Emotional Labeling: What It Is And What It Is For In Psychotherapy
Emotionality is a fundamental characteristic of the human being, so it is no coincidence that it is tremendously complex.
In order to address this dimension, we usually use language, in what is called emotional labeling We are going to discuss this matter in depth to discover how this action is carried out, what is its usefulness and its importance at different stages of development.
Emotional labeling is a mechanism by which people try to identify their own emotions or the emotions of others using specific words That is, what they do is assign a label, in this case verbal, to a very specific feeling that they are experiencing or that they sense that another individual is experiencing.
This action, which a priori may seem very obvious and simple, is actually of enormous importance, since it allows, first of all, to translate into our spoken language sensations that are sometimes tremendously deep and complex, which facilitates both the understanding of felt emotions, such as understanding how others feel.
Not only that. Emotional labeling It is also essential to be able to share said information that is, being able to transmit from one person to another, sometimes with a simple word, the feelings that the individual is experiencing, so that others can understand it instantly, by sharing the same language.
But beyond that basic (but vitally important) utility, the reality is that emotional labeling has much deeper implications, which are what we will explore below.
Labeling and regulation of emotions
The first of these uses of emotional labeling that we are going to review is precisely that of the regulation of emotions. As we have already mentioned, by identifying these feelings through words, even the person themselves are aware of the mental state they are in.
This ability opens the door to another really interesting possibility, which is emotional regulation. And it is that By being aware of what they are feeling, the individual can learn to control that sensation if it is too intense and is causing discomfort, or for any other reason.
Therefore, the person would first carry out emotional labeling, then use it to be aware of the specific emotion they are experiencing and, finally, they could take advantage of this knowledge to work on the emotion in question and thus manage to lower the level of intensity. or even replace it with another.
If used appropriately, this ability can be used therapeutically as a resource to treat various pathologies , as may be the case with phobias. This phenomenon has been studied, among others, by Katharina Kircanski and her collaborators, in a work published in 2012.
Treatment of phobias through emotional labeling
This research dealt with the use of emotional labeling to help people who suffered from an atrocious fear of spiders. For this, two groups were formed. Both were going to be treated for their phobia through the technique of exposing the aversive stimulus, that is, to a spider, which was what generated their panic.
However, another variable was also going to be applied to one of these groups, which was none other than the labeling of the emotions they were feeling. After a week of study, the researchers were able to draw different conclusions. On the one hand, there seemed to be no significant difference in the fear that participants said they were experiencing.
But, the interesting thing was that the group that, in addition to being exposed to the spider, worked on emotional labeling, trying to express exactly what they felt, demonstrated a lower physiological response to the aversive stimulus (the spider) after treatment , with respect to the members of the control group. This response was measured through the conductivity of the skin.
It was also found that the individuals in the experimental group were able to get closer to the spider than those who had not used language to express their feelings and emotions during the treatment phase, that is, those who had not used emotional labeling.
The main conclusion that Kircanski and his colleagues found in this study is that having used more words to try to define exactly what they were feeling seemed to help the participants in the experimental group reduce their fear, with the same work of exposure to the spiders that the people in the control group received.
The effect is interesting enough to investigate further, since the data suggests that Emotional labeling could be a powerful ally when working to heal phobias and it may be that this effect can be used to help patients suffering from other psychopathologies.
Emotional labeling in children’s development
But beyond the therapeutic use of emotional labeling, This phenomenon has other more basic uses in human beings, even throughout our development during childhood This question is what Daniela Vilca and Chamarrita Farkas analyzed in Chile in 2012.
These authors wanted to study the social and emotional development of a group of 30-month-old children and what role affective labeling played in this evolution. For this work, a sample of 84 children was taken from different nursery schools in Santiago, Chile. Various scales were used to record the language associated with emotions that the children used.
The method used for the research was the presentation of a story to the minors in which an event occurred to one of the characters that had a specific emotion associated with it. After reading the story, the children were asked how they thought the protagonist felt. Only 30.5% of the children used emotional labels when answering the questions.
Primary emotions, such as happiness, sadness, fear or anger, were easier to recognize. Other more complex ones, such as shame or fear, caused more difficulties when it came to being recognized and expressed verbally. One of the most notable observations about the results is the difference between boys and girls, with them being the ones who obtained the best results in the use of emotional labeling
But there was an even better predictor for performance on this task, and it was the socioeconomic level of the families. If this level was medium-high, the children from these families scored significantly higher than the minors belonging to families with a low socioeconomic level. These differences were greater than those found between sexes.
In any case, the authors are aware of the limitations of their research. To begin with, the sample was not large enough to be able to draw general conclusions with confidence. Likewise, the data were recorded through the information provided by the children’s caregivers, which could be producing biases in the measurements.
It has also been suggested that perhaps the task requested of the children exceeded the complexity recommended for their development and perhaps it would have been better to use another methodology, such as the presentation of faces that showed different emotions, a system that has been used in many other studies.
Other ways to use emotional tagging
We have taken a tour of different uses and characteristics of emotional labeling. The emotion regulation function that this activity has on the subjects has become clear. That’s why, we can learn to use it to our advantage in certain circumstances
One of them, frequently used, is the publication of one’s mood on social networks. The simple act of writing about a negative affectivity and thus being aware of it, has a therapeutic effect on the person who is feeling it, and can cause said sensation to reduce or even remit.
But also, on a more social level, the responses generated to the publication, as long as they are in line with consolation, can also help the subject to experience a more positive state of mind and therefore, achieve the emotional regulation they were looking for. consciously or unconsciously, through emotional labeling.
Of course, It is not necessary to publicly expose your feelings to achieve that effect Another way to achieve this, in a private way, is to write these sensations simply for yourself, either in a diary or in another format. The goal is to be aware of what we are experiencing, and putting it into words is a very powerful way to achieve this.
