Clearing the mind: A working memory model of distraction from negative mood.

Abstract

The present research examined whether and how loading working memory can attenuate negative mood. In three experiments, participants were exposed to neutral, weakly negative, or strongly negative pictures followed by a task and a mood scale. Working memory demands were varied by manipulating task presence (Study 1), complexity (Study 2), and predictability (Study 3). Participants in all three experiments reported less negative moods in negative trials with high compared to low working memory demand. Working memory demands did not affect mood in the neutral trials. When working memory demands were high, participants no longer reported more negative moods in response to strongly negative pictures than to weakly negative pictures. These findings suggest that loading working memory prevents mood-congruent processing, and thereby promotes distraction from negative moods.

Tuning down the emotional brain: An fMRI study of the effects of cognitive load on the processing of affective images

“…Moreover, response time differences were unable to account for the effects of task load on negative moods, F(1,15) b 1. Thus, in line with previous findings (Van Dillen and Koole, 2007), task load modulated participants' selfreported negative emotion.…”

“…To interpret this effect, we analyzed the effects of task load separately in each valence condition. In line with previous research using the same paradigm (Van Dillen and Koole, 2007), there was no effect of task load in the neutral trials, F b 1. By contrast, task load had a significant effect in the negative trials, F(1, 16) = 11.54, p = .004.…”

“…This would imply that emotional brain regions operate quite flexibly, in that they can still be modulated by contextual demands even when the initial emotional response has unfolded. In line with this, behavioral research suggests that task load can still modulate emotional processing when the task succeeds, rather than accompanies the emotional stimulus (Erber and Tesser, 1992;Gerin et al, 2006;Glynn et al, 2002;Van Dillen and Koole, 2007). For instance, participants reported less negative feelings in response to negative pictures when they subsequently tried to solve complex rather than simple math equations (Van Dillen and Koole, 2007).…”

“…One important way of dealing with negative emotion consists of minimizing the amount of attentional resources that are devoted to processing negative information (Ochsner and Gross, 2005;NolenHoeksema et al, 1993;Van Dillen and Koole, 2007). More specifically, performing an attention-demanding task has been found to attenuate the emotional impact of negative stimuli (Erber and Tesser, 1992;Erthal et al, 2005;Glynn et al, 2002;Morrow and Nolen-Hoeksema, 1990;Pessoa et al, 2002;Van Dillen and Koole, 2007;in press).…”

“…More specifically, performing an attention-demanding task has been found to attenuate the emotional impact of negative stimuli (Erber and Tesser, 1992;Erthal et al, 2005;Glynn et al, 2002;Morrow and Nolen-Hoeksema, 1990;Pessoa et al, 2002;Van Dillen and Koole, 2007;in press). In recent years, the neural effects of task load on processing of emotional stimuli have begun to receive more systematic attention.…”