What Is Emotion Regulation?

Take our Emotional Intelligence Test

Find a therapist near me

Positive masculinity involves self-control as well as loyalty and action.

Emotions can explain behaviour without excusing it.

Public accountability can model emotional maturity for young athletes.

A brief sideline interaction during a recent Duke University football game has generated a deeply divided public response. After a Duke player went down injured, athletic trainers entered the field to provide medical assistance. In the moments that followed, Duke defensive back Kimari Robinson appeared to swat away a female athletic trainer who was attempting to create space around the injured player. Robinson later issued a public apology, explaining that he was concerned for his teammate and acknowledging that his reaction was wrong.

Since then, debate has exploded across social media. Some viewers see a young athlete reacting emotionally in a stressful situation and believe the incident was overblown, while others claim that it was an unacceptable act of aggression toward a medical professional carrying out her role during an emergency. What’s striking from a psychological perspective is not simply the incident itself, but how differently people interpret it. Thousands of people can watch the same footage and arrive at entirely different conclusions about what happened, who was at fault, and whether an apology was necessary at all.

Positive Masculinity Means More Than Taking Action

One reason for this divide may be that the incident touches on competing ideas about masculinity. For many boys and young men, masculinity is associated with action. A good man steps in. He protects his friends. He........

© Psychology Today