Neural dynamics during moral persuasion process: An EEG hyperscanning study.

Background/Objectives: Persuasive communication in moral decision-making contexts involves complex emotional and cognitive processes. This study aimed to investigate electrophysiological (EEG) dissimilarity between individuals during a persuasive interaction on a moral dilemma. Methods: Participants were paired into 14 dyads in which a member assumed the role of Persuasive Agent (PA) and the other of Persuasion Target (PT), discussing a moral decision-making scenario while their neural activity was recorded through an EEG hyperscanning paradigm. Dyads were later categorized based on perceived viewpoint change (high, mixed, low), and dissimilarity within dyads in EEG bands was analyzed across frontal, temporo-central, and parieto-occipital regions in left and right hemispheres. Results: Results showed a significant increase in frontal delta-band dissimilarity in mixed dyads, compared to temporo-central and parieto-occipital areas. The greater frontal delta dissimilarity in mixed dyads likely reflects divergent emotional and motivational engagement during persuasion. Specifically, individuals who changed their viewpoint may have exhibited stronger emotional resonance and attentional engagement compared to their partner. Conclusions: The study advances understanding of the neural mechanisms underlying persuasion in morally charged contexts and offers new insights into dyadic brain dynamics during complex social exchanges.

Self-regulation is the term referring to a set of abilities that we employ in order to engage in everyday activities. Yet its operational definition is difficult, since it involves several component skills, like the inhibition of prepotent responses and a need to control emotions. These skills each show rapid development in the preschool period and this thesis explores how the regulatory processes in cognitive and emotional domains unfolds. I start with a conceptualization of cognitive and emotional regulation, suggesting that the literature is beset with problems of differential labelling and measurement. For example, ‘Inhibitory Control’ (IC) has been claimed as unitary by some but involves two processes –Conflict and Delay – by others. The bridge between cognitive-regulation (CR) emotion-regulation (ER) has been less well researched and it stretches our conception of the link between regulation of thought, behaviour, and feelings. The assessment of emotionality has been approached from various angles such as the discrepancy between the control of positive or negative emotions and comprehension of emotionality. In 5 studies (with 421 children in total), I tested the association between cognitive and emotional processes in the development of self-regulation. A grasp of mental states and emotions was found to be associated with the regulation processes in both domains. The final three experiments attempt to explain the effect of ‘understanding’ over the ability of control in both domains. The direct observations of ER, which evokes both positive and negative emotionality, revealed inconsistent findings in terms of the associations that ER shared with IC. In contrast, an understanding of emotionality (EU) as found to relate consistently to conflict-inhibition and mental-state understanding. A scale was developed to cover the middle ground between ER and EU and is called SURE (a Scale of Understanding of Regulation of Emotions). Studies 4 and 5, which employed this measure, showed that the children were able to make prospective attributions of ER for story characters starting from the age of four. Children’s performance in this task was related to the control over their behaviour in rule-based situations (e.g. conflict-inhibition tasks). To observe children’s control of emotionality, a novel measure was developed to assess their internalization of the necessity of control in a cognitively demanding task, which focuses on emotional changes. It is suggested that future research should investigate different forms of understanding of emotions and cognitive processes in more detail.

Physiological and cognitive consequences of suppressing and expressing emotion in dyadic interactions

Purpose This paper aims to develop a comprehensive model on intra- and interpersonal emotion regulation (ER) in hospitality and tourism (H&T) service encounters. Design/methodology/approach A critical review and reflection of ER research from multiple disciplines was conducted. Methodologies appropriate for investigating ER were also reviewed. Findings A comprehensive framework was proposed to outline key influential factors, processes and consequences of intra- and interpersonal ER in service encounters in the H&T industry. Methodologies integrating advanced tools were suggested to measure complex and dynamic emotion generation and regulation processes in social interactions from a multimodal perspective. Research limitations/implications The researchers developed a comprehensive conceptual model on both intra- and interpersonal ER based on a critical review of the most recent psychological research on ER. Various theoretical and methodological considerations are discussed, offering H&T scholars a solid starting point to explore dynamic emotion generation and regulation processes in complex social settings. Moreover, the model provides future directions for the expansion of ER theories, which have been mostly developed and tested based on laboratory research. Originality/value The proposed model addresses two critical issues identified in emotion research in the H&T field: the lack of a dynamic perspective and the neglect of the social nature of emotions. Moreover, the model provides a roadmap for future research.

