Emotion Regulation Effectiveness: What Works When

Sheppes, Gal; Gross, James J.

doi:10.1002/9781118133880.hop205018

Cited by 71 publications

(111 citation statements)

References 80 publications

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“…Based on our framework showing similar efficacy between attentional deployment and semantic meaning for low emotional intensity stimuli, visual search distraction was expected to be as effective and difficult to implement as reappraisal (Sheppes and Gross, 2011, 2012). …”

Section: Study 1: Testing Visual Search Distraction and Reappraisal Umentioning

confidence: 97%

In (visual) search for a new distraction: the efficiency of a novel attentional deployment versus semantic meaning regulation strategies

2014

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Cognitive emotion regulation strategies are considered the king’s highway to control affective reactions. Two broad categories of cognitive regulation are attentional deployment and semantic meaning. The basic distinctive feature between these categories is the type of conflict between regulatory and emotional processes for dominance, with an early attentional selection conflict in attentional deployment and a late appraisal selection conflict in semantic meaning. However, prior studies that tested the relative efficacy of these two regulatory categories varied the type and the degree of conflict. Our major goal was to test the relative efficacy of a novel attentional deployment strategy (visual search distraction) and a classic semantic meaning strategy (reappraisal) that have a different type of conflict but a matched degree of conflict. Specifically, visual search distraction involves a strong degree of attentional selection conflict manifested in attending subtle non-emotional features that are camouflaged within potent negative emotional stimuli. Reappraisal involves a strong degree of appraisal selection conflict manifested in construing neutral reappraisals that rely on potent negative emotional appraisals. Based on our theoretical model we hypothesized and found that visual search distraction was as effective as cognitive reappraisal in down-regulating the experience of low intensity of negative emotion (Study 1), but more effective, less effortful, and more strongly blocking emotional information processing than cognitive reappraisal when regulating high intensity (Study 2). A final study ruled out a demand characteristics explanation by showing that participants’ expectations about how they should feel diverged from how they actually reported feeling following regulation (Study 3). Our findings suggest that the basic difference in the type rather than degree of conflict between attentional deployment and semantic meaning determines strategies’ outcome.

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Section: Study 1: Testing Visual Search Distraction and Reappraisal Umentioning

confidence: 97%

In (visual) search for a new distraction: the efficiency of a novel attentional deployment versus semantic meaning regulation strategies

2014

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“…It is possible that due to older adults’ preference for positive information (Isaacowitz et al, 2006a, 2006b) they may be more successful at implementing positive reappraisal (Shiota & Levenson, 2009). However, positive reappraisal involves attending to and reinterpretation of emotional information in a positive light which requires semantic elaboration (e.g., Sheppes & Gross, in press) and is thought to be more resource demanding for older adults (Opitz et al, 2012). On the other hand, attentional deployment may require less effort compared to reappraisal as attention is focused away from emotional content and may minimize its emotional impact (Sheppes & Gross, in press; Sheppes & Meiran, 2007, 2008), which may make it older adults’ preferred regulation strategy.…”

Section: Age Differences In Use Of Emotion Regulation Strategiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, positive reappraisal involves attending to and reinterpretation of emotional information in a positive light which requires semantic elaboration (e.g., Sheppes & Gross, in press) and is thought to be more resource demanding for older adults (Opitz et al, 2012). On the other hand, attentional deployment may require less effort compared to reappraisal as attention is focused away from emotional content and may minimize its emotional impact (Sheppes & Gross, in press; Sheppes & Meiran, 2007, 2008), which may make it older adults’ preferred regulation strategy. Given the decline in cognitive resources and changes in motivations to maintain emotional wellbeing (Urry & Gross, 2010), it is unclear which of the two strategies may be more useful for older adults, in terms of success in implementing them and resource demands, to manage sadness-eliciting content.…”

Section: Age Differences In Use Of Emotion Regulation Strategiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In other words, the strategy led to a better mood with less physiological cost while implementing it. We had predicted that attentional deployment will be the more useful strategy compared to positive reappraisal as older adults can utilize it as a mood-regulatory tool (Isaacowitz et al, 2008) and that it will have a less sympathetic arousal level as it is less resource demanding (Sheppes & Gross, in press). …”

Section: Overview Of the Current Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Age differences in managing response to sadness elicitors using attentional deployment, positive reappraisal and suppression

Lohani

Isaacowitz

2013

Cognition and Emotion

102

137

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The current study investigated age differences in the use of attentional deployment, positive reappraisal, and suppression while regulating responses to sadness-eliciting content. We also tested to what extent these emotion regulation strategies were useful for each age group in managing response to age-relevant sad information. Forty-two young participants (Mage = 18.5, SE = .15) and 48 older participants (Mage = 71.42, SE = 1.15) watched four sadness-eliciting videos (about death/illness, 4–5 minutes long) under four conditions - no-regulation (no regulation instructions), attentional deployment (divert attention away), positive reappraisal (focus on positive outcomes), and suppression (conceal emotional expressions). We assessed negative emotional experience, expression, skin conductance level, and visual fixations while participants watched the emotional clips and followed the instructions for each condition. Results suggest that older adults were more successful than younger adults at implementing both attentional deployment and positive reappraisal. Ability to suppress emotions appears to remain stable with age. Within age-group comparisons suggested that for the older adults, positive reappraisal was a more useful emotion regulation strategy than the others, while the pattern among younger adults was less conclusive. Age-relevant differences in motivation and successful emotion regulatory efforts based on theoretical and empirical literatures are discussed.

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“…The starting point of this conceptual framework was set to explain the differential consequences of employing (rather than choosing between) different regulation strategies (Sheppes and Gross, 2011, 2012). Specifically, according to this framework due to limited cognitive capacity, a constant competition emerges between emotion generation and emotion regulation processes (Gross et al, 2011a,b) for dominance over behavior.…”

Section: How Important Are Our Emotion Regulation Choices?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Emotion regulation choice: selecting between cognitive regulation strategies to control emotion

Sheppes¹,

Levin²

2013

Front. Hum. Neurosci.

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102

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Emotion Regulation Effectiveness: What Works When

Cited by 71 publications

References 80 publications

In (visual) search for a new distraction: the efficiency of a novel attentional deployment versus semantic meaning regulation strategies

In (visual) search for a new distraction: the efficiency of a novel attentional deployment versus semantic meaning regulation strategies

Age differences in managing response to sadness elicitors using attentional deployment, positive reappraisal and suppression

Emotion regulation choice: selecting between cognitive regulation strategies to control emotion

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