Cognitive reappraisal in an unpredictable world: prior context matters
Open accessAbstract
Cognitive reappraisal is a higher order emotion regulation strategy, the effects of which can be measured using the late positive potential (LPP), an event-related potential that is larger for emotional versus neutral stimuli. Whereas the lab provides a relatively predictable and calm environment in which to engage in reappraisal, outside of the lab, individuals may need to enact reappraisal in unpredictable and anxiety-provoking environments. In prior work, unpredictable auditory tones have been shown to increase threat-processing and induce anxiety. Here, forty-seven participants performed a reappraisal task while being exposed in a blockwise fashion to a "Random Tone" sequence or silence ("No Tone"), to determine the effects of an unpredictable auditory stimulus on the reappraisal of negative pictures. In addition, exploratory analyses assessed whether starting block (i.e., beginning the task in a Random Tone versus No Tone block) would moderate effects. Results showed that during an early time window, reappraisal LPPs were smallest for participants who started in a No Tone block and who performed reappraisal in a No Tone block. Therefore, reappraisal may be optimally performed when conditions are predictable/calm, by participants whose initial learning context was also predictable/calm. In addition, larger LPPs for negative versus neutral images were only observed throughout the later portion of picture presentation for participants who began in a Random Tone block, suggesting that unpredictability may increase sustained attention towards aversive stimuli. The results fit within a growing body of work aimed at understanding contextual and individual differences in emotion regulation.
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- Authors
- Imburgio, M. J., & MacNamara, A.
- Affiliations
- Texas A&M University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Imburgio, Michael J.
- Venue
- International Journal of Psychophysiology
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2019-12
- Volume
- 146
- Pages
- 173-179
- ISSN
- 0167-8760 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC6890227
- OpenAlex
- W2981481108
- Cited by
- 16
- References
- 50
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 4 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 2
- FWCI
- 1.02
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- International Journal of Psychophysiology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institute of Mental Health
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Behavioral Neuroscience › Stress Responses and Cortisol
- Keywords
- cognitive reappraisal, emotion regulation, late positive potential, unpredictability, anxiety, threat processing, prior context, task order effects, negative pictures, sustained attention, individual differences, contextual factors
- MeSH terms
- Emotional Regulation, Adolescent, Adult, Auditory Perception, Cerebral Cortex, Electroencephalography, Evoked Potentials, Female, Humans, Male, Pattern Recognition, Visual, Thinking, Uncertainty, Young Adult
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