A study of emotion regulation and moral identity among high and low religious individuals

Pages: 467-470
Sukhamjit Kaur and Sunita Gupta (Department of Psychology, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, Punjab)

The aim of the present study was to assess the difference between participants having high or low scores on religiosity with regard to two strategies of emotion regulation (cognitive reappraisal & expressive suppression) and two dimensions of moral identity (internalization & symbolization). The present sample consisted of 56 females in the age range of 18 to 24 years. All the participants completed the questionnaire measures namely Religiosity Scale (Bhusan, 1970); Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (Gross & John, 2003); and Moral Identity Inventory (Aquino & Reed, 2002). Data was analyzed by independent sample t test. The results clearly revealed that high religious individuals used expressive suppression as emotion regulation strategy more than low religious participants. Findings also suggested that participants high on religiosity considered moral identity internalization more important than low religious participants.