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Psyc 471 > April 7 > Flashcards

April 7 Flashcards

1
Q

emotion regulation

A

managing:

  1. WHICH EMOTIONS we experience,
  2. WHEN they occur
  3. how INTENSELY WE FEEL/EXPRESS them

can include INCREASING and DECREASING both positive and negative emotions

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2
Q

4 broad types of emotion regulation

A
  1. situation selection
  2. situation modification
  3. attentional focus
  4. cognitive reappraisal
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3
Q

what’s the earliest opportunity to regulate emotions?

A

situation selection

our decision to APPROACH or AVOID situations that might trigger certain feelings

seeking out pleasant experiences and avoiding unnecessary stressors can be conducive to wellbeing

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4
Q

situation selection - trade offs

A

situation selection involves TRADE OFFS between:

  1. SHORT TERM EMOTIONAL RELIEF
  2. LONG TERM COSTS

ie. going out with friends instead of studying is rewarding in the short term, but bad in the long term

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5
Q

situation selection - habitual avoidance…

A

habitual avoidance has long term costs

predicts:

  1. more life stressors
  2. more depressive symptoms
  3. worse health outcomes
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6
Q

habitual avoidance - shy example

A

if you’re shy, avoiding people is rewarding in the short term

but in the long term it’s harmful because you fail to develop strong relationships

(trade off of situation selection

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7
Q

situation modification

A

ALTERING ASPECTS of a situation to regulate our emotions

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8
Q

people who frequently use situation modification tend to have…

A
  1. better physical health
  2. better psychological wellbeing
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9
Q

situation modification: simply BELIEVING you have some control…

A

can have positive outcomes (perception of autonomy)

  1. Ps who were told they could press an “escape button” to stop an annoying noise if they REALLY needed to PERFORMED BETTER (even if they rarely used the button)

^ simply knowing they had the option improved performance

  1. Ps who thought they could SHORTEN painful heat exposure REPORTED LESS PAIN and SHOWED LOWER BRAIN ACTIVITY in pain-related areas
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10
Q

situation modification: patients who feel greater control over…

A

over their MEDICAL CONDITIONS

experience BETTER MEDICAL OUTCOMES and FEWER COMPLICATIONS

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11
Q

attentional control

A

involves focusing on CERTAIN ASPECTS of a situation while IGNORING OTHERS

if we can’t change the situation itself, we can change the way we think about it

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12
Q

research examples of attentional control

A
  1. Ps who focused on NEUTRAL aspects (like the room) during a MEMORY OF REJECTION reported LESS ANGER than those who focused on their emotions
  2. children who DISTRACTED themselves after SOCIAL REJECTION RECOVERED BETTER
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13
Q

when can attentional focus fail?

A

attentional control is EFFORTFUL and CAN FAIL when people are FATIGUED or DEPLETED

suppressing unwanted thoughts can BACKFIRE (the “white bear effect”)

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14
Q

white bear effeect

A

suppressing unwanted thoughts can backfire

cause us to think about them more instead of less

(relevant to attentional control)

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15
Q

attentional focus: what’s the consensus on mindfulness meditation?

A

it may STRENGTHEN ATTENTIONAL CONTROL and REDUCE RUMINATION

however, specific questions around METHODOLOGICAL CONCERNS (ie. it’s really hard to come up with a good control group for mindfulness interventions) and SPECIFIC MECHANISMS

^ mechanisms: mindfulness is composed of many diff things ie. attentional control, reduced impulsivity etc

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16
Q

attentional focus: chronic reliance on distraction may…

A

undermine long term wellbeing

by PREVENTING PROBLEM SOLVING and leading to STRONGER EMOTIONAL REACTIONS when stressors occur

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17
Q

cognitive reappraisal

A

regulating emotions by REINTERPRETING THE MEANING of the situation

not about denying the situation or being totally unrealistic

about seeing the facts more positively, or at least in a neutral light

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18
Q

cognitive reappraisal reduces what in lab studies?

A

distress

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19
Q

cognitive reappraisal is linked to…

A
  1. higher life satisfaction
  2. more positive emotions
  3. lower depression risk in daily life
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20
Q

is cognitive reappraisal a cure-all?

A

no

it MODIFIES EMOTIONAL REACTIONS but it DOESN’T CHANGE THE SITUATION itself

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21
Q

overlying on cognitive reappraisal can be…

A

harmful

especially if action is needed

it may lead to worse outcomes when facing controllable stressors

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22
Q

when can relying on cognitive reappraisal actually be harmful?

A

when facing CONTROLLABLE stressors

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23
Q

response-focused strategies

A

aim to MODIFY EMOTIONS AFTER they’ve already started

ie. individuals may try to escape emotions through external means (drugs, alcohol, food etc)

offer SHORT-TERM RELIEF but don’t address the cause of the problem, and CAN CAUSE EVEN MORE problems

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24
Q

emotion suppression

A

may be beneficial in certain contexts

but:

  1. drains cognitive resources
  2. impairs performances
  3. increases stress
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25
catharsis
venting emotions to "let it all out" generally INEFFECTIVE and often MAKES EMOTIONS WORSE
26
while catharsis is generally bad, expressions of emotion are beneficial if...
they lead to social support
27
rumination
dwelling on negative thoughts without solving problems linked to higher risk of depression and anxiety
28
proposed alternative to rumination
brief, structured reflection like expressive writing about upsetting experiences this helps when it PROMOTES UNDERSTANDING and MEANING MAKING
29
brief, structured reflections - their benefit comes from...
not only from EXPRESSING emotions but mostly from MAKING SENSE of emotions really about meaning-making
30
suppression versus reappraisal
reappraisal can help us move on emotionally whereas suppression is emotionally draining
31
suppression's effect on negative emotions
suppression does not reduce internal negative emotions
32
suppression and physiological stress
suppression INCREASES physiological stress ie. elevated BP while viewing disturbing images or war footage but there are CULTURAL DIFFERENCES: Asian Americans show fewer negative effects rom suppression than European Americans
33
suppression and cognitive load
suppression introduces cognitive loads leads to worse memory performance
34
suppression and relationships
suppression may undermine relationships 1. less reliance on social support, inhibits intimacy and relationship formation 2. habitual suppressors are perceived as less likeable
35
when it comes to emotion regulation strategies, what is key?
flexibility sticking to only one emotional strategy isn't helpful - each of them have drawbacks certain situations call for certain strategies, must be able to use the right strategy for the right situation and be able to shift between strategies
36
savouring
actively ATTENDING to, APPRECIATING and EXTENDING positive experiences
37
savouring is associated with greater...
1. happiness 2. life satisfaction 3. positive emotionality 4. optimism 5. emotional resilience
38
forms of savouring
1. anticipatory savouring 2. in-the-moment savouring 3. reminiscent savouring
39
why may experiential purchases bring more happiness?
because they create multiple opportunities for savouring ie. anticipate them, experience them in the moment and reminisce about them afterwards
40
what can enhance savouring?
uncertainty
41
social capitalization
sharing positive events with others to AMPLIFY the emotion
42
4 types of responses to social capitalization
1. active-constructive 2. passive-constructive 3. active-destructive 4. passive-destructive
43
active constructive response to social capitalization
enthusiastic and supportive
44
passive constructive response to social capitalization
quietly positive but low energy not a lot of engagement
45
active destructive response to social capitalization
critical or undermining "are you sure it's gonna work out? "that sounds risky" "are you really up for that?"
46
passive destructive response to social capitalization
ignores or changes the subject makes person feel unheard, unimportant, dismisses their positive emotion
47
social capitalization responses - which is/are good?
only ACTIVE CONSTRUCTIVE responses reliably: 1. boost relationship satisfaction 2. strengthen bonds
48
procrastination is primarily what kind of problem?
an emotion regulation problem (as opposed to a time management or laziness problem) acts as a SHORT TERM MOOD REPAIR
49
procrastination leads to a vicious cycle...
avoidance > relief > tasks accumulate > more stress > more avoidance
50
what is chronic procrastination related to?
1. poorer performance 2. higher stress 3. poorer physical health 4. lower psychological wellbeing
51
what can reduce procrastination?
improving emotion regulation skills 1. cognitive reappraisal 2. mindfulness 3. self-compassion
52
cognitive reappraisal to reduce procrastination
reframing the task in a POSITIVE or MEANINGFUL way can make it easier to start
53
mindfulness to reduce procrastination
accepting unpleasant emotions without judgment
54
self-compassion to reduce procrastination
responding kindly to personal mistakes and anxieties not letting yourself off the hook, but avoiding adding on additional negative emotions to what you're already struggling with
55
overcoming procrastination: 2 strategies
"what" thinking and "why" thinking
56
procrastination: "what" thinking
focusing on CONCRETE, SPECIFIC DETAILS of the the task ie. "what steps do I need to take?" ie. "what am I physically doing rn?"
57
procrastination: "why" thinking
focusing on the BIG PICTURE REASONS for doing the task ie. "why is this important to me?" ie. "why will completing this help me in the long run?"
58
procrastination: when you're bogged down by the tediousness....
shift to "why" thinking
59
procrastination: when you're overwhelmed by emotional states/complexity....
shift to "what" thinking (break tasks down into smaller, more achievable steps)
60
nostalgia
good and bad complex emotion that BLENDS POSITIVE MEMORIES with ACHING LONGING to revisit them
61
word "nostalgia" comes from...
Greek nostos (return home) + algos (pain or suffering)
62
how do people experience nostalgia?
1. recall fond memories of childhood, relationships, meaningful milestones 2. more positive than negative overall and shows remarkable cross-cultural consistency
63
fading affect bias
NEGATIVE memories FADE FASTER from memory than positive ones (maybe because positive memories are REHEARSED MORE OFTEN)
64
common nostalgia triggers
music scents objects life transitions negative states (loneliness, boredom, existential anxiety)
65
because nostalgia is often triggered by negative emotion states, it's thought...
it's thought to PLAY AN EMOTIONAL REGULATION FUNCTION
66
psychological functions of nostalgia
1. SELF-ORIENTED: ^ boosts self-esteem, agency, optimism about future ^ makes POSITIVE PAST SELVES available to us 2. EXISTENTIAL: ^ strengthens sense that life is MEANINGFUL, esp under threat (ie. when we're reminded of our mortality) 3. SOCIAL: ^ enhances feelings of CONNECTION, LOVE, EMPATHY ^ promotes social behaviours
67
potential value in the painful edge to nostalgia
keeps us from lingering in the memory for too long
68
nostalgia - neurobiological findings
exposure to FAMILIAR MUSIC from childhood can act as an EMOTIONAL SAFETY SIGNAL in adulthood nostalgic music activates brain regions associated with EMOTION REGULATION and REDUCES ANXIETY
69
what does nostalgic music do?
activates brain regions associated with emotion regulation reduces anxiety

Psyc 471 (22 decks)

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