From Regulation to Support: Centering Humans in Technology-Mediated Emotion Intervention in Care Contexts

Abstract: Enhancing emotional well-being has become a significant focus in HCI and CSCW, with technologies increasingly designed to track, visualize, and manage emotions. However, these approaches have faced criticism for potentially suppressing certain emotional experiences. Through a scoping review of 53 empirical studies from ACM proceedings implementing Technology-Mediated Emotion Intervention (TMEI), we critically examine current practices through lenses drawn from HCI critical theories. Our analysis reveals emotion intervention mechanisms that extend beyond traditional emotion regulation paradigms, identifying care-centered goals that prioritize non-judgmental emotional support and preserve users' identities. The findings demonstrate how researchers design technologies for generating artificial care, intervening in power dynamics, and nudging behavioral changes. We contribute the concept of "emotion support" as an alternative approach to "emotion regulation," emphasizing human-centered approaches to emotional well-being. This work advances the understanding of diverse human emotional needs beyond individual and cognitive perspectives, offering design implications that critically reimagine how technologies can honor emotional complexity, preserve human agency, and transform power dynamics in care contexts.