Emotion Regulation Capacity: Associations with Executive Functions and Regulation Tendency
Tue—HZ_9—Talks6—6202
Presented by: Hannah Plueckebaum
Previous studies suggest that different emotion regulation (ER) strategies vary in the effectiveness with which they reduce certain components of an emotional response. In this study, we investigate how individual differences in the effectiveness of distraction and reappraisal are related to differences in (a) executive functions (EF) and (b) the selection of these strategies in adaptation to context factors like stimulus intensity. In a non-clinical sample of N = 220 participants, we studied ER with an ER implementation and an ER selection task. For the ER implementation task, we analyzed individual differences in the capacity to reduce the amplitude of the late positive potential (LPP) in EEG with reappraisal vs. distraction. This measure of ER capacity was related to (a) experimental measures of EF (inhibition, shifting, updating) and (b) the individual tendency to choose reappraisal vs. distraction as regulation strategy for emotional stimuli of high vs. low intensity. We found that the individual tendency for reappraisal was associated with an ER capacity advantage for reappraisal. This association was observed for subjective ratings of affective state as well as for the LPP amplitude - and especially for high intensity stimuli. Further analyses relate individual differences in ER capacity and tendency to differences in EF. Our findings suggest that people favor the ER strategies that help them personally best – both subjectively and objectively. The talk will discuss implications for mental health and related interventions.
Keywords: