Individual differences in emotion regulatory skill & wellbeing Flashcards
In order to accomplish goals, what are extrinsic & intrinsic processes responsible for?
Extrinsic & intrinsic processes are responsible for monitoring, evaluating & modifying emotional reactions (especially their intensive & temporal features) to accomplish goals
What does emotion regulation involve?
Emotion regulation includes inhibition, maintenance & enhancement of emotional reactions
Who proposed the model of 4 underlying processes of emotion regulation?
Sheppes, Suri & Gross (2015)
What are the 4 underlying processes of emotion regulation, according to Sheppes, Suri & Gross (2015)?
- situation
- attention
- appraisal
- response
We undergo a number of behaviours that involve these 4 underlying processes (situation, attention, appraisal, response). What are these 5 behaviours?
- Situation selection
- Situation modification
- Attentional deployment
- Cognitive change
- Response modulation
What is involved ‘Situation Selection’?
We choose which situations we enter to alter our emotions
We avoid situations that elicit unwanted emotions
What is involved ‘Situation Modification’?
We change an aspect/s of our current situation to alter our emotions
What is involved ‘Attentional Deployment’?
We modify our attentional focus to alter our emotions, without changing the physical environment
What is involved ‘Cognitive Change’?
We modify our appraisal (interpretation) of the situation to alter our emotions
What is involved ‘Response Modulation’?
We change our emotional response directly (e.g. control our expressive behaviour, Gross, 1998)
We change the way we express our emotions
- it isn’t about our internal state but about how we present ourselves to others (e.g. suppress our emotions)
Which of the 5 behaviours is ‘situation’ (one of Sheppes, Suri & Gross’s (2015) 4 underlying processes of emotion regulation) involved in?
Situation is involved in ‘Situation Modification (2)
Which of the 5 behaviours is ‘attention’ (one of Sheppes, Suri & Gross’s (2015) 4 underlying processes of emotion regulation) involved in?
Attention is involved in Attentional Deployment (3)
Which of the 5 behaviours is ‘appraisal’ (one of Sheppes, Suri & Gross’s (2015) 4 underlying processes of emotion regulation) involved in?
Appraisal is involved in Cognitive Change (4)
Which of the 5 behaviours is ‘response’ (one of Sheppes, Suri & Gross’s (2015) 4 underlying processes of emotion regulation) involved in?
Response is involved in Response Modulation (5)
What is ‘reappraisal’?
The evaluation & interpretation of a phenomenon/event (e.g. thinking positively about a negative situation)
In which study were pps trained to use a reappraisal strategy to regulate their emotions, & had an MRI scan simultaneously to see which brain areas were activated?
Winecoff et al. (2011)
What did Winecoff et al. (2011) do in their study?
Winecoff et al. (2011) – pps were trained to use a reappraisal strategy to regulate their emotions
Group A:
On ‘Experience’ trials, they viewed an image then were told to experience emotions invoked by the image
They continued to experience the emotions after the image had disappeared (for 6-sec)
At the end of the trial, they rated the perceived affective valence of the image
Group B:
On ‘Reappraise trails’, they were told to decrease their emotional response to the image using reappraisal (e.g. distancing themselves from the scene)
What did Winecoff et al. (2011) find in their study in trials using positive images?
Appraisal of positive images increased activity in the dlPFC, dmPFC & inferior parietal lobule (IPL)
What sort of brain activity was found in trials using negative images in Winecoff et al.’s (2011) study?
A similar pattern of activation was found in trials using negative images
–> there was no significant difference between positive/negative images
In Winecoff et al.’s (2011) study, there was no significant difference between positive/negative images. What does this suggest?
This suggests that there is a neural circuit specifically for emotion regulation, regardless of whether info is positive or negative
What did Winecoff et al. (2011) claim the amygdala is involved in?
The amygdala is the neuromarker of emotion
It is responsible for producing physiological reactions & memorising emotional events
In Winecoff et al.’s (2011) study, when pps were asked to reappraise negative or positive pictures, what happened to activity levels in the amygdala?
When pps were asked to reappraise negative or positive pictures, amygdala activation was reduced
Winecoff et al. (2011) found a correlation between the amygdala & PFC. What does this mean?
Winecoff et al. (2011) found a correlation between the amygdala & PFC
- when pps used reappraisal, the greater the PFC activation, the lower the amygdala activation
What does this correlation between the amygdala & PFC in Winecoff et al.’s (2011) study suggest?
This suggests that greater activation of the PFC helps to down-regulate the amygdala
Johnstone et al. (2006) did a similar study to Winecoff et al. (2011). How did their study differ from the original?
Johnstone et al. (2006) used auditory cues to indicate whether pps reappraised a picture or experienced the emotion naturally (instead of visual cues)
Johnstone et al. (2006) compared the brain activity of healthy vs. depressed patients
What did each group in Johnstone et al.’s (2006) study do?
