Social Sharing of Emotion in Words and Otherwise

The review by Rimé challenges the current individualist view of emotional regulation, and argues that emotional experiences lead to the need and action of emotional social sharing which in turn plays a role in emotion regulation. Yet, the focus of the review itself is still hinged upon another aspect of individualistic assumption, namely the importance of language as a tool to carry out the social sharing of emotion. In so doing, the review highlights only the explicit, deliberate and agentic aspects of emotion sharing that are particularly common in Western individualistic culture. The review directly and indirectly demonstrates the need for a more comprehensive reconsideration of the role of sociality in emotion