Journal of Personality and Social Psychology Copyright 1998 by the American Psychological Association, Inc. 1998, Vol. 74, No. 1,2 24- 237 0022-3514/98 /$3.00 Antecedent- and Response-Focused Emotion Regulation: Divergent Consequences for Experience, Expression, and Physiology James J. Gross Stanford University Usin g a process mode l of emotion, a distinction b etween antecedent-focused and response-focused emotion regu lation is proposed. To test this distinction, 120 participants were shown a disgusting film wh ile their experiential, behavioral, and physiological responses were recorded. Participants were told to either (a) think about the film in such a way that they would feel nothing (reappraisal, a form of antecedent-focused emotion regulation), (b) behave in such a way that someone watching them would not know they were feeling anything (suppression, a form of response-focused emotion regulation ), or (c) watch the film (a control condition). Compared with the control condition, both reappraisal and suppression were effective in reducing emotion-expressive behavior. However, reap- praisal decreased disgust experience, whereas suppression increased sympathetic activation. These results suggest that these 2 emotion regulatory processes may have different adaptive consequences. What happens when we get so angry with an erratic driver that we feel like yelling at him, yet we do not? Or when we feel down but want to be in good spirits for a party? Or when we find something outrageously funny but need to stifle our laughter during a formal ceremony? At times such as these, we regulate our emotions. That is, we attempt to influence which emotions we have, when w e have them, and how these emotions are experienced or expressed. As these examples suggest, emotion regulation is a regular feature of everyday life (Morris & Reilly, 1987; Rippere, 1977). Nine out of 10 undergraduates report that they alter their emo- tions, about once a day, and most can readily recall a recent exam ple (Gross, Feldman Barrett, & Richards, 1998). Indeed, attempts at regulating emotions are so common that we typically take emotion regulation for granted, noticing only its absence, such as when a child throws a temper tantrum (Thompson, 1991 ), a friend shows too little happiness at our good news, a depressed colleague is unable to stem overwhelming feelings of sadness (Gross & Mufioz, 1995), or we lose our composure Considering the ubiquity of emotion regulation, one might expect theoretical and empirical analyses to abound. Surprisingly, This research was supported by Behavioral Science Track Award for Rapid Transition (B/START) Grant MH53859 from the National Insti- tute o f Mental Health. I would like to thank Paul Ekman, O liver P. John, Richard S. Lazarus, Jane M. Richards, Jean ne Tsai, and Robert Zajonc for their thoughtful comments on a draft of this article and Robert W. Levenson for making his laboratory facilities available. This article benefited from the comments o f both members of the Emotion Research Group at its February 199 6 meeting at Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, and members o f the International Society for Research on Em otion at its August 199 6 meeting at the University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to James J. Gross, Department of Psychology, Stanford University, Stanford, Cali - fornia 94305-2130. Electronic mail may be sent via the Internet to [email protected]. this is not the caseJ Moreover, the two broad literatures in which emotion regulation has been considered, one concerned with psy- chological health and the other with physical health, offer remark- ably divergent conclusions about the consequences of emotion regulation. In the following sections, I first review these two literatures. I then use a process model of emotion to draw a distinction between two forms of emotion regulation and suggest that this distinction may help to reconcile these two literatures. Emotion Regulation: Less Stress and Better Psychological Health Clinical tradition dating back to Freud has emphasized that psychological health hinges on how affective impulses are regu- lated (Freud, 1923/1961). This has led psychodynamic re- searchers to focus on the health consequences of characteristic emotion regulatory styles (e.g., Haan, 1993; Vaillant & Drake, 1985). Recently, proponents of other theoretical persuasions also have elaborated the view that psychological health requires that emotional impulses be regulated properly. For example, Beck, Rush, Shaw, and Emery (1979) and Seligman (1991) have argued that cognitive strategies may be used to prevent or alleviate depression and Barlow (1991) has advanced a model of emotion dysregulation and affective psychopathology. But what support is there for the proposition that emotion regulation has measurable beneficial consequences? Lazarus and colleagues provided some of the first evidence in an influential series of studies (Lazarus & Opton, 1966). In one representative study, Lazarus and Alfert (1964) showed students a filmed cir- cumcision ritual and manipulated the accom panying soundtrack. Some participants heard a soundtrack that had been designed to minimize the negative emotional impact of the film by deny- ing the pain involved in the surgery and em phasizing the joyful In the developmental literature, however, there has been a recent surge of interest in emotion regulation (e.g., Cam pos, Campos, & Bar- rett, 1989; Eisenberg et al., 1995; Fox, 1994; Garber & Dodge, 1991 ). 22 4
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Journal of Personality and Social Psychology Copyright 1998 by the American Psychological Association, Inc.1998, Vol. 74, No. 1,2 24- 237 0022-3514/98/$3.00
Antecedent- and Response-Focused Emotion Regulat ion:Divergent Consequences for Experience, Expression, and Physiology
J a m e s J . G r o s s
S t a n f o r d U n i v e r s i t y
Usin g a process m ode l of emotion, a distinction b etw een antecedent-focused and response-focused
em otio n regu lation is proposed. T o test this distinction, 120 participants we re shown a disgusting
film wh ile their experiential, behavioral, and physiological responses we re recorded. Participants
were told to either (a) think about the film in such a way that they would feel nothing (reappraisal ,
a form of antecedent- focused em otion reg ulat ion) , (b ) behave in such a way that someone watching
them would not know they were feel ing anything (suppress ion, a form of response-focused emotion
regu lation ), or (c) watch the film (a control condition). Comp ared with the control condition, both
reappraisal and suppression we re effective in reducing emo tion-expressive behavior. However, reap-
praisal decreased disgust experience, whereas suppression increased sympathetic activation. These
results suggest that these 2 emotion regulatory processes may have different adaptive consequences.
W h a t h a p p e n s w h e n w e g e t s o a n g r y w i t h a n e r r a t i c d r i v e r
t h a t w e f e e l l i k e y e l l i n g a t h i m , y e t w e d o n o t ? O r w h e n w e
f e e l d o w n b u t w a n t t o b e i n g o o d s p i r i t s f o r a p a r t y ? O r w h e n
w e f i n d s o m e t h i n g o u t r a g e o u s l y f u n n y b u t n e e d t o s t i f l e o u r
l a u g h t e r d u r i n g a f o r m a l c e r e m o n y ? A t ti m e s s u c h a s t h e s e , w e
r e g u l a t e o u r e m o t i o n s . T h a t i s , w e a t t e m p t t o i n f l u e n c e w h i c h
e m o t i o n s w e h a v e , w h e n w e h a v e t h e m , a n d h o w t h e s e e m o t i o n s
a r e e x p e r i e n c e d o r e x p r e s s e d .
A s t h e s e e x a m p l e s s u g g e s t , e m o t i o n r e g u l a t i o n i s a r e g u l a r
f e a t u r e o f e v e r y d a y l i f e ( M o r r i s & R e i ll y , 1 9 87 ; R i p p e r e , 1 9 7 7 ) .
N i n e o u t o f 1 0 u n d e r g r a d u a t e s r e p o r t t h a t t h e y a l te r th e i r e m o -
t i o n s , a b o u t o n c e a d a y , a n d m o s t c a n r e a d i l y r e c a l l a r e c e n t
e x a m p l e ( G r o s s , F e l d m a n B a r r e tt , & R i c h a r d s , 1 9 9 8 ) . I n d e e d ,
a t t e m p t s a t re g u l a t i n g e m o t i o n s a r e s o c o m m o n t h a t w e t y p i c a l l y
t a k e e m o t i o n r e g u l a t i o n f o r g r a n t e d , n o t i c i n g o n l y i t s a b s e n c e ,
s u c h a s w h e n a c h i l d t h r o w s a t e m p e r t a n t r u m ( T h o m p s o n ,
1 9 9 1 ) , a f ri e n d s h o w s t o o l i t t le h a p p i n e s s a t o u r g o o d n e w s , a
d e p r e s s e d c o l l e a g u e i s u n a b l e t o s t e m o v e r w h e l m i n g f e e l i n g s
o f sa d n e s s ( G r o s s & M u f i o z , 1 9 9 5 ) , o r w e l o s e o u r c o m p o s u r e
i n th e h e a t o f t h e m o m e n t a n d s a y t h i n g s w e l a t e r r e g re t .
C o n s i d e r i n g t h e u b i q u i t y o f e m o t i o n r e g u l a t i o n , o n e m i g h t
e x p e c t t h e o r e t i c a l a n d e m p i r i c a l a n a l y s e s t o a b o u n d . S u r p r i si n g l y ,
This research was suppor ted by Behavioral Science Track Award for
Rapid Transi t ion (B /ST AR T) Grant MH53859 f rom the National Ins t i-
tute o f Mental Heal th. I wou ld l ike to thank Paul Ekm an, O liver P. John,Richard S. Lazarus, Ja ne M. Richards, Jean ne Tsai, and Robert Zajonc
for their thoughtful comments on a draf t of this ar t icle and Rober t
W. Levenson for m aking his laboratory faci l i t ies avai lable. This ar t icle
benef ited f rom the comments o f both members o f the Emo tion Research
Gro up at its February 199 6 meeting at Vanderbilt University, Nashville,
Tennessee, and members o f the International Soc iety for Research on
Em otion at its August 199 6 meeting at the University of Toronto, Toronto,
Ontario, Canada.
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to James
J. Gross, Dep artment of Psychology, Stanford University, Stanford, Cali -
fornia 94305-2130. Electronic mai l may b e sent via the Internet to
t h i s is n o t th e c a s e J M o r e o v e r , t h e t w o b r o a d l i t e ra t u r e s i n w h i c h
e m o t i o n r e g u l a t i o n h a s b e e n c o n s i d e r e d , o n e c o n c e r n e d w i t h p s y -
c h o l o g i c a l h e a l t h a n d t h e o t h e r w i t h p h y s i c a l h e a l t h , o f f e r r e m a r k -
a b l y d i v e r g e n t c o n c l u s i o n s a b o u t t h e c o n s e q u e n c e s o f e m o t i o n
r e g u l a t i o n . I n t h e f o l l o w i n g s e c t i o n s , I f i r s t r e v i e w t h e s e t w o
l i t e ra t u r e s . I t h e n u s e a p r o c e s s m o d e l o f e m o t i o n t o d r a w a
d i s t in c t i o n b e t w e e n t w o f o r m s o f e m o t i o n r e g u l a t i o n a n d s u g g e s t
t h a t t h i s d i s t i n c t i o n m a y h e l p t o r e c o n c i l e t h e s e t w o l i t e r a t u r e s .
E m o t i o n R e g u l a t i o n : L e s s S t r e s s a n d B e t te r
P s y c h o l o g i c a l H e a l t h
C l i n i c a l t r a d i t i o n d a t i n g b a c k t o F r e u d h a s e m p h a s i z e d t h a t
p s y c h o l o g i c a l h e a l t h h i n g e s o n h o w a f f e c t iv e im p u l s e s a r e r e g u -
l a t e d ( F r e u d , 1 9 2 3 / 1 9 6 1 ) . T h i s h a s le d p s y c h o d y n a m i c r e -
s e a r c h e r s t o f o c u s o n t h e h e a l t h c o n s e q u e n c e s o f c h a r a c t e r i s ti c
e m o t i o n r e g u l a t o r y s t y l e s (e . g . , H a a n , 1 9 9 3 ; V a i l la n t & D r a k e ,
1 9 8 5 ) . R e c e n t l y , p r o p o n e n t s o f o t h e r t h e o r e ti c a l p e r s u a s i o n s
a l s o h a v e e l a b o r a t e d t h e v i e w t h a t p s y c h o l o g i c a l h e a l t h r e q u i r e s
t h a t e m o t i o n a l i m p u l s e s b e r e g u l a t e d p r o p e r l y . F o r e x a m p l e ,
B e c k , R u s h, S h a w , a n d E m e r y ( 1 9 7 9 ) a n d S e l i g m a n ( 1 9 9 1 )
h a v e a r g u e d t h a t c o g n i t i v e s t r a t e g i e s m a y b e u s e d t o p r e v e n t o r
a l l e v i a t e d e p r e s s i o n a n d B a r l o w ( 1 9 9 1 ) h a s a d v a n c e d a m o d e l
o f e m o t i o n d y s r e g u l a t i o n a n d a f f e c t i v e p sy c h o p a t h o l o g y .
B u t w h a t s u p p o r t i s t h e r e f o r t h e p r o p o s i t i o n t h a t e m o t i o n
r e g u l a t i o n h a s m e a s u r a b l e b e n e f i c ia l c o n s e q u e n c e s ? L a z a r u s a n d
c o l l e a g u e s p r o v i d e d s o m e o f th e f i rs t e v i d e n c e i n a n i n f l u e n t ia ls e r i es o f st u d i e s ( L a z a r u s & O p t o n , 1 9 6 6 ) . I n o n e r e p r e s e n t a t iv e
s t ud y , L a z a r u s a n d A l f e r t ( 1 9 6 4 ) s h o w e d s t u d e n t s a f i l m e d c ir -
c u m c i s i o n r i tu a l a n d m a n i p u l a t e d t h e a c c o m p a n y i n g s o u n d t r a c k .
S o m e p a r t i c ip a n t s h e a r d a s o u n d t ra c k t h a t h a d b e e n d e s i g n e d
t o m i n i m i z e t h e n e g a t i v e e m o t i o n a l i m p a c t o f th e f i l m b y d e n y -
i n g t h e p a i n i n v o l v e d i n th e s u r g e r y a n d e m p h a s i z i n g t h e j o y f u l
In the developmental literature, however, there has been a recent
surge of interest in em otion regulation (e.g. , Cam pos, Camp os, & Ba r-
ret t, 1989; Eisenberg et al ., 1995; Fox, 199 4; Garber & Dodge, 1991 ) .
A consensual process model of emotion that highlights two major classes of emotion regulation.
Yet even this initial distinction between two broad classes of
emotion regulation may help to reconcile the two literaturesreviewed above. The psychological health literature might be
seen as concerned primarily with cognitive forms of antecedent-
focused emotion regulation, that is, regulation before the emo-
tion is triggered. The physical health literature, by contrast,
might be seen as concerned primarily with response-focused
emotion regulation that involves the inhibition of emotional
response tendencies once the emotion already has been
generated.
