The Impact of Positive Emotion Regulation on convergent creativity Evidence from ERP

Abstract

Research on emotion regulation should not be limited to negative emotion regulation, but should also include cognitive activities. This study examined the impact of positive emotion regulation on convergent creativity through an ERP analysis. The study sample comprised 57 undergraduates. They were divided into cognitive reappraisal, expression suppression, and control groups and completed emotional regulation and convergent creativity tasks. The results showed that when undergraduates used different emotion regulation strategies to regulate positive emotions and then completed the convergent creativity tasks, the cognitive reappraisal group performed better. In the early stage (Q-N1), cognitive reappraisal can enhance the sensitivity of individuals to convergent thinking. In the late stage (P350-2000), cognitive reappraisal can help individuals reduce the consumption of attention resources, especially in the P350-650, and the promotion effect of cognitive reappraisal is most obvious. The results suggest that if individuals can remain relatively calm at the early stage of solving the convergent creativity tasks, it will help them to understand the task and improve their performance in convergent creativity.