Conditions:
a) decrease reappraisal
b) increase reappraisal
c) attend
Pps in the ‘increase reappraisal’ condition were trained to imagine themselves or a loved one experiencing the situation that was depicted OR imagine a more extreme outcome than the one depicted
Pps in the ‘decrease reappraisal’ condition were trained to view the situation as fake/unreal OR imagine a better outcome than the one depicted
Pps in the ‘attend’ condition maintained their attention to the picture without changing their negative affective experience
What did Johnstone et al. (2006) find?
There was similar activation in the PFC when pps decreased their negative emotions BUT the PFC didn’t down-regulate the amygdala in depressed pps
In Johnstone et al.’s (2006) study, which area of the brain was more activated when reappraisal was used compared to when pps just attended to the picture?
There was more activation in the lPFC when reappraisal was used compared to when pps just attended to the picture
In Johnstone et al.’s (2006) study, what type of correlation between activity in the amygdala & PFC did they find in healthy pps during reappraisal?
In healthy pps, there was a negative correlation between amygdala & PFC activation
- the more the PFC was used, the less the amygdala was activated during reappraisal
In Johnstone et al.’s (2006) study, what type of correlation between activity in the amygdala & PFC did they find in depressed pps during reappraisal?
In depressed pps, there was a positive correlation between amygdala & PFC activation
- the more the PFC was used, the more the amygdala was activated during reappraisal
In which behaviour (of Sheppes, Suri & Gross’s (2015) 5 behaviours of emotion regulation) are there differences between healthy & depressed pps?
There are differences between healthy & depressed pps in SITUATION MODIFICATION
Milgram et al. (2015) investigated what healthy & depressed pps did when they had the choice to change a situation. What did this study involve & what did they find?
Pps were shown sad/happy/neutral images & given the option to either…
a) see the same image again
b) see another image
–> depressed pps chose to see sad images more often than healthy pps
What did Milgram et al. (2015) conclude from their study about depressed people?
People with depression are not as good at situation modification as healthy people
What can healthy people do (in terms of the way their brain works) than depressed people cannot?
Healthy people…
- can recruit their PFC when they are asked to regulate their negative emotions (reappraise)
- the PFC will down-regulate the amygdala & help regulate their emotions
- they can change situations to reduce their negative emotions (situation modification)
Depressed people…
- can recruit the PFC when they are asked to regulate their negative emotions but their PFC will not down-regulate the amygdala
- they have difficulty changing situations to reduce their negative emotions (situation modification)
What individual differences may affect emotion regulation?
- age
- level of extraversion
How does age affect emotion regulation?
Livingstone & Isaacowitz (2015) – strategies that can be used before emotional induction are preferred by older adults
Carstensen et al. (2011) – older adults have higher emotion regulation goals than younger adults
How do extraversion levels affect emotion regulation?
Henderson & Zimbardo (2001) – people low on extraversion (i.e. whom are shy) tend to use suppression more (possibly because they are too shy to show their emotions to others)
What is ‘subjective wellbeing’?
Our evaluations of our life
What are the components of wellbeing?
- hedonic wellbeing
- eudaimonic wellbeing
What is hedonic wellbeing?
Our wellbeing consists of happiness
What is eudaimonic wellbeing?
Our wellbeing consists of fulfilling one’s potentials
When is hedonic wellbeing high?
Hedonic wellbeing is high when…
- our life satisfaction is high
- we lack negative emotions
- we feel positive emotions
When is eudaimonic wellbeing high?
Eudaimonic wellbeing is high when…
- we have a purpose in life
- we have a feeling of personal growth
- we have a feeling of autonomy
- self-acceptance (positive attitudes towards the self)
- we have positive relations with others
- we have environmental mastery (can choose contexts that are suitable for our personal needs)
Emotion regulation can enhance which type of wellbeing?
Emotion regulation can enhance eudaimonic wellbeing
Gross & John (2003) examined people’s tendencies (the frequency) to use reappraisal to regulate their emotions. What did they find?
People who used reappraisal more had higher life satisfaction
What did Gross & John (2003) conclude from their study?
Reappraisal improves hedonic wellbeing
Which study supports the idea that too much happiness can be a bad thing?
Oishi et al. (2007) – analysed data from a British household study
- -> found that a moderate level of hedonic WB predicted a person’s success most
- -> the highest life satisfaction didn’t lead to the highest salary 5 years later
Which study supports the idea that too much happiness can be a bad for our emotional health?
Telzer et al. (2014) – used MRI to examine activation of the brain’s reward area (VS)
Pps did a eudaimonic wellbeing task (donated money to others) OR a hedonic wellbeing task (received money themselves)
- -> greater activation in the VS for the hedonic task predicted more depression in the following year
- -> pps who cared (high eudaimonic wellbeing) had a higher chance of displaying depressive symptoms 1 year later
If we want to avoid depression, we must have HIGH/LOW hedonic wellbeing & HIGH/LOW eudaimonic wellbeing.
