Abstract
We explored the attentional demands of unpleasant picture viewing and emotion regulation strategies. Participants received
instructions to view, reappraise, or suppress their emotional experience to unpleasant and neutral pictures, while performing
a concurrent auditory discrimination task, both during and after the picture presentation period. Reaction times (RTs) were
slower during unpleasant than neutral pictures, which persisted into the post-picture period. RTs were also slower during
reappraisal and suppression than viewing and for earlier than later tones following picture onset. An enduring effect of negative
emotion was found in the picture and post picture period for suppression but not reappraisal. Findings suggest that both viewing
emotional stimuli and regulating one’s emotions using either reappraisal or suppression draw upon common attentional resources,
but with suppression resulting in the distinct cost of maintaining the effects of negative emotion.
instructions to view, reappraise, or suppress their emotional experience to unpleasant and neutral pictures, while performing
a concurrent auditory discrimination task, both during and after the picture presentation period. Reaction times (RTs) were
slower during unpleasant than neutral pictures, which persisted into the post-picture period. RTs were also slower during
reappraisal and suppression than viewing and for earlier than later tones following picture onset. An enduring effect of negative
emotion was found in the picture and post picture period for suppression but not reappraisal. Findings suggest that both viewing
emotional stimuli and regulating one’s emotions using either reappraisal or suppression draw upon common attentional resources,
but with suppression resulting in the distinct cost of maintaining the effects of negative emotion.
- Content Type Journal Article
- Category Original Paper
- Pages 1-9
- DOI 10.1007/s11031-012-9310-9
- Authors
- Catherine N. M. Ortner, Department of Psychology, Thompson Rivers University, 900 McGill Road, Kamloops, BC V2C 0C8, Canada
- Philip David Zelazo, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
- Adam K. Anderson, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Journal Motivation and Emotion
- Online ISSN 1573-6644
- Print ISSN 0146-7239