Emotional inertia: On the conservation of emotional momentum

Abstract

Emotional inertia refers to the tendency for emotions/affective states to be resistant to change over time. In this chapter, we review a burgeoning literature documenting how emotional inertia differs between individuals and correlates with individual differences in personality, well-being and psychopathology; how inertia is (causally) related to other psychological and biological processes; and how emotional inertia can itself change over time within individuals. We begin with a brief overview of the historical origins of emotional inertia, before outlining how inertia is operationalized statistically, and how it relates to other indices of affect dynamics. Next, we provide a selective review of empirical research on emotional inertia, focusing especially on studies published in the past several years. In light of the empirical evidence, we discuss the plausibility of several distal and proximal explanatory mechanisms underlying emotional inertia at biological/neural and psychological levels. Finally, we conclude with a discussion of open questions and future directions for research on emotional inertia.