Might this model also be used to make more specific predic-
tions regarding these two forms of emotion regulation? In the
context of a potentially stressful situation, antecedent-focused
emotion regulat ion might take the form of reevaluating the situa-
tion so as to decrease its emotional relevance (see Lazarus,
1991; Scherer, 1984; C.A. Smith & Ellsworth, 1985). This
should decrease the extent to which emotion response tendencies
are activated, leading to lesser subjective, physiological, and
expressive signs of negative emotion than otherwise would have
been evident. Response-focused emotion regulation, by contrast,
should target response tendencies that have been produced once
the emotion is under way. For example, consider suppression,
defined as the conscious inhibition of ongoing emotion-expres-
sive behavior. Because regulatory efforts selectively focus on
behavior, we wou ld expect lesser emotion-expressive behavior.
The subjective consequences of hiding expressive behavior are
a matter of some dispute, but recent reviews (Gross & Levenson,
1993, 1997) suggest that suppression should have little or no
impact on subjective experience, at least in the context of anegative emotion.3 Because inhibitory pathways would be acti-
vated concurrently with the physiological response tendencies
associated with emotion, we might expect a mixed physiologica l
state. This state would include increased sympathetic activation
due to the additional task of suppressing behavioral response
of emotion regulation (at least for "stressful" emotions). By contrast,problem-focusedcoping refers to attempts to modify a troublesomeenvi-ronment and thus is one form of antecedent-focusedemotion regulation.
tendencies as they are generated (Gross & Levenson, 1993,
1997); decreased somatic signs of emotion, because these are
the target of suppression; and decreased heart rate, which is
influenced by somatic activity (Obrist , 1981 ).
The Present Study
The goal of the present study was to test the general proposi-
tion that "shutting down" an emotion at the front end would
have different consequences from shutting down an emotion
that already had generated powerful response tendencies. Thus,
the present study directly compared one form of antecedent-
focused emotion regulation, reappraisal, and one form of re-
sponse-focused emotion regulation, suppression, with a control
condition. Reappraisal was defined as interpreting potentially
emotion-relevant stimuli in unemotional terms (see Speisman,
Lazarus, Mordkoff, & Davison, 1964). Suppression was defined
as inhibiting emotion-expressive behavior while emotionally
aroused (Gross & Levenson, 1993).
A potent film stimulus known to elicit disgust was used. This
film's potency ensured that most participants would have the
1995 ). However, it also increased the likelihood that some parti -
cipants would be overwhelmed. To decrease this possibility, all
participants first viewed a neutral and a disgusting film under
no special instructions, to acquaint them with the film materials
and procedures. Only then did they view a second disgusting
film, during which participants in the two experimental condi-
tions were to regulate their responding while control participantssimply watched the film.
Although emotion theorists agree that emotions involve
changes in the response domains of experience, expression, and
physiology, previous studies of emot ion regulati on typically
3 The opposite prediction would be made by the facial feedback hy-pothesis (FFH). However, recent reviews and empirical findingssuggestthat the FFH-inspirednotion that suppressionand exaggeration are oppo-
site ends of a single continuummay be mistaken (see Gross & Levenson,
T W O F O R M S O F E M O T I O N R E G U L A T IO N 2 2 7
h a v e s a m p l e d o n l y o n e o r t w o o f t h e s e d o m a i n s . O n e u n i q u e
c o n t r i b u t i o n o f t h i s s t u d y w a s t h e e x a m i n a t i o n o f a ll t h r e e d o -
m a i n s . B y d i r e c tl y c o m p a r i n g t w o f o r m s o f e m o t i o n r e g u l a t i o n
w i t h a c o n t r o l c o n d i t i o n , t h i s s t u d y t e s t e d t h r e e h y p o t h e s e s .
T h e f i rs t h y p o t h e s i s c o n c e r n e d e x p r e s s i v e b e h a v i o r. I p r e -
d i c t e d t h a t b o th r e a p p r a i s a l a n d s u p p r e s s i o n p a r t i c ip a n t s w o u l d
s h o w f e w e r b e h a v i o r a l s i g n s o f d i s g u s t th a n w o u l d c o n t r o l p a rt i -
c i p a n t s . I e x p e c t e d t h i s e f f e c t t o b e e v i d e n t w h e t h e r e x p r e s s i v eb e h a v i o r w a s a s s e s s e d i n d i s c r e t e t e r m s ( i . e . , s p e c i f i c s i g n s
o f d i s g u s t ) , d i m e n s i o n a l t e r m s ( i .e . , t h e i n t e n s i ty o f o v e r a ll
e m o t i o n a l r e s p o n d i n g ) , o r g l o b a l t e r m s ( i .e . , o v e r a l l a c ti v i ty
l e v e l s ) . B e c a u s e o f t h e w a y I o p e r a t i o n a l i z e d r e a p p r a is a l a n d
s u p p r e s s i o n , I d i d n o t e x p e c t e m o t i o n r e g u l a t i o n p a r t i c i p an t s t o
l o o k a w a y f r o m t h e f i l m o r a v e r t t h e i r g a z e t o a g r e a t e r e x t e n t
t h a n c o n t r o l p a rt i c ip a n t s ( w h i c h w o u l d r e p r e s e n t y e t a n o t h e r
f o r m o f e m o t i o n r e g u l a t i o n ) .
T h e s e c o n d h y p o t h e s i s c o n c e r n e d s u b j e ct i v e e x p e ri e n c e . I ex -
p e c t e d t h a t r e a p p r a i s a l p a r t i c i p a n t s w o u l d r e p o r t l e s s s u b j e c t i v e
e x p e r i e n c e o f e m o t i o n t h a n c o n t r o l p a r t i ci p a n t s; i n t h e c o n t e x t
o f a f i l m th a t s p e c i f i c a l l y t a r g e t e d d i s g u s t s u b j e c t i v e e x p e r i e n c e ,
I e x p e c t e d t h a t t h e s e r e d u c t i o n s w o u l d b e s p e c i f i c t o d i s g u s t .
B y c o n t r a s t , o n t h e b a s i s o f p r i o r f i n d i n g s , I p r e d i c t e d t h a t
s u p p r e s s i o n a n d c o n t r o l p a r t i c i p a n ts w o u l d r e p o r t e q u iv a l e n t
e x p e r i e n c e o f d i s g u s t.
T h e t h i r d h y p o t h e s i s c o n c e r n e d p h y s i o l o g i c a l r e sp o n d i n g .
H e r e , m y e x p e c t a t i o n w a s t h a t r e a p p r a i s a l p a r t i c i p a n t s w o u l d
s h o w l e s s s y m p a t h e t i c a c t i v a t i o n ( a s m e a s u r e d b y f i n g e r p u l s e
a m p l i t u d e , f i n g e r t e m p e r a t u r e , a n d s k i n c o n d u c t a n c e ) , l e s s s o -
m a t i c a c t i v it y , a n d l o w e r h e a r t r a te s t h a n c o n t r o l p a r t i c i p a n t s .
B y c o n t ra s t , b e c a u s e I c o n c e p t u a l i z e s u p p r e s s i o n a s i n v o l v i n g
t h e a c t iv a t io n o f i n h i b i to r y p r o c e s s e s o v e r a n d a b o v e t h e o n g o i n g
e m o t i o n , I e x p e c t e d s u p p r e s s i o n p a r t i c i p a n t s t o e v i d e n c e a
m i x e d p h y s i o l o g i c a l p a t te r n , c h a r a c t e ri z e d b y g r e a te r s y m p a -
t h e t i c a c t i v a t i o n t h a n c o n t r o l p a r t i c i p a n t s b u t l e s s s o m a t i c a n d
h e a r t r a t e r e a c t i v i t y .
