GROSS’S PROCESS MODEL OF EMOTION REGULATION IN THE CHINESE UNIVERSITY CONTEXT: A CULTURAL AND CONTEXTUAL ANALYSIS

Abstract

Academic pressure, social expectations, and collectivist values collectively influence emotional regulation among Chinese university students. Utilising Gross’s Process Model, this study investigates situational selection, situation modification, attentional deployment, cognitive reappraisal, and expressive suppression within the cultural framework of higher education. The findings indicate that culturally embedded strategies engage with cognitive processes, especially reappraisal, to promote well-being and social cohesion. Cognitive reappraisal—reinterpreting situations in constructive ways—consistently predicts positive outcomes, while expressive suppression helps preserve smooth interactions by preventing conflict, although its long-term intrapsychic effects remain uncertain. It is important to note that effective regulation does not depend on one method. Instead, a flexible combination of reappraisal and methods like prosocial inhibition works best when social and academic demands change. Cultural psychology provides a valuable complement to this process model, extending its theoretical scope while also generating applied insights for practice. Specifically, it illuminates how universities may cultivate student resilience and enhance psychological well-being by systematically integrating context-sensitive regulatory competencies into institutional support frameworks.