Association between self-regulatory modes and alexithymia mediated by mindfulness and cognitive reappraisal

This research examined alexithymia through the lens of personality as a dynamic regulatory system and focused on the ways in which two distinct self-regulatory modes, assessment and locomotion, are linked to alexithymia. Assessment involves the inclination to evaluate the value of something by weighing its strengths and weaknesses against other options leading to self-doubt and over-comparison. In contrast, locomotion reflects tendency to transition between states while investing psychological resources to actively pursue goals. Locomotion is associated with greater emotional intelligence, self-esteem and reduced counterfactual thinking. Two online subclinical studies (N = 224) tested multistep mediation models examining whether mindfulness and cognitive reappraisal would mediate the relationship between these self-regulatory modes and alexithymia. Assessment was positively associated with alexithymia, whereas locomotion showed a negative association. Mindfulness mediated both relationships, but reappraisal only mediated the assessment-alexithymia link. Locomotion may tap both mindfulness and the cognitive reappraisal associated with alexithymia whereas assessment may only implement cognitive reappraisal after mindfulness. Effects were found for both the global alexithymia score and the specific to DIF and DDF but not EOT, supporting the view of alexithymia as a failure in emotion representation. These findings underscore the benefit of motivation-based tailoring in alexithymia treatment.