M e ~ o d
O v e r v i e w
P a r t i c ip a n t s w a t c h e d a d i s g u s t - e l i c i ti n g f i lm u n d e r o n e o f t h r e e c o n d i -
t i o n s . In t h e r e a p p r a is a l c o n d i t i o n , p a r t i c i p a n t s w e r e a s k e d t o a d o p t a
d e t a c h e d a n d u n e m o t i o n a l a t t i t u d e a s t h e y w a t c h e d t h e f i l m . I n t h e
s u p p r e s s i o n c o n d i t i o n , p a r ti c i p a n t s w e r e a s k e d t o b e h a v e i n s u c h a w a y
t h a t a p e r s o n w a t c h i n g t h e m w o u l d n o t k n o w t h a t t h e y w e r e f e e l i n g
a n y t h i n g a t a l l. T h e w a t c h c o n d i t i o n s e r v e d a s a c o n t r o l ; i n t h i s c o n d i t i o n ,
p a r t i c i p a n t s w e r e s i m p l y a sk e d t o w a t c h t h e f i l m . Pa r t i c i p a n t s w e r e
v i d e o t a p e d , a n d t h e i r p h y s i o l o g i c a l r e s p o n s e s w e r e m o n i t o r e d . P a r t i c i-
p a n t s a l s o u s e d e m o t i o n - r a t i n g f o r m s t o d e s c r i b e t h e i r s u b j e c t iv e e x p e r i -
e n c e o f e m o t i o n .
P a r t i c i p a n t s
O n e h u n d r e d t w e n t y u n d e r g ra d u a t e s ( 6 0 m e n a n d 6 0 w o m e n ) p a r t i ci -
p a t e d i n i n d i v i d u a l e x p e r i m e n t a l s e s s i o n s , t o f u l f i l l a r e se a r c h r e q u i r e -
m e n t i n t h e i r p s y c h o l o g y co u r se . 4 O n a v e r a g e , p a r t i c i p a n t s w e r e 2 1 y e a r s
o l d (S D = 4 .1 ) . T h e e t h n i c c o m p o s i t i o n o f t h i s s a m p l e w a s m i x e d : 1 %
A f r i c a n A m e r i c a n , 5 5 % A s i a n A m e r i c a n , 3 3 % C a u c a s i a n , 3 % L a t i n o ,
a n d 8 % o t h e r .
S t i m u l u s F i l m s
T h r e e w e l l - v a l i d a t e d s i l e n t f i l m s w e r e u s e d ( G r o s s & L e v e n s o n ,
1 9 9 5 ) . T h e f i r s t fi l m ( 1 r a i n ) w a s a d y n a m i c a b s t r a c t d i sp l a y t h a t e l i c i t s
v e r y l i t t l e e m o t i o n o f a n y k i n d . T h e s e c o n d a n d t h i r d f i l m s s h o w e d
m e d i c a l p r o c e d u r e s . T h e s e w e r e f i r s t u s e d b y P a u l E k m a n o f t h e U n i v e r -
s i t y o f C a l i f o r n i a , S a n F r a n c i s c o ( s e e E k m a n , F r i e s e n , & O ' S u l l i v a n ,
1 9 8 8 ) . T h e f i rs t s h o w e d t h e t r e a t m e n t o f b u r n v i c t i m s ( b u r n f i lm ) a n d
w a s 5 5 s l o n g . T h e s e c o n d s h o w e d a c l o s e - u p o f t h e a m p u t a t i o n o f a na r m ( a m p u t a t i o n f i l m ) a n d w a s 6 4 s l o n g . I n p r e t e s t i n g , t h e se t w o f i l m s
e l i c i t e d s e l f - r e p o r t e d d i sg u s t , w i t h l i t t l e r e p o r t o f o t h e r e m o t i o n s .
P r o c e d u r e
O n a r ri v a l, p a r t ic i p a n t s w e r e s e a t e d i n a w e l l - li t 4 × 6 - m r o o m . T h e y
w e r e i n f o r m e d t h a t t h e e x p e r i m e n t w a s c o n c e r n e d w i t h e m o t i o n a n d t h a t
t h e y w o u l d b e v i d e o t a p e d . P h y s i o l o g i c a l s e n s o r s w e r e a t t a c h e d , a n d
p a r t i c ip a n t s u s e d a s e l f - r e p o r t f o r m t o a n s w e r q u e s t i o n s c o n c e r n i n g
d e m o g r a p h i c s a n d c u r r e n t m o o d . P a r t i c i p a n t s t h e n w e r e s h o w n t h r e e
sh o r t f i l m s o n a 1 9 - i n . c o l o r t e l e v i s i o n m o n i t o r a t a d i s t a n c e o f 1 . 7 5
m . A l l i n s t r u c t i o n s w e r e p r e r e c o r d e d a n d p r e s e n t e d v i a t h e t e l e v i s i o n
m o n i t o r .
Be f o r e t h e f i r s t a n d se c o n d f i l m t r i a l s , p a r t i c i p a n t s w e r e t o l d t h a t t h e
t e l e v is i o n s c r e e n w o u l d b e b l a n k f o r a b o u t a m i n u t e a n d t h a t t h is t i m e
s h o u l d b e u s e d t o " c l e a r y o u r m i n d o f a ll t h o u g h t s , fe e l i n g s , a n d m e m o -
r i e s . " A f t e r t h i s 1 - m i n b a se l i n e p e r i o d , p a r t i c i p a n t s r e c e i v e d t h e f o l l o w -
i n g i n s t ru c t i o n s : " W e w i l l n o w b e s h o w i n g y o u a s h o r t f il m c l ip . I t i s
i m p o r t a n t t o u s t h a t y o u w a t c h t h e f i l m c l i p c a re f u l l y , b u t i f y o u f i n d
t h e f i l m t o o d i s t r e s s i n g , j u s t s a y ' s t o p . ' " T h e s e i n s t r u c t i o n s w e r e f o l -
l o w e d b y e i t h e r t h e n e u t r a l f i l m ( f i r s t t r i a l ) o r t h e b u r n f i l m ( se c o n d
t r i a l ) . A f t e r e a c h f i l m , t h e r e w a s a l - m i n p o s t f i l m p e r i o d , a t t h e e n d o f
w h i c h p a r t i c i p a n t s c o m p l e t e d a n e m o t i o n - r a t i n g f o r m ( d e s c r i b e d b e -
l o w ) , t o a s s e s s t h e i r e m o t i o n a l r e a c ti o n s d u r i n g t h e f i lm .
