Reappraisal and suppression emotion-regulation tendencies differentially predict reward-responsivity and psychological well-being

Abstract

Individuals who suppress their emotions experience less positive emotions, worse relationships, and a reduced quality of life whereas those who tend to reappraise show an opposite pattern. Despite this divergent pattern, few have asked how the use of these emotion-regulation strategies relates to reward responsivity. We predicted that elevated suppression would be associated with blunted reward responsivity, whereas reappraisal would be associated with elevated reward responsivity. To test this hypothesis, participants completed a measure of individual differences in emotion-regulation strategies, measures of self-reported reward responsivity, and then a reward time-estimation task (Kotani et al., 2003) while electroencephalography (EEG) was recorded. Results revealed that individual differences in cognitive reappraisal were unrelated to self-report measures of reward responsivity, whereas suppression was associated with blunted reward responsivity. At the neural level, reappraisal was associated with greater attention to the rewarding cues, as indexed by the P300 event-related potential (ERP) component, whereas suppression was related to blunted reward anticipation, as indexed by the stimulus-preceding negativity (SPN) ERP component. Suppression prospectively predicted worse psychological well-being 2.5 years later and blunted neural reward anticipation partially explained this association. Taken together with past research, these results suggest reappraisal tendencies may lead to better outcomes due, in part, to enhanced reward responsivity, whereas the negative consequences of suppression may be associated with blunted reward responsivity.

After-effects of self-control: The reward responsivity hypothesis

“…Future studies should consider how selfcontrol exertion influences reward anticipation ERPs as well. For example, cue evaluation (indexed by the N200 and P300), motor preparation (indexed by the readiness potential or contingent negative variation), and feedback anticipation (indexed by the stimulus-preceding negativity, SPN) are all modulated in the context of reward (Glazer et al, 2018;Kelley, Glazer, Pornpattananangkul, & Nusslock, 2019;Pornpattananangkul & Nusslock, 2015), and may thus be influenced by prior self-control.…”

Positive Affect Over Time and Emotion Regulation Strategies: Exploring Trajectories With Latent Growth Mixture Model Analysis

“…Taking as a framework Gross' theoretical model, we know that people use them, respectively, when focusing on the antecedents of an emotion, for reappraisal, and when they focus on ways to modulate their responses, for suppression. These two strategies are particularly relevant in relation to positive affect, given empirical evidence documenting that people who frequently use reappraisal emotion regulation strategy experience more positive emotions, better relationships, a higher quality of life, and higher levels of well-being, compared to those who tend to prefer suppression (e.g., Kelley et al, 2019). For this reason, we hypothesize that reappraisal could affect positive emotion trajectories, whereas we expect that suppression does not.…”

Anger, Affective Injustice, and Emotion Regulation

“…Deploying reappraisal strategies as opposed to suppression strategies (which we will discuss shortly) has been associated with a range of positive life outcomes. People who employ reappraisal strategies report having more positive and fewer negative emotional experiences (Brans et al, 2013;Gross and John 2003;Nezlek & Kuppens, 2008), higher levels of psychological well-being (John & Gross, 2004;Kelley et al 2019;McRae et al 2012) and are at a lower risk of developing cardiovascular disease (Appleton & Kubzansky, 2014;Gianaros et al, 2014). In relation to anger in particular, reappraisal has been found to be more effective at reducing feelings of anger (Szasz et al 2011;Memedovic et al 2010) and at reducing the amount at which blood pressure increases in response to provocation (Memedovic et al 2010).…”