Controlled Trial
Introduction: Obesity causes physical, psychological and even emotional problems and these conditions can change body mass index, craving and even emotion regulation, so the aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of attachment-based intervention in body mass index, emotion regulation and food-cravings obese adolescent girls. Method: The research method was quasi-experimental with ...
متن کاملاثربخشی رویکرد هیجان ـ مدار بر تنظیم شناختی هیجان دانشجویان دختر دچار شکست عاطفی
Background : Love Trauma refers to a state of frustration and humiliation felt by the person who is rejected by his/her beloved. The present study was aimed at studying the effectiveness of Emotion-Focused Approach for cognitive emotion regulation of female university students who experienced Love Trauma. Materials and Methods: This study was a quasi-experimental research including a pre-tes...
متن کاملThe Mediating Role of Emotion Regulation Strategies in the Relationship of Beliefs about Emotion and Emotion Regulation Self-Efficacy with Social Anxiety
Objective: According to cognitive models, maladaptive beliefs play a major role in social anxiety disorder and can lead to dysfunctional behavioral reactions and emotion dysregulation. This study examines the mediating role of emotion regulation strategies in the relationship of beliefs about emotions and emotion regulation self-efficacy with social anxiety. Method: 650 college students from ...
متن کامل