“Close to the teacher, believe in the teaching”: the advantageous effect of interpersonal emotion regulation and the role of teacher-student closeness

Background: Interaction is a key element in sustaining the development of human society. The Social Baseline Theory suggests that individuals can regulate emotions through social interactions, thereby promoting physical and mental wellbeing. Aim: This study focuses on the interaction between graduate students and their supervisors within the educational ecosystem, exploring the advantages of interpersonal emotion regulation and the role of teacher-student closeness. Methods: Study 1 recruited 9 university teachers and 58 graduate students, and Study 2 62 of each, with behavioral experiments implemented in both. Results: The results indicate that, whether employing cognitive reappraisal or expressive suppression strategies, the effectiveness of interpersonal emotion regulation is significantly superior to that of self-emotion regulation. Moreover, higher levels of teacher-student closeness enhance the positive effects of interpersonal emotion regulation on graduate students. Conclusion: These findings highlight the advantage of interpersonal emotion regulation in teacher-student interactions and emphasize the critical role of high closeness. This study not only provides empirical support for understanding the effectiveness of interpersonal emotion regulation in teacher-student interactions but also offers important theoretical foundations and practical implications for constructing a mental health support system for graduate students.