Visualization analysis of the impact of act training on emotional labor competency based on bibliometric analysis

This study aims to employ bibliometric analysis methods to systematically examine the knowledge structure, core themes, and cutting-edge developments in the fields of "emotional labor" and "emotional competency." The primary objective is to objectively and quantitatively validate the existing knowledge gap regarding "act training" as a systematic intervention for emotional competency in current research, thereby providing robust data support and a space for theoretical innovation to explore its unique value in enhancing individual emotional labor capabilities. To achieve this goal, the study utilizes VOSviewer bibliometric software to conduct co-author and co-keyword analyses on 232 relevant core articles from the Web of Science Core Collection. The results indicate that the field has formed a mature academic community centered around scholars such as Humphrey et al. [1] and Ashforth and Humphrey [2] with research themes revolving around "emotional labor," "emotional intelligence," "job burnout," and "job satisfaction." Five major research clusters were identified, and the research focus has evolved from early concerns about negative outcomes (e.g., stress, burnout) to recent positive psychological resources (e.g., work engagement, psychological resilience). However, all visualization maps consistently confirm the absence of research linking "act training" with the core concepts of emotional labor. Therefore, this study concludes that while emotional labor is a mature and evolving field, introducing "act training" as a key variable represents a significant and underexplored frontier. The findings have important theoretical and practical implications: theoretically, they call for interdisciplinary dialogue among performance studies, organizational psychology, and education to enrich existing models; practically, they suggest that higher education should recognize and leverage the disciplinary strengths of performance students, while corporate organizations can draw on the principles of act training to develop new programs aimed at enhancing employees' emotional regulation skills and mental health.