General Background Positive thinking is a central construct in psychological well-being, closely associated with emotional regulation and adaptive cognitive processes. Specific Background The integration of emotional intelligence and meta-mood concepts has provided a theoretical basis for understanding how individuals monitor and manage their emotional states. Knowledge Gap Despite extensive theoretical development, there remains limited clarity in linking positive thinking constructs with measurable emotional regulation mechanisms in educational and psychological contexts. Aims This study aims to examine the relationship between positive thinking and meta-mood components, focusing on emotional attention, clarity, and repair. Results The findings indicate a significant association between positive cognitive patterns and improved emotional awareness, regulation, and psychological balance. Novelty The study contributes a conceptual integration of positive thinking with meta-mood dimensions, offering a structured perspective on emotional regulation processes. Implications The results provide a theoretical basis for developing educational and counseling strategies that support emotional awareness and cognitive resilience Keywords: Positive Thinking, Meta Mood, Emotional Regulation, Emotional Intelligence, Cognitive Processes Key Findings Highlights Cognitive patterns correlate with awareness and management of emotional states Emotional clarity supports stability in psychological responses Integrated framework links cognition with affective processing

In 2006, research on the neurotransmitter serotonin and its transporter protein (5‐HTT) in the synaptic gap celebrated a series of anniversaries. Forty‐five years earlier, presynaptic neurotransmitter uptake was discovered (Hertting & Axelrod, 1961). Two decades later, 5‐HTT was first linked to depression (Langer et al , 1981), shortly after its identification as a target of antidepressant drugs (Raisman et al , 1979). The sequence of the transporter gene from rats was published 10 years after that (Blakely et al , 1991), which initiated an avalanche of molecular genetic studies on the regulation of emotionality. This research culminated in two reports revealing an association between variations of the 5‐HTT gene ( 5‐HTT and SLC6A4 ) and anxiety‐related traits as well as depression (Collier et al , 1996; Lesch et al , 1996). Since then, clinical studies have further supported the link between variants of 5‐HTT and disorders in the regulation of emotion. Although modest effect sizes—typical of non‐Mendelian traits—polygenic patterns of inheritance, epistatic and epigenetic interactions, and heterogeneity between studies confounded the results, 5‐HTT comprises a model molecule for studying gene–environment interactions in cognitive and psychiatric neuroscience. The demonstration in rhesus macaques that stress early in life uniquely reinforces links between variations of 5‐HTT , behaviour and psychopathology seems to herald in a new era of behavioural genetics. Moreover, the discovery that 5‐HTT is a susceptibility gene for depression is a first step towards explaining the molecular dimensions of personality and behaviour, identifying physiological pathways that lead to other disorders of cognitive function and emotion, and analysing the interactive effects of genes and environment in the development of disease. On the heels of these results from behavioural genetics, novel approaches including neurophysiology, neuropsychology and functional neuroimaging, as well as the inclusion of other phenotypes (such as higher cognitive functions, communication skills, social competence and longevity), have …

Conflict Adaptation in Generalized Anxiety Disorder: Small Paradigm Twist, Large Scientific Leap

Existing research has linked emotional intelligence (EI) with intrinsic emotion regulation (processes people use to regulate their own emotions). However, there has not yet been an empirical examination of whether EI abilities relate to extrinsic emotion regulation (processes people use to regulate other people’s emotions). This study (N = 178 undergraduates) examines whether ability EI (as measured by the Mayer–Salovey–Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test) correlates with eight extrinsic regulation processes (as measured by the Regulation of Others’ Emotions Scale, including downward comparison, expressive suppression, humour, distraction, direct action, reappraisal, receptive listening and valuing). Total ability EI score is significantly positively correlated with three high-engagement processes (r = .24, .40, and .16 for reappraisal, receptive listening, and valuing) and negatively correlated with two low-engagement processes (r = −.30 and −.38 for downward comparison and expressive suppression). When all four EI branches predicted each regulation process in multiple regression, only emotion management significantly predicted downward comparison, receptive listening and valuing, and only emotion management and understanding predicted expressive suppression (no significant regression coefficients for reappraisal). We conclude that the drivers of EI/extrinsic regulation associations are engagement with the target’s emotion and the emotion management branch of EI.

Abstract: Introduction: Moral persuasion engages cognitive, emotional, and interpersonal regulation processes. While autonomic synchrony has been linked to cooperation, empathy and mutual influence, its role in moral persuasion remains underexplored. This study examines how physiological synchrony – measured via heart rate (HR), heart rate variability (HRV), and skin conductance level (SCL) – is associated with the subjective perception of opinion change within interacting pairs. Methods: Thirty young adults (15 unacquainted same-sex pairs, mean age = 23.6) participated in a structured, realistic moral persuasion task while their autonomic physiological signals were recorded. Dissimilarity indices (Euclidean distance) were computed for HR, HRV, and SCL within each pair. Dyads were grouped according to Self-evaluation of Opinion Change (SOC) concordance: higher SOC (both members reported relatively higher opinion change), mixed SOC (only one reporting opinion change), and lower SOC (both reporting no opinion change). Results: HRV dissimilarity significantly differed by SOC group: mixed SOC pairs showed significantly higher HRV dissimilarity than high SOC pairs, whereas other physiological signals did not show different profiles. Discussion: Preliminary findings suggest that convergence in cardiac autonomic activity during the persuasive exchange varies as a function of the concordance of perceived opinion change. This pattern may reflect that interpersonal dynamics contribute to shaping moral interactions and autonomic co-regulation, consistent with perspectives emphasizing the social and embodied nature of moral decision-making.

