Emotional granularity in PTSD

Abstract Emotion granularity and emotion differentiation are constructs that refer to individual differences in the ability to make nuanced distinctions among similarly valenced emotional states ( Barrett, 2004 ; Kashdan, Barrett, & McKnight, 2015 ). Some have argued that increased emotional granularity represents an evolutionary adaptation that helped humans become more adroit in navigating our increasingly complex social worlds ( Barrett, 2017 ; Smidt & Suvak, 2015 ), and there is a small, but growing, body of empirical studies documenting inverse relationships between emotional granularity and a variety of psychosocial functioning problems and mental disorders including schizophrenia, borderline personality disorder, major depression, autism, and alcohol problems (for reviews, see Kashdan et al., 2015 ; Smidt & Suvak, 2015 ). Despite a growing body of research supporting the importance of emotional granularity, it is a relatively new construct with many gaps remaining in research supporting its construct validity. This chapter focuses on the following question: what is the association between emotional granularity and PTSD? Unfortunately, there is an absence of empirical research directly examining this association. Therefore we review research examining associations among PTSD and constructs related to emotional granularity (e.g., alexithymia and emotional clarity), before using existing theory and research to map out mechanisms that may contribute to a link between PTSD and emotional granularity. In doing so, we build a case that the association between PTSD and emotional granularity warrants further investigation that could not only help to elucidate emotional processes associated with PTSD but also increase our understanding of the nature and importance of emotional granularity.