Abstract

Individuals experiencing depressive symptoms interpret ambiguous situations negatively and use helpful emotion regulation strategies less often than those without symptoms. Theory suggests these strategies are used less due to interference from negatively biased interpretations. This study examined whether interpretation bias interferes with emotion regulation by experimentally manipulating interpretations in a positive or negative direction. Method: Undergraduate students were randomly assigned to positive and negative bias training groups. Interpretation bias and emotion regulation questionnaires were completed before and after training. Results: The training succeeded in inducing bias change only for the positive group, and emotion regulation strategy use did not change in either group. Discussion: Interpretation bias was not found to affect emotion regulation. Possible explanations include: bias change in the positive group was not large enough to alter emotion regulation; the task eliciting emotion regulation was ill-suited for this study; and interpretation bias and emotion regulation are unrelated.

Highlights

  • ROLE OF COGNITIVE BIAS IN EMOTION REGULATION AUTHOR'S DECLARATION FOR ELECTRONIC SUBMISSION OF A THESIS I hereby declare that I am the sole author of this thesis

  • All data on the Attentional Control Scale (ACS) was missing because the participant was not aware there was a back side to the questionnaire

  • Tests of the model revealed that neither total attentional control nor attentional shifting significantly moderated the relationship between group and interpretation bias change

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Summary

Introduction

ROLE OF COGNITIVE BIAS IN EMOTION REGULATION AUTHOR'S DECLARATION FOR ELECTRONIC SUBMISSION OF A THESIS I hereby declare that I am the sole author of this thesis This is a true copy of the thesis, including any required final revisions, as accepted by my examiners. I authorize Ryerson University to lend this thesis to other institutions or individuals for the purpose of scholarly research. Individuals experiencing depressive symptoms interpret ambiguous situations negatively and use helpful emotion regulation strategies less often than those without symptoms. Theory suggests these strategies are used less due to interference from negatively biased interpretations. Possible explanations include: bias change in the positive group was not large enough to alter emotion regulation; the task eliciting emotion regulation was ill-suited for this study; and interpretation bias and emotion regulation are unrelated

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