Evidence suggests that cognitive control and emotional control share partly the same cognitive processes. For example, downregulation of negative emotions requires inhibiting or limiting the expression of a prepotent appraisal of a situation in favor of selecting an alternative appraisal. Although inhibitory control seems to be a particularly relevant process in emotion regulation (ER), previous studies reported inconsistent findings on their relationship, likely because of the application of single task measures in relatively small samples. Therefore, this study implemented a battery of six commonly used inhibitory control tasks in a large sample of young healthy adults (N = 190) and investigated whether inhibitory control is associated with the downregulation of negative emotion. ER was measured via self-reported reappraisal and suppression use and via a laboratory ER task where participants had to distance themselves from emotions in response to negative and neutral pictures. The ER task was accompanied by concurrent physiological measurements of corrugator electromyography (EMG), skin conductance response (SCR), and heart period (HP). Frequentist and Bayesian analyses indicated that inhibitory control was neither associated with self-reported reappraisal and suppression use, nor with successful downregulation of negative emotion via distancing. Compared with HP and SCR, corrugator EMG was the only peripheral physiological measure that was indicative of regulatory success. The findings question the view that inhibitory control represents an underlying process in emotion regulation via distancing, at least at the behavioral level. Further studies should investigate the generalizability of these findings to other ER strategies, tactics, paradigms, and participant groups. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

BackgroundReappraisal, an emotion regulation strategy, includes reinterpretation and affect labeling involving verbalizing emotions. In general, reappraisal is supported by lateral prefrontal cortical regions, which are also known to underlie cognitive regulation. Other research has shown that affect labeling combined with reappraisal of negative emotions increases lateral prefrontal cortex activity more than reappraisal alone does, suggesting that affect labeling facilitates emotional regulation. However, the influence of affect labeling on the efficacy of reappraisal in reducing subjective negative emotions has not been determined.MethodsIn the experiment, 35 participants (mean age = 28.2 years (SD = 9.63); 12 women and 23 men) viewed vignettes that aroused negative emotion. Then, they rated subjective negative emotions as baseline values. Following the baseline rating, the task branched into four conditions, combining affect labeling and emotion regulation factors. In the affect-labeling factor, participants selected emotional labels consistent with their own emotions or not. Regarding the emotion regulation factor, participants engaged in reappraisal to regulate their negative emotions. Throughout the experiment, the intensity of negative emotions was measured three times, mirroring the baseline measurement. Oxyhemoglobin (OxyHb) signal values in prefrontal cortex regions during tasks were measured by functional near-infrared spectroscopy.ResultsDifferences between the subjective negative emotion ratings at baseline and after reappraisal indicated that reappraisal significantly reduced negative emotion with and without affect labeling (t (1173.05) = 29.97, p < 0.001), and the combination of affect labeling and reappraisal was less effective in regulating negative emotions at the subjective level than reappraisal without affect labeling (t (1172.03) = 3.15, p < 0.01). Additionally, there was an increase in OxyHb signal in the bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal and right ventral prefrontal cortices while participants performed reappraisal with affect labeling.ConclusionOur findings suggest that affect labeling, when performed prior to cognitive reappraisal, may influence the process of negative emotion regulation in complex ways. The interaction between affect labeling and reappraisal appears to modulate prefrontal cortex activity, potentially reflecting changes in cognitive processing during emotion regulation attempts. These results highlight the need for further investigation into the intricate relationship between different emotion regulation strategies.

