Date of Award
2023
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Organizational Unit
College of Arts Humanities and Social Sciences, Psychology
First Advisor
Kateri McRae
Second Advisor
Derigan A. Silver
Third Advisor
Kimberly Chiew
Fourth Advisor
Sarah Watamura
Keywords
Psychology, Emotion regulation, Cognitive resources, Reappraisal, Emotional Stroop
Abstract
The ability to regulate emotions via reappraisal is considered an important skill that is associated with greater well-being. However, the effectiveness of emotion regulation is impacted by individual differences, and its adaptiveness may vary depending on context. For example individuals from vulnerable populations such as children and mothers in the context of poverty often demonstrate less optimal reappraisal, that is in turn associated with maladaptive behaviors. Given its consequence on mental health, it is critical to understand mechanisms that influence reappraisal to maximize its adaptive consequences. The current study explored conditions that could either facilitate or impair reappraisal success. We hypothesized that immediate cognitive context using an emotion conflict resolution task (Incongruent and Congruent trials of an Emotional Stroop) will elicit differential behavioral and neural responding in subsequent reappraisal. Results showed that temporal regions (middle temporal gyrus, parahippocampal gyrus) showed dampened activity during reappraisal when preceded by Incongruent trials. This shows a diminished capacity to downregulate emotions when reappraisal is preceded by Incongruent Stroop. Although not hypothesized, dampened activity was observed in emotion reactivity regions (cuneus, thalamus) for Look Negative trials (in the absence of instructions to reappraise) when preceded by Incongruent Stroop. Thus, showing that prefontally-dependent incongruent Stroop trials automatically evoked top-down control processes, which in turn reduced emotional neural reactivity and self-reported negative affect. Results of the present study demonstrate that engaging in an emotional conflict resolution task (a form of emotional control) immediately before reappraisal may deplete cognitive resources and therefore impair subsequent reappraisal success. However, engaging in emotional conflict resolution alone is less cognitively demanding, and may induce implicit forms of emotion regulation and reduce negative affect without explicit instructions to reappraise.
Copyright Date
8-1-2023
Copyright Statement / License for Reuse
All Rights Reserved.
Publication Statement
Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.
Rights Holder
Christian Capistrano Boeckner
Provenance
Received from ProQuest
File Format
application/pdf
Language
English (eng)
Extent
74 pgs
File Size
2.7 MB
Recommended Citation
Boeckner, Christian Capistrano, "Process Depletion in Emotion Regulation" (2023). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 2264.
https://digitalcommons.du.edu/etd/2264
Discipline
Psychology