Indirect subjective measurements of applied reappraisal and distraction : An online study

Abstract: The struggle to regulate one's emotions can sometimes be difficult. Two emotion regulation strategies are to reappraise an emotional stimulus or to distract oneself from the stimulus. While there have been many investigations of both strategies, previous research suffers from methodological problems. Reappraisal conditions might be confounded by non-reappraisal-related cognitive processes, resulting in effects of distraction rather than reappraisal. In the current exploratory within-subjects study, participants completed an online survey where the conditions were held as equal as possible to avoid any differences in non-task-related cognitive processes. I measured variables that have been associated with an electrophysiological response correlated to the intensity level of emotions: the late positive potential. First, participants watched emotionally negative film clips in a reappraisal, distraction, and control condition, followed by ratings of experienced feeling. Second, participants rated the threat level of angry and neutral faces. It was hypothesized that applying ER during emotion induction compared to no ER should result in more positive ratings of experienced feeling after induction and lower threat-ratings of angry faces due to a more positive emotional state. The results showed no significant differences between conditions, most likely due to either methodological limitations or an actual lack of emotion regulation effects. I discuss future directions and improvements of the method.