BackgroundEmotion regulation is vital for psychological well-being. Exercise can enhance regulation via attentional and cognitive control, with event-related potentials (ERPs) offering neural insights. Tai Chi benefits mood and stress, yet its neurophysiological effects remain unclear. This study examined the impact of 8-week Tai Chi training on N2 and P3 components of emotional processing in female college students using a modified oddball paradigm.MethodForty healthy female college students were randomly assigned to an 8-week Tai Chi group (n = 20, 20.25 ± 1.33 yrs.) or control group (n = 20, 19.65 ± 1.09 yrs.). Tai Chi participants completed thrice-weekly 50 min sessions at 60–69% HRmax, including warm-up, practice, and relaxation, while controls observed without exercising. Pre- and post-intervention, all completed a modified oddball task recording N2/P3 ERPs and reaction times, alongside emotional regulation assessments, enabling comparison of neurophysiological and behavioral responses across negative, neutral, and positive stimuli.ResultsAfter 8 weeks, the Tai Chi group exhibited significantly shorter reaction times compared to the control group (p < 0.001), with improvements evident only in the exercise group over time. ERP analyses revealed that Tai Chi training selectively reduced N2 amplitudes to negative stimuli, suggesting decreased early sensitivity to negative information. Additionally, the Tai Chi group showed overall shorter N2 latencies compared to the control group, indicating faster early-stage neural processing. In contrast, P3 amplitudes increased across all valence conditions in the exercise group, reflecting enhanced allocation of attentional resources during later cognitive processing. No significant effects were observed for P3 latency.ConclusionThis study demonstrates that 8 weeks of Tai Chi training modulated both neural and behavioral responses to emotional stimuli in healthy female college students, suggesting potential benefits for attentional processes in emotional regulation, though neural-behavioral links require further investigation.

Family tourism has received much scholarly attention, but few studies have examined family tourists’ experience by viewing them as active agents that generate and regulate emotions. This study aims to disclose family tourists’ dynamic emotional experiences through probing into their emotion generative and regulatory process. An extended Chinese family taking a 6-day overseas trip was recruited and each member was interviewed multiple times throughout the pre-, during- (assisted by participatory observation and psychophysiological data), and post-trip phrases. The family tourists reported 64 emotional episodes, 32 discrete emotions, and 13 emotion regulation strategies. Their emotion-generation and regulation were revealed as an interdependent and cyclical cognitive appraisal process that occurs in complex social settings. The proposed psychological mechanism model contributes to tourism and psychological literature by highlighting the dynamic and social nature of family tourists’ emotions, and the role of memory in their emotion dynamics. Future research directions on family tourists’ emotion regulation are suggested.

Purpose Emotion regulation is an ongoing multiprocess phenomenon and is a challenging developmental task to acquire in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) who have different neurobiological profiles and emotion regulation problems. The purpose of this paper is to review recent literature to understand the neurobiological and psychological perspective of emotion regulation in ASD, while converging themes of psychosocial interventions and existing best practices on emotion regulation within this heterogeneous population are reviewed and discussed in consideration of intellectual disability (ID). Design/methodology/approach Review of recent literature and common empirically supported interventions addressing emotional regulation implemented in individuals with and without ASD, and with and without ID were included in the electronic database search through PubMed, EBSChost, Science Direct, Wiley Online Library, GALE and SAGE. Search terms used included autism, ID, cognitive control, executive function, sensory processing/intervention, emotion regulation, cognitive behavior therapy, mindfulness, social stories, positive behavior support and behavior therapy. Findings Neural systems governing emotion regulation can be divided into “top-down” and “bottom-up” processing. Prefrontal cortex, cognitive and attentional control are critical for effective emotion regulation. Individuals with ASD, and with ID show impairments in these areas have problems with emotion regulation. Targeted psychosocial intervention need to consider bottom-up and top-down processes of emotion regulation, and that standardized interventions require adaptations. Originality/value There are limited studies looking into understanding the neurobiological and psychological perspective of emotion regulation in ASD and linking them to interventions. This review highlights psychosocial interventions that are important for further research, investigation and development as treatment in this population is limited.

It is a widely acknowledged fact that higher education students are required to manage a multitude of challenging situations, including emotionally charged scenarios, academic stress, and personal growth. However, it is equally important to recognise that these students often lack sufficient tools with which to regulate their emotions and cognitive processes. The concept of emotion regulation is broad, encompassing all extrinsic and intrinsic processes that are responsible for the monitoring, evaluation, and modification of emotional reactions. This theory posits that changes occur not only in the intensity or duration of primary emotions, but also in related psychological processes such as memory and social interaction. In addition, regulation can target secondary emotions that reflect an individual's reactions to primary emotional experiences. The field of emotional education research in higher education has identified emotional intelligence as a pivotal factor in attaining professional success, academic achievement, and self-knowledge. It is needed to note that emotional regulation strategies must be adapted to individuals' characteristics and motivations, with regulatory processes becoming more intrinsic and deliberate as individuals mature. Recent studies have indicated that students often experience a wide range of emotions in evaluative and feedback situations, including exams and performance reviews. The emotional episodes that characterise this condition necessitate regulatory strategies that are often unconscious but nevertheless essential for effective feedback processing. The present study posits the hypothesis that reflective journaling can facilitate purposeful, internal emotional regulation, thereby supporting emotional intelligence and academic well-being. The study further proposes that feedback and evaluation methods should be emotionally conscious, and regulation oriented.