Effect of Imagery Rescripting on State Emotion Regulation: An Experimental Paradigm

This study aimed to investigate the relevance of an individual's typical emotion perception and emotion regulation behavior to his or her responsiveness to humor. This was studied behaviorally by examining responses to different types of humorous stimuli in an experimental paradigm, in a sample of n = 54 participants aged between 18 to 41 years (29 women, 25 men). Individual differences in emotion perception and regulation were assessed by relevant subscales of an established self-report instrument. Higher scores on emotion perception were related to higher amusement ratings in response to the humorous stimuli. Higher scores on emotion regulation were associated with shorter response latencies for the amusement ratings, particularly when it was important to mentalize with the characters in the cartoons in order to understand the humor. The cognitive understanding of the humor was unaffected. The findings suggest that good emotion perception and emotion regulation skills may contribute to greater humor responsiveness in everyday life, which may be an adaptive trait promoting successful functioning and resilience.

Background and objectivesThis study compared the effect of imagery rescripting focusing on self-compassion, imagery rescripting focusing on mastery, and a positive memory control condition on (1) emotional responses towards the memory (one day after), (2) changes in the believability of negative core beliefs, and dysfunctional eating behaviors (one week after) in individual at risk for developing an eating disorder. MethodsFemale participants (N = 69) were allocated to one of three conditions: ImRs focusing on self-compassion (N = 24), ImRs focusing on self-mastery (N = 23), and positive memory control condition (N = 22). Participants in the ImRs conditions received a 20-min self-guided ImRs intervention, whereas participants in the control condition received a 20-min self-guided task focusing on an unrelated positive memory. ResultsThe experimental manipulation successfully induced the use of self-compassion and mastery strategies in the respective imagery rescripting condition. However, our data show that a single 20-min session of self-guided imagery rescripting focusing on compassion and/or mastery has no effect on the emotional response towards the aversive memory or in the change of core beliefs and eating behaviors at follow up. LimitationsWe discuss potential reasons for the null findings, including the use of a single imagery rescripting session, the sample size and the measurement of manipulation checks. ConclusionFuture studies are needed to rule out methodological explanations for the null results. These findings may be of value for the development of future experimental lab paradigms which aim to evaluate the causal effects and working mechanisms of imagery rescripting.

Emotion regulation (ER) may be an important psychological mechanism underpinning the development, and management, of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in refugees. Despite this, little is known about the ER strategies that refugees spontaneously deploy under stress, nor how effective different approaches may be at reducing distress. This was the first study to identify individual differences in patterns of spontaneous ER among refugees and explore their unique associations with negative affect and PTSD. Spontaneous reappraisal and suppression use was measured among 82 refugees following a 5-min exposure to trauma-salient images. Negative affect was indexed before and after the exposure task. Latent profile analysis (LPA) was conducted to identify distinct profiles of participants based on differing levels of ER use. LPA revealed two distinct profiles: a high ER variability profile (37%; high suppression/moderate-high reappraisal) and a low ER variability profile (63%; low suppression/moderate reappraisal). The low ER variability profile was associated with increased negative affect during the experimental paradigm, greater PTSD avoidance symptoms, and greater likelihood of insecure visa status compared with the high ER variability profile. Our findings suggest that a more variable ER approach in response to trauma-salient stressors results in lower distress and is associated with less severe PTSD symptoms. Better understanding the links between patterns of ER strategy use and psychopathology has important implications for the development of effective treatments for refugees. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Emotional Regulation and Acute Pain Perception in Women

(1) Background: Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) have shown interesting preliminary effects on self-regulation processes in early adolescence. However, programs have typically combined different types of interventions with no understanding of the specific effect of each intervention type on attentional, emotional, and behavioral regulation. The objective of this research was to evaluate the effect of two MBIs-one focused on classic attentional practices and another focused on the recognition and expression of emotions-on attentional, emotional, and behavioral self-regulation in early adolescents. (2) Method: An experimental paradigm was used. A sample of 74 children aged between 8 and 12 years old were randomly assigned to three experimental conditions: (1) an MBI with a focus on attentional practices, (2) an MBI with a focus on recognition and expression of emotions, and (3) a control group. The interventions lasted 8 weeks, with a weekly, 1 h online synchronous session plus home practices. Children were evaluated before starting the intervention and at the end of the 8-week period. The assessed outcomes were (1) mindfulness; (2) emotional regulation; (3) attentional regulation, and (4) behavioral regulation. (3) Results: Children who participated in both intervention programs increased their mindfulness and emotional and behavioral regulation scores. Only children who participated in the MBI with a focus on attention showed significant changes in their ability to self-regulate attention. (4) Conclusions: The use of online MBIs, with attention to external and internal stimuli practices, can be a good strategy to strengthen self-regulation skills for attention, emotions, and behavior in early adolescence.