T h e t h i r d t r i al b e g a n w i t h t h e s a m e 1 - m i n b a s e l in e p r o c e d u r e . P a r t i c i -
p a n t s t h e n r e c e i v e d o n e o f t h r e e i n s t r u c t i o n s , d e t e r m i n e d b y r a n d o m
a s s i g n m e n t t o o n e o f t h r e e c o n d i t i o n s ( w a t c h , r e a p p r a i sa l , o r s u p p r e s -
s i o n ) . A s s i g n m e n t w a s c o n s t r a i n e d s o t h a t e q u a l n u m b e r s o f m e n a n d
w o m e n w e r e a s s i g n e d t o e a c h c o n d i t i o n . F o r w a t c h p a r t i c i p a n t s ( n =
4 0 ) , t h e f o r e g o i n g i n s t r u c t io n s w e r e r e p e a t e d . R e a p p r a i s a l p a r ti c i p a n t s
( n = 4 0 ) r e c e i v e d t h e fo l l o w i n g i n s t r u c ti o n s :
W e w i l l n o w b e s h o w i n g y o u a s h o r t f i l m cl i p . It i s i m p o r t a n t t o
u s t h a t y o u w a t c h t h e f i l m c l i p c a r e f u l l y , b u t i f y o u f i n d t h e f i lm
t o o d i s t r e s s in g , j u s t s a y " s t o p . " T h i s t i m e , p l e a s e t ry t o a d o p t a
d e t a c h e d a n d u n e m o t i o n a l a t t it u d e a s y o u w a t c h t h e f i lm . I n o t h e r
w o r d s , a s y o u w a t c h t h e f i l m c li p , tr y t o t h i n k a b o u t w h a t y o u a r e
se e i n g o b j e c t i v e l y , i n t e r m s o f t h e t e c h n i c a l a sp e c t s o f t h e e v e n t s
y o u o b se r v e . Wa t c h t h e f i l m c l i p c a r e f u l l y , b u t p l e a se t r y t o t h i n k
a b o u t w h a t y o u a r e s e e i n g i n s u c h a w a y t h a t y o u d o n ' t f e e l a n y t h i n g
at all .
P a r t i c ip a n t s i n t h e s u p p r e s s i o n c o n d i t i o n ( n = 4 0 ) r e c e i v e d t h e f o l lo w i n g
i n s t r u c t i o n s :
W e w i l l n o w b e s h o w i n g y o u a s h o r t f i l m c l i p . I t i s i m p o r t a n t t o
u s t h a t y o u w a t c h t h e f i l m c l i p c a r e f u l l y , b u t i f y o u f i n d t h e f i l m
t o o d i s t r e s s in g , j u s t s a y " s t o p . " T h i s t i m e , i f y o u h a v e a n y f e e l i n g s
a s y o u w a t c h t h e f i l m c l i p , p l e a s e t r y y o u r b e s t n o t t o l e t t h o s e
f e e l i n g s sh o w . I n o t h e r w o r d s , a s y o u w a t c h t h e f i l m c li p , t r y t o
b e h a v e i n s u c h a w a y t h a t a p e r s o n w a t c h i n g y o u w o u l d n o t k n o w
4 A t o t a l o f 1 2 7 s t u d e n t s i n i t i a l ly p a r t i c i p a t e d . O f t h e se , 7 w e r e e x -
c l u d e d f r o m a n a l y s e s b e c a u s e t h e y r e q u e s t e d t o s t o p t h e a m p u t a t i o n f i lm
( 3 i n t h e w a t c h c o n d i t i o n a n d 4 i n t h e s u p p r e s s i o n c o n d i t i o n ) .
y o u w e r e f e e l i n g a n y t h i n g . Wa t c h t h e f i l m c l i p c a r e f u l l y , b u t p l e a se
t r y t o b e h a v e s o t h a t s o m e o n e w a t c h i n g y o u w o u l d n o t k n o w t h a t
y o u a r e f e e l i n g a n y t h i n g a t a l l .
P a r t i ci p a n t s t h e n w a t c h e d t h e a m p u t a t i o n f i lm , w h i c h w a s f o l l o w e d b y
a 1 - m i n p o s t f il m p e r i o d . A f t e r t h e p o s t f il m p e r i o d , p a r t i c i p a n ts c o m -
p l e t e d a n e m o t i o n - r a t i n g f o r m a n d a n s w e r e d s e v e r al a d d i ti o n a l q u e s t i o n s
c o n c e r n i n g t h e i r r e s p o n s e s t o t h e a m p u t a t i o n f il m .
M e a s u r e s
D a t a w e r e c o l l e c t e d i n t h r e e r e s p o n s e d o m a i n s : e x p r e s s i v e b e h a v i o r,
su b j e c t i v e e x p e r i e n c e , a n d p h y s i o l o g y . Be c a u se t h e f i r s t f i l m ( a b s t r a c t
d i s p l a y ) w a s i n c l u d e d s o l e l y to a c c u s t o m p a r t i c ip a n t s t o t h e l a b o r a to r y ,
d a t a f r o m t h i s f i l m w e r e n o t a n a l y z e d . F o r t h e b u r n a n d a m p u t a t i o n
f i lm s , d a t a r e d u c t i o n f o r b e h a v i o r a l a n d p h y s i o l o g i c a l d a t a w a s b a s e d
o n t h e p r e fi l m (1 m i n ) , i n s t r u c ti o n a l ( 1 m i n ) , f i l m ( a p p r o x i m a t e l y 1
m i n ) , a n d p o s t f i lm ( 1 m i n ) p e r i o d s . S e l f - r e p o r t d a t a w e r e a v a i l a b le f o r
b a s e l i n e a n d f i lm p e r i o d s . A s m a n i p u l a t i o n c h e c k s , a f t e r t h e a m p u t a t i o n
f i l m , p a r t i c i p a n t s r a t e d t h r e e s t a t e m e n t s u s i n g a 9 - p o i n t L i k e r t - t y p e sc a l e ,
r a n g i n g f r o m 0 (strongly disagree) to 8 (strongly agree): ( a ) D u r i n g
t h e f i l m , I t r i e d n o t t o f e e l a n y t h i n g a t a l l ; ( b ) d u r i n g t h e f i l m , I f e l te m o t i o n s b u t t r i e d t o h i d e t h e m ; a n d ( c ) d u r i n g t h e f i l m , I r e a c t e d
c o m p l e t e l y s p o n t a n e o u s l y .
Behavior. A r e m o t e c o n t r o l v i d e o c a m e r a p l a c e d b e h i n d d a r k e n e d
g l a s s u n o b t r u s i v e l y r e c o r d e d p a r t i c i p a n t s ' f a c i a l b e h a v i o r a n d u p p e r
b o d y m o v e m e n t . P a r t i c i p a n t s ' b e h a v i o r a l r e s p o n s e s w e r e r a t e d b y f o u r
c o d e r s ( t w o m e n a n d t w o w o m e n ) , w h o w e r e u n a w a r e o f s t i m u l i a n d
e x p e r i m e n t a l c o n d i t i o n s . C o d e r s u s e d a m o d i f i e d v e r s i o n o f t h e E m o -
t i o n a l B e h a v i o r C o d i n g S y s t e m ( G r o s s & L e v e n s o n , 1 9 9 3 ) , i n c l u d i n g
( a ) o v e r a l l d i sg u s t , ( b ) e m o t i o n a l i n t e n s i t y , ( c ) o v e r a l l a c t i v i t y ( a n a
p r i o r i c o m p o s i t e d e f i n e d b y f o u r c o d e s : m o u t h m o v e m e n t , f a ci a l m o v e -
m e n t , f ac e t o u c h i n g , a n d b o d y m o v e m e n t ) , a n d ( d ) o b s c u r e s v i s i o n . T h e
f i rs t t h r ee m e a s u r e s w e r e d e s i g n e d t o a s s e s s e m o t i o n - e x p r e s s i v e b e h a v i o r
i n d i s c r e t e ( d i s g u s t ) , d i m e n s i o n a l ( i n t e n s i t y ) , a n d g l o b a l ( a c t i v i t y )
t e r m s . O b s c u r e s v i s i o n w a s a c o n t r o l v a r i a b l e , d e s i g n e d t o a s s e s s
w h e t h e r e m o t i o n r e g u l a t i o n p a r t i c i p a n t s p r e v e n t e d t h e m s e l v e s f r o ms e e i n g t h e f i lm s b y s h i e l d i n g th e i r g a z e o r l o o k i n g a w a y f r o m t h e s c r e e n .