If we want to avoid depression, we must have HIGH hedonic wellbeing & HIGH eudaimonic wellbeing.
Which study supports the idea that reappraisal can lead to better eudaimonic wellbeing?
Gross & John (2003) – examined the effect of reappraisal on eudaimonic wellbeing
–> those who used reappraisal more showed higher eudaimonic WB in all 6 areas (environmental mastery, self-acceptance, autonomy, personal growth, purpose in life, positive relations with others)
What is cortisol?
A hormone that is released in response to stress
Levels of cortisol are typically high at what point in the day?
We have typically high levels of cortisol 30-45 mins after we wake up, & levels gradually decline over the course of the day
Which researcher looked at the effect of cortisol on wellbeing?
Abercrombie et al. (2004)
What did Abercrombie et al. (2004) do in their study?
Pps gave saliva samples throughout the day for a 1 week period
Diurnal cycle → highest values were noted in the morning, & there was a downward progression over the course of the day (this is adaptive)
- normative slope = negative-going line
- deviations from this normative slope is associated with lower wellbeing
What did Abercrombie et al. (2004) find in their study?
There were large individual differences in diurnal rhythm (some people have flat/steep profiles)
- a flat profile was linked to poor performance on cognitive tasks, lower perceived social support, less successful relationships with their SO & higher perceived stress
Hedonic wellbeing did not correlate with the slope of cortisol
What did Urry et al.’s (2006) reappraisal study involve?
Urry et al. (2006) – healthy pps saw negative OR positive pictures & reappraised OR attended to the pictures
What did Urry et al. (2006) find?
- pps were good at reducing their amygdala activity when decreasing their negative affect
- the amount of signal change observed in the amygdala was inversely associated with 2 clusters in the left & right vmPFC
- there was a negative correlation between vmPFC & amygdala activation when pps saw negative pics
Urry et al. (2006) also looked at the salivary cortisol slope. What did they find/conclude?
- decreasing negative affect would show better adaptation (would show steep declines in salivary cortisol over the course of the day) & more adaptive functioning in daily life
- the vmPFC & amygdala are relevant to salivary cortisol levels
- greater vmPFC activation during reappraisal was associated with a steeper profile of salivary cortisol
- if the vmPFC couldn’t down-regulate the amygdala (amygdala activity increased), there was a flat cortisol change
- pps who were good at reducing their negative affect had a more adaptive daily cortisol rhythm
Which behaviour of emotion regulation is expression suppressed represented at?
Expression suppression is represented at Response Modulation (5) (= external state; how we show emotions to others)
How do reappraisal & suppression differ?
Reappraisal is about controlling your emotions by changing the way you think about the situation –> it is good for wellbeing
Suppression is about controlling your emotions by not expressing them –> it can be detrimental to wellbeing
Frequent suppression leads to low life satisfaction & low wellbeing in all 6 domains for eudaimonic wellbeing (also lower in optimism & self-esteem).
Who found this?
Gross & John (2003)
Pps watched a happy OR sad video & either…
a) suppressed their emotional reactions
b) didn’t suppress their emotional reactions
Who did this study & what did they find?
Gross & Levenson (1997)
Suppression increased pps SCR when they watched a sad video (i.e. it made their internal state worse)
What researcher studied the effect of thought suppression?
Wegner et al. (1987) told pps to either…
a) think about a white bear
b) don’t think about a white bear
…& to ring a bell whenever they thought of a white bear
–> pps told not to think about the bear rang the bell more often
Which two processes occur when we are trying to suppress a thought?
- Automatic target search
2. Controlled distractor search
What is involved in automatic target search?
- we look for the unwanted thought constantly to monitor our thoughts & see whether we have the thought in our brain
- we test whether our thought suppression attempts succeed/fail
What is involved in controlled distractor search?
- once automatic target search finds the unwanted thought, we recruit controlled distractor search to find distractors to stop us thinking about that thought
Automatic target search makes an unwanted thought activated & highly accessible. Under which condition/s does this especially occur?
This especially occurs when we are under time pressure/we have limited cognitive resources
Why does having limited cognitive resources make thought suppression more difficult?
We can’t think of a distractor → this makes automatic target search more powerful → we become obsessed with the unwanted thought
ATS occurs first & we can’t switch to CDS if we have limited cognitive resources
John & Gross (2004) found that using reappraisal to regulate our emotions is associated with healthier patterns of…
…social functioning & wellbeing compared to suppression
According to John & Gross (2004), there is a normative shift towards a healthy emotion regulation profile during adulthood.
What do we increase/decrease the use of as a result?
There is a normative shift towards a healthier emotion regulation profile during adulthood - we increase our use of reappraisal & decrease our use of suppression