Emotional reactivity and regulation in 5- to 8-year-old children: An ERP study of own-age face processing

BackgroundEmotion dysregulation is a central feature in trauma-associated disorders such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and borderline personality disorder (BPD). However, it remains unclear whether emotion dysregulation is a transdiagnostic phenomenon closely linked to childhood trauma, or if disorder-specific alterations in emotion processing exist. Following a multimethodological approach, we aimed to assess and compare the reactivity to and regulation of emotions between patients with BPD and PTSD, as well as healthy controls, and identify associations with childhood trauma.MethodsA total of 135 women, 43 healthy controls, 43 with BPD and 49 with PTSD, took part in a multimethodological assessment of emotional reactivity and regulation. Self-report measures were used to assess childhood trauma and emotion dysregulation. Additionally, participants performed a classic emotion regulation (ER) paradigm. Subjective emotional valence ratings and neurophysiological responses (P3 and late positive potential, LPP) were measured in response to negative, positive, and neutral pictures (emotional reactivity) and during active regulation vs. passive viewing of negative pictures (ER).ResultsRegarding emotional reactivity, during the experimental paradigm both patient groups reported lower emotional valence after viewing positive or neutral pictures compared to healthy controls. Furthermore, P3 amplitudes in response to neutral pictures were reduced in both patient groups and in response to negative pictures, specifically in patients with PTSD. Regarding ER, while both patient groups self-reported significant disturbances in ER, neither valence ratings nor neurophysiological responses assessed during the ER task (P3, LPP) differed from healthy controls. Across groups, childhood trauma was related to decreased emotional valence ratings on neutral and positive pictures and higher self-reported emotion dysregulation.ConclusionsPatients with BPD and PTSD exhibited a reduced emotional reactivity in response to positive and neutral information. Specifically, patients with PTSD demonstrated hypo-reactivity to neutral and trauma-unrelated negative stimuli, which might be due to altered attentional resource allocation following trauma. Although patients reported using adaptive ER strategies less frequently in daily life, they effectively implemented them when instructed to, highlighting important clinical and theoretical implications.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s40479-025-00313-3.

Impaired down-regulation of negative emotion in self-referent social situations in bipolar disorder: A pilot study of a novel experimental paradigm

Homelessness is a complex social issue that is of increasing concern to most developed nations. Homelessness is more than not having a house; it is a form of social exclusion and carries significant physical, psychological, and social challenges. The broad aim of the current thesis was to investigate how the psychological and social aspects of the homeless experience can influence outcomes, such as well-being. In particular, the research focuses on processes related to social categories, social identities, and social support of people, as people transition through homeless accommodation services. The first empirical chapters (Chapter 4 and 5) focus on the impact of self-categorization as homeless. Study 1 (Chapter 4) was a qualitative and quantitative cross-sectional study with 119 residents of homeless accommodation services in South-East Queensland. Results demonstrated that while the majority of participants accepted the homeless label (55%), a large portion of residents (31%) rejected the homeless label, or were ambivalent (14%). Respondents who rejected the homeless label reported greater personal well-being and lower negative mood symptoms than participants who accepted the label. Study 2 (Chapter 5) explored this further using an experimental paradigm among 80 residents of a homeless service. Participants who were required to self-categorize as homeless at the beginning of the questionnaire had significantly lower future life aspirations and perceived competency than participants who did not. Further, future life aspirations and perceived competency both mediated the relationship between self-categorization and well-being. Studies 3 and 4 (Chapters 6 and 7) focus on social identity processes for people transitioning through homelessness. Study 3 assessed how multiple group memberships and service identification related to well-being and positive housing outcomes among 76 participants while they were residing in a homeless accommodation service and again 2 – 4 weeks after leaving the service (or three months later if participants had not left the service). The results found that multiple group memberships and service identification independently predicted well-being at Time 2, via social support. Both social identity processes also indirectly predicted housing outcomes via social support. Study 4 built on this research by exploring the antecedents and outcomes that are related to service identification among 296 residents across 19 services. Characteristics of the service delivery model and perceptions of discrimination predicted participants’ identification with staff. Further, identification with staff predicted service engagement 6 months later and identification with residents predicted joining new groups 6 months later. The final study (Chapter 8) examined how one of these social processes, namely the relationship between social support and well-being, related to an “individual” trait - emotion regulation. Results from a one-year longitudinal study, conducted over three time-points, supported a bi-directional mediation model between social support and emotion regulation, on well-being. Specifically, the positive impact of higher levels of social support on well-being was partly mediated by higher emotion regulation, and the negative impact of poor emotion regulation on well-being was partly mediated by lower social support. The thesis concludes with a broad discussion summarising the findings and the implications of the research. We discuss the role and consequences of the homeless category in defining people, the potential importance and benefits of taking a social group belonging and identification approach within homelessness services, and the benefits of taking an interpersonal conceptualisation for variables that are often only examined as individual traits.

Objectives: Observational studies suggest emotion regulation (ER) as a potential treatment target for problematic college drinking. The primary aim of this laboratory study was to determine whether trait ER strategies would moderate the impact of negative affect induction on alcohol craving in college drinkers. Methods: Participants were randomly assigned to a neutral (n = 74) or a negative affect induction (n = 76) and reported their craving after the affect inductions. Results: Greater use of drinking to cope and less use of cognitive reappraisal predicted greater alcohol craving after the negative affect induction, but not after the neutral condition. In contrast, emotion suppression did not predict alcohol craving in either condition. Conclusion: Our results highlight the role of ER tendencies—particularly the benefits of cognitive reappraisal—on alcohol craving when experiencing emotional distress. Therefore, ER strategies may be an important target for college drinkers to prevent and reduce problematic drinking.