R e l i a b i li t ie s w e r e g o o d ( m e a n r = . 9 2 ) , r a n g i n g f r o m . 8 3 f o r d i s g u s t
t o . 9 8 f o r o b s c u r e s v i s i o n . A s e x p e c t e d , t h e f o u r c o m p o n e n t s o f t h e
a c t iv i t y c o m p o s i t e w e r e c o r r e l a t e d , a n d t h e c o m p o s i t e h a d a l p h a s r a n g i n g
f r o m . 6 8 t o . 7 5 . F in a l v a l u e s f o r e a c h o f t h e m e a s u r e s w e r e d e t e r m i n e d b y
a v e r a g i n g t h e c o d e r s ' r a t in g s . P a r t i c i p a n t s r e c e i v e d s c o r e s f o r b a s e l i n e ,
i n s t ru c t i o n a l , f il m , a n d p o s t f i l m p e r i o d s ; c h a n g e s c o r e s w e r e c o m p u t e d
b y s u b t r a c ti n g b a s e l i n e s c o r e s f r o m e a c h o f t h e o t h e r s c o re s .
Subjective experience. P a r t i ci p a n t s r a t e d h o w t h e y f e l t b e f o r e e a c h
f i l m ( b a se l i n e r a t i n g ) a n d , a f t e r v i e w i n g e a c h f i l m , h o w t h e y h a d f e l t
d u r i n g t h e f i l m ( f i l m r a t i n g ) . O n e a c h o c c a s i o n , p a r t i c i p a n t s r a t e d t h e i r
d i s g u s t , w h i c h w a s e m b e d d e d i n a s e t o f 1 5 d i s t r a c to r i t e m s ( a m u s e m e n t ,
a n g e r , a r o u sa l , c o n f u s i o n , c o n t e m p t , c o n t e n t m e n t , e m b a r r a s sm e n t , f e a r ,
h a p p i n e s s , i n t e r e s t , p a i n , r e l i e f , s a d n e s s , su r p r i s e , a n d t e n s i o n ) . E a c h
e m o t i o n w a s r a t e d u s i n g a 9 - p o i n t L i k e r t - t y p e s c a l e , r a n g i n g f r o m 0(none) to 8 (mos t in my l i fe ) , a d a p t e d f r o m E k m a n , F r i e s e n , a n d A n c o l i
( 1 9 8 0 ) . T h e p r i m a r y f o c u s w a s o n d i s g u s t e x p e r ie n c e , b u t c h a n g e s c o r e s
w e r e c o m p u t e d f o r a l l 1 6 m e a s u r e s b y s u b t r a c t i n g t h e b a s e l i n e s c o r e
f r o m t h e f i l m sc o r e .
Physiology. F i v e m e a s u r e s w e r e s e l e c t e d f o r u s e i n t h i s s t u d y t o
p r o v i d e a b r o a d i n d e x o f t h e a c t iv i t y o f p h y s i o l o g i c a l s y s t e m s e s p e c i a l ly
r e l e v a n t to e m o t i o n a l r e s p o n d i n g . T h e f i rs t t h r e e m e a s u r e s a s s e s s e d a c t i-
v a t i o n o f t h e s y m p a t h e t i c b r a n c h o f t h e a u t o n o m i c n e r v o u s s y s t e m :
1. Finger pulse amplitude. A U F I p h o t o p l e t h y s m o g r a p h r e c o rd e d
t h e a m p l i t u d e o f b l o o d v o l u m e i n t h e f in g e r u s i n g a p h o t o c e l l ta p e d
t o t h e d i s t a l p h a l a n g e o f t h e s e c o n d f i n g e r o f t h e n o n d o m i n a n t h a n d .
2. Finger temperature. A t h e r m i s t o r a t t a c h e d t o t h e p a l m a r su r f a c e
o f t h e d i s t a l p h a l a n g e o f t h e f o u r t h f i n g e r r e c o r d e d t e m p e r a t u r e i n
d e g r e e s F a h r e n h e it .
3. Skin conductance level. A c o n s t a n t - v o l t a g e d e v i c e w a s u s e d t o
p a s s a s m a l l v o l t a g e b e t w e e n B e c k m a n r e g u l a r e l e c t r o d e s ( u s i n g
a n e l e c t r o ly t e o f s o d i u m c h l o r i d e i n U n i b a s e ) a t t a c h e d to t h e p a l m a r
su r f a c e o f t h e m i d d l e p h a l a n g e s o f t h e f i r s t a n d t h i r d f i n g e r s o f t h e
n o n d o m i n a n t h a n d .
T h e f o u r t h a n d f i f t h m e a su r e s a s se s se d so m a t i c a c t i v i t y a n d h e a r t r a t e ,
r e sp e c t i v e l y :
4. General somatic activity. A n e l e c t r o m e c h a n i c a l t r a n s d u c e r
a t t ac h e d t o t h e p l a t f o r m u n d e r t h e p a r t i c i p a n t ' s c h a i r g e n e r a t e d a n
e l e c t r i c a l s i g n a l p r o p o r t i o n a l t o t h e a m o u n t o f m o v e m e n t i n a n y
d i r e c t i o n .
5. Cardiac interbeat interval. B e c k m a n m i n i a t u r e e l e c t r o d e s w i t h
R e d u x p a s t e w e r e p l a c e d i n a b i p o l a r c o n f i g u r a t i o n o n o p p o s i t e
s i d e s o f t h e p a r t i c i p a n t ' s c h e s t . T h e i n t e r b e a t i n t e rv a l w a s c a l c u l a t e d
a s t h e i n t e rv a l ( i n m i l l i s e c o n d s ) b e t w e e n s u c c e s s i v e R - w a v e s .
D u r i n g t h e e x p e r im e n t a l s e s s i o n s , la b o r a t o r y s o f t w a r e c o m p u t e d s e c -
o n d - b y - s e c o n d a v e r a g e s f o r e a c h o f t h e f i ve p h y s i o l o g i c a l m e a s u r e st h r o u g h o u t e a c h b a se l i n e , i n s t r u c t i o n a l , f i l m , a n d p o s t f i l m p e r i o d . T h e se
s e c o n d - b y - s e c o n d p h y s io l o g i c a l v a l u es l a t e r w e r e u s e d t o c o m p u t e
s c o r e s f o r e a c h p a r t i c ip a n t r e p r e s e n t i n g t h e a v e r a g e s o f t h e p h y s i o l o g i c a l
v a r i a b l e s f o r t h e b a se l i n e , i n s t r u c t i o n a l , f i l m , a n d p o s t f i l m p e r i o d s .
C h a n g e s c o r e s f o r th e f iv e m e a s u r e s w e r e c o m p u t e d b y s u b t r a ct i n g b a s e -
l i n e s c o r e s f r o m i n s t r u c t i o n a l , f i l m , a n d p o s t f i l m p e r i o d s .
R e s u l t s
R a n d o m A s s i g n m e n t a n d M a n i p u l a ti o n C h e c ks
A l l p a r t i c i p a n t s v i e w e d t h e i n i t ia l d i s g u s t - e l i c i t i n g f i lm ( t h e
b u r n f i l m ) u n d e r t h e s a m e i n s t r u c t i o n s t o s i m p l y w a t c h t h e fi l m .
