Temporal Asymmetry of Pleasant and Unpleasant Feelings Among Chinese Adolescents

Abstract

Previous studies have shown that anticipation induces more emotions than retrospection, known as temporal emotion asymmetry. However, the majority of previous studies have been confined to Western contexts. Eastern populations tend to emphasize the past more than their Western counterparts and may exhibit distinct forms of temporal emotion asymmetry. Therefore, we conducted an investigation involving Chinese adolescents. Our research encompassed two experiments, investigating Chinese adolescents’ temporal emotion asymmetry from a self-perspective (Experiment 1; N = 124) and an other-perspective (Experiment 2; N = 162). Participants were prompted to retrospect and anticipate events that elicited pleasant or unpleasant feelings. The results revealed that, whether from a self-perspective or an other-perspective, retrospection of past positive events elicited greater pleasure than the anticipation of future positive events. However, concerning adverse events, under a self-perspective, anticipation induced more displeasure than retrospection (Experiment 1); under an other-perspective, retrospection induced more displeasure than anticipation (Experiment 2). Our findings provide some support for the construal level theory, fading affect bias, and mobilization-minimization hypothesis of event cognition. Based on these results, retrospection seems to be a potential means for regulating the emotions of Chinese adolescents.