A sizable literature has yet to establish a reliable empirical connection between the trait conceptualization of emotion regulation as habitual, cross-situation emotion regulation tendencies and its state conceptualization as real-time, fluid, momentary emotion–situation interactivity and dependency. Thus, an open question remains: Do self-reported differences in tendencies to use one or another emotion regulation strategy predict self-reported, momentary emotional states and experiences, and are differences in these emotional states consistent with differences in emotional reactivity observed in previous studies among individuals in experimental paradigms asked to make real-time use of the emotion regulation strategies represented by these trait measures? If trait measures of emotion regulation validly reflect actual uses of particular strategies (e.g., expressive suppression and cognitive reappraisal), then these measures should predict individual differences in momentary emotions and experiences associated with habitual use of these strategies. Examining a sample of 177 participants, we found that differential endorsements of habitual strategy use on these measures were associated with individual differences in self-reported momentary emotion and experience that correspond to well-documented differences in reactivity reported among individuals instructed to apply these strategies in experimental settings. Limitations of these findings and suggestions for future directions are discussed.

Taijiquan training emphasizes the relaxation of the mind and the body, pay attention to maintain the peace of mind, and minimize the impact of external interference on the body so as to make the mind more comfortable. This study mainly explores the influence of Taijiquan practice on emotion regulation based on intelligent medical health big data analysis. The significance of Taijiquan in developing and improving the positive emotions of middle-aged people and maintaining physical and mental health is expounded. There are two methods of data collection: full collection and incremental collection. In this study, when the psychological testing equipment was launched, a full amount of historical data was collected; after the psychological testing equipment was online, the collection method was generally carried out in the way of incremental collection. The subjects exercised Taijiquan three times a week, one hour each time, and the exercise content was the 24-style Taijiquan designated by the workstation. At the same time, the subjects were asked not to engage in other regular physical exercise projects in their spare time. By longitudinal tracking and comparison of the Taijiquan intervention group after participating in the Taijiquan exercise intervention, the differences in the state of mind and emotion regulation strategies, and 12 subjects were selected voluntarily to participate in the emotional Stroop (the color words used in the classic Stroop paradigm were replaced with emotional and nonemotional words written in different colors, and the subjects were still tasked with responding to colors) experimental paradigm. In this paper, the moderate-intensity Taijiquan project is selected, which is in line with the effective value threshold theory of exercise load. It studies the effects of exercise on the body shape, cardiopulmonary function, flexibility, and balance ability of the body according to the metabolism theory and the movement balance theory of the human body adapting to the environment. Before the experiment, there was no significant difference between the Taijiquan training group and the control group, but after the experiment, there was a significant difference between the Taijiquan training group and the control group (P<0.05). Taijiquan has a significant effect on improving students' body shape, cardiopulmonary function, flexibility, balance, and mood.

Recognized as a transdiagnostic factor, emotion regulation (ER) is increasingly embedded into conceptualizations of psychopathology development and maintenance, emerging as a core component of treatment methodologies. Therefore, the incorporation of ER into various facets of affective sciences, including theoretical frameworks, experimental paradigms, assessment methods, and intervention strategies, raises new challenges, particularly regarding the measurement of ER. In the evaluation and understanding of complex, multifaceted processes like ER, the combination of different assessment methods encompassing diverse units of analysis across multiple domains encompassing cerebral, physiological, and behavioral measures can prove particularly interesting. Among these approaches, the concurrent recording of electroencephalographic (EEG) and electrodermal activity (EDA) emerges as a promising strategy, enabling a more holistic exploration of the ER process at both central and peripheral levels. This brief paper aims to explore current literature concerning the utilization of EEG and EDA in the investigation of ER and to bring arguments supporting their simultaneous recording in order to gain a better understanding of ER processes.

Regulation of Emotion in Major Depressive Disorder

Imagery rescripting (IR) has been shown to be effective for emotion regulation in both patients with mental disorders and in experimental settings. However, the effects of rumination on emotion regulation remain ambiguous, with some studies classifying rumination as an adaptive emotion regulation strategy and others as maladaptive. In this pilot study, we aimed to compare the effect of IR with rumination on emotion regulation following sad autobiographical recall. We expected IR to be more effective in recovering positive affect compared to rumination and a control group. In an online experiment, 70 healthy students were randomly assigned to IR, rumination, or a passive control group after recalling a sad autobiographical memory. Mood was assessed using the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) before and after the intervention. In this study, IR was superior to rumination (p = 0.033) in recovering PA after sad autobiographical recall. Therefore, IR affects mood recovery positively after recalling a sad autobiographical memory. Rumination resulted in prolonged impairment in mood and therefore should be regarded as a maladaptive emotion regulation strategy.