T h i s f i l m t h e r e f o r e p r o v i d e d a n o p p o r t u n i t y t o e v a l u a t e t h e e f -
f e c t iv e n e s s o f o u r r a n d o m a s s i g n m e n t o f p a r t ic i p a n t s t o e x p e r i -
m e n t a l c o n d i t i o n s . O v e r a l l m u l t i v a r i a te a n a l y s e s o f v a r i a n c e
( M A N O V A s ) f o r th e b e h a v i o r a l, s u b j ec t iv e , a n d p h y s i o l o g i ca l
d o m a i n s f a i l e d to r e v e a l a n y d i f f e r e n c e s a m o n g p a r t i c i p a n t s
a s s i g n e d t o th e t h r e e i n s t r u c t i o n a l g r o u p s d u r i n g t h i s f i lm , s u g -
g e s t i n g t h a t o u r r a n d o m a s s i g n m e n t h a d b e e n s u c c e s s fu l . 5
A s e m o t i o n r e g u l a t i o n p a r t i c i p a n t s r e c e i v e d t h e i r i n s t r u c t i o n s ,
w a s t h e r e e v i d e n c e o f p r e p a r a t o r y a c t iv i t y th a t m i g h t d i s t i n g u i s h
t h e m f r o m w a t c h p a r t i c ip a n t s ? I n t h e b e h a v i o r al d o m a i n , r e a p -
p r a i s a l p a r t i c i p a n t s s h o w e d g r e a t e r i n c r e a s e s i n e m o t i o n a l i n t e n -
s i t y t h a n w a t c h p a r t i c i p a n t s ( e . g . , i n t e r e s t , c o n c e n t r a t i o n ) , a n d
s u p p r e s s i o n p a r t i c i p a n t s s h o w e d g r e a t e r in c r e a s e s i n a c ti v i ty
t h a n w a t c h p a r t i c i p a n t s ( s e e T a b l e 1 ) .6 A s c o m p a r e d w i t h w a t c h
p a r t i c i p a n t s , b o t h re a p p r a i s a l a n d s u p p r e s s i o n p a r t i c i p a n t ss h o w e d g r e a t e r d e c r e a s e s i n fi n g e r p u l s e a m p l i t u d e a n d f i n g e r
t e m p e r a t u r e a n d g r e a t e r i n c r e a s e s i n sk i n c o n d u c t a n c e a n d s o -
m a t i c a c t i v it y ( s e e T a b l e 1 ) . I n g e n e r a l , p h y s i o l o g i c a l r e -
s p o n d i n g w a s s o m e w h a t g r e a te r in t h e s u p p r e s s i o n c o n d i t i o n
s I n e a c h a n a l y s i s , p a r t i c i p a n t s e x w a s i n i t i a l ly i n c l u d e d a s a f a c to r .
B e c a u s e s e x d i d n o t i n t e r a c t w i t h i n s t r u c t i o n a l c o n d i t i o n , s e x w a s
d r o p p e d f r o m t h e f i n al a n a l y s e s.
6 A s m i g h t b e e x p e c t e d , d u r i n g t h e p r e f i l m p e r i o d , t h e r e w e r e n o
g r o u p d i f f e r e n c e s in r a t i n g s o f d i s g u s t - e x p r e s s i v e b e h a v i o r o r o b s c u r i n g
Note. M ea ns n a g iven row w ith different subscripts differ significantly at p < .05 , two-tailed.
2 2 9
t ha n i n t he r e a pp r a i s a l c ond i t i on , a nd on l y s upp r e s s i on pa r t i c i -pa n t s s how e d g r e a t e r i nc r e a s e s i n he a r t r a t e t ha n w a t c h pa r t i c i -
p a n t s . A l t h o u g h t h e b e h a v i o r a l s i g n s o f p r e p a r a t i o n d i f f e r e d
s o m e w h a t f o r t h e t w o g r o u p s , t h e o v e r a ll s i m i l a r it y i n r e s p o n s e s
s ugge s t s t ha t t he s e p r e pa r a t o r y e f f e c t s m a y be qu i t e ge ne r a l .
W h e n p a r t i c ip a n t s i n th e t w o e m o t i o n r e g u l a t i o n g r o u p s h e a r d
t h a t t h e y s o o n w o u l d b e c a l l e d o n t o m a n a g e t h e i r em o t i o n s , t h e y
a p p e a r e d t o s t e e l t h e m s e l v e s , a n d t h e i r h e i g h t e n e d a u t o n o m i c
a c t i va t i on ( r e la t i ve to t he w a t c h pa r t i c i pa n t s ) s ugge s t s bo t h t he i r
c onc e r n a bou t t he a s s i gne d t a s k a nd t he e f f o r t s t he y m a de t o
p r e p a r e t h e m s e l v es .
A f t e r the a m p u t a t i on f i l m , t h r e e que s t i ons w e r e a dm i n i s t e r e d
t o a s s e s s c o m p l i a n c e w i t h i n s t r u c t i o n s . C o m p a r e d w i t h t h e
w a t c h p a r t i c ip a n t s , b o t h s u p p r e s s i o n p a r ti c i p a n t s, t ( 7 8 ) = 4 . 7 ,
p < . 001 , a nd r e a pp r a i s a l pa r t i c i pa n t s , t ( 7 8 ) = 3 . 2 , p < . 01 ,
r e p o r t e d r e a c t i n g l e s s s p o n t a n e o u s l y d u r i n g t h e a m p u t a t i o n f il m ,
c o n s i s te n t w i t h t h e i r h a v i n g b e e n a s k e d t o r e g u l a t e t h e i r e m o -
t io n s . A s e x p e c t e d , r e a p p r a i s a l p a r t ic i p a n t s r e p o r t e d t r y i n g n o t
t o f e e l t he e m o t i on t o a g r e a t e r de g r e e t ha n w a t c h pa r t i c i pa n t s ,
t ( 7 8 ) = 8 . 8 , p < . 001 , a nd s upp r e s s i o n pa r t i c i pa n t s , t ( 7 8 ) =
2 . 2 , p < . 05 . A l s o a s e xpe c t e d , s upp r e s s i on pa r t i c i pa n t s r e po r t e d
f e e l i ng bu t h i d i ng e m o t i ons t o a g r e a t e r de g r e e t ha n w a t c h pa r t i -
c i pa n t s , t ( 7 8 ) = 7 . 3 , p < . 001 , a nd r e a pp r a i s a l pa r t i c i pa n t s
t ( 77 . 7 ) = 2 . 0 , p < . 05 .
E m o t i o n R e g u l a t i o n a n d E x p r e s s i v e B e h a v i o r
H y p o t h e s i s 1 p r e d i c t e d t h a t e m o t i o n r e g u l a t i o n p a r t i c ip a n t s
w o u l d s h o w l e s s ex p r e s s i v e b e h a v i o r d u r i n g f i lm a n d p o s t f il m
pe r i ods t ha n w a t c h pa r t i c i pa n t s . I nde e d , a s p r e s e n t e d i n T a b l e
2 , t h i s i s p r e c i s e l y w ha t w a s f ound . D ur i ng t he f i l m pe r i od ,
r e a pp r a i s a l a nd s upp r e s s i on pa r t i c i pa n t s s how e d l e s s e r i nc r e a s e s
i n d i s gus t , e m o t i o na l i n t e ns i ty , a nd a c t i v i t y t ha n w a t c h pa r t i c i -
pa n t s . Fo r d i s gus t a nd i n t e ns it y , t h i s re duc t i on w a s s o m e w ha t
m o r e p r o n o u n c e d f o r s u p p r e s s i o n p a r t i c ip a n t s th a n f o r r e a p -
p r a i s a l pa r t i c i pa n t s . D u r i ng t he pos t f i l m pe r i od , r e a pp r a i s a l a nd
s upp r e s s i on pa r t i c i pa n t s s how e d l e s s e r inc r e a s e s i n d i s gus t t ha n
w a t c h p a r t i ci p a n t s , a n d s u p p r e s s i o n p a r t i ci p a n t s s h o w e d l e s s er
i nc r e a s e s i n i n t e ns i t y t ha n r e a p p r a i s a l o r w a t c h pa r t i c i pa n t s .
T h e r e w e r e n o d i f f e re n c e s a m o n g g r o u p s i n t h e d e g r e e t o w h i c hpa r t i c i pa n t s obs c u r e d t he i r v i s i on , i nd i c a t i ng t ha t e m o t i on r e gu -
l a t i on pa r t i c i pa n t s d i d no t s i m p l y c ove r t he i r e ye s t o l e s s e n t he
e m o t i o n a l i m p a c t o f t h e f i lm .
E m o t i o n R e g u l a t i o n a n d S u b j e c t i v e E x p e r i e n c e
E xt e ns i ve p r e t e s t i ng ha d s how n t ha t t he a m pu t a t i on f i l m ge n -
e r a l l y e l i c i t s h i gh l e ve l s o f d i s gus t e xpe r i e nc e . H ypo t he s i s 2
s ugge s t e d t ha t r e a pp r a i s a l w ou l d l e s s e n t he s ub j e c t i ve i m pa c t
o f t h i s f i lm b u t t h a t s u p p r e s s io n w o u l d n o t . A s p r e s e n t e d i n
F i gu r e 2 , t h i s w a s i nde e d t he c a s e . R e a pp r a i s a l pa r t i c i pa n t s ha d
l e s s e r i nc r e a s e s i n d i s gus t e xpe r i e nc e w h i l e w a t c h i ng t he f i l m
t ha n w a t c h pa r t i c ipa n t s , t ( 7 7 ) = 2 . 2 , p < . 05 , w he r e a s s upp r e s -
s i on pa r t i c i pa n t s d i d no t, t ( 78 ) = 0 . 8 , ns .W a s t h i s a l t e r a t i on i n s ub j e c t i ve e xpe r i e nc e s pe c i f i c t o t he
t a r ge t e m o t i on o f d i s gus t ? O r w a s t he r e a ge ne r a l du l l i ng o f
s u b j e c ti v e e x p e r ie n c e ? T h e o t h e r e m o t i o n t e r m s w e r e i n c l u d e d
a s d i s t r a c t o r s t o m a ke t he ke y c om pa r i s on l e s s obv i ous t o pa r t i -
c i pa n t s , bu t t he y pe r m i t t e d a n e xa m i na t i on o f w he t he r t h i s
r e duc t i on i n d i s gus t w a s pa r t o f a l a r ge r pa t te r n o f a l t e r e d s ub j e c -
t i ve e xpe r i e nc e . T o t e s t th i s pos s i b i l i t y , I c ond uc t e d a n ove r -
a l l t h r e e - l e ve l c ond i t i on ( w a t c h , s u pp r e s s , o r r e a pp r a i s e )
M A N O V A f o r t h e 1 5 o t h e r e m o t i o n e x p e r i e n c e r a t i n g s . T h e
c ond i t i on e f f e c t w a s no t s i gn i f ic a n t , F ( 30 , 20 2 ) = 1 .1 , s ug -
ge s t i ng t ha t e m o t i on r e gu l a t i on d i d no t ha ve a n ove r a l l e f f e c t
on e xpe r i e nc e .
E m o t i o n R e g u l a t i o n a n d P h y s i o l o g y
H y p o t h e s i s 3 p r e d i c t e d t h a t r e a p p r a i s a l p a r t i c i p a n t s w o u l d
s how l e s s s ym pa t he t i c , s om a t i c , a nd he a r t r a t e r e s pond i ng t ha n
t he w a t c h pa r t i c i pa n t s du r i ng t he f i l m a nd pos t f i l m pe r i ods . B y
c o n t r a st , s u p p r e s s i o n p a r t i ci p a n t s w e r e h y p o t h e s i z e d t o s h o w
gr e a t e r s ym pa t he t i c r e s pond i ng du r i ng t he f i l m a nd pos t f i l m
pe r i ods t ha n w a t c h pa r t i c i pa n t s bu t l e s s s om a t i c a nd he a r t r a t e
r e s pond i ng . A s p r e s e n t e d i n T a b l e 3 , a na l y s e s w e r e c onduc t e d
u s i n g p e r i o d a v e r a g es ; c o n t i n u o u s p h y s i o l o g i c a l p l o t s a l s o a r e
p r e s e n t e d f o r t he t h r e e m e a s u r e s o f s ym pa t he t i c a c t i va t i on , t o
N ote . M ea ns in a given row with different subscripts differ from on e another at p < .05 . A ll tests aretwo-tailed except skin conductance, which was predicted on the basis of results of three prior studies(Gross & Levenson 1993, 1997) .
2 3 1
E f f ec t s o f r eappra i sa l . O n t h e b a s i s o f t h e p r o c e s s m o d e l
o f e m o t i o n d e p i c t e d i n F i g u r e 1 , I h y p o t h e s i z e d th a t r e e v a lu a t i n g
t h e s i g n i f ic a n c e o f a p o t e n t i a l ly e m o t i o n - e l ic i t in g f i lm w o u l d
l e a d t o f e w e r e xpe r i e n t i a l , be ha v i o r a l , a nd phys i o l og i c a l s i gns
o f e m o t i o n t h a n s i m p l y w a t c h i n g t h e f i l m . I n d e e d , c o m p a r e d
w i t h w a t c h pa r t i c i pa n t s , r e a pp r a i s a l pa r t i c i pa n t s r e po r t e d l e s s
d i s g u s t e x p e r i e n c e a n d s h o w e d f e w e r b e h a v i o r a l s i g n s o f d i s -
gus t , s ugg e s t i ng t he e f f ic a c y o f t h i s e m o t i on r e gu l a t o r y s t r a t e gy ,
e ve n i n t he c on t e x t o f a po t e n t ne ga t i ve e m o t i on . T h i s po i n t i s
r e i n f o r c e d b y t h e o b s e r v a t i o n th a t a l t h o u g h 7 w a t c h a n d s u p p r e s -
s i o n c o n d i t i o n p a r t i c ip a n t s a s k e d f o r t h e f i l m t o b e s t o p p e d ( a n d
t h u s w e r e r e p l a c e d ; s e e f o o t n o te 4 ) , n o n e o f t h e r ea p p r a i s a l
pa r t i c i pa n t s d i d s o , X 2( 1 , N = 120 ) = 3 . 41 , p = . 07 ( one -
t a i l e d ) .
Su r p r i s i ng l y , how e ve r , r e a pp r a i s a l a nd w a t c h pa r t i c i pa n t s ha d
c o m p a r a b l e p h y s i o l o g i c a l r e s p o n s e s t o t h e f i l m . A n i n s p e c t io n
o f t h e c o n t i n u o u s p l o t s o f p h y s i o l o g i c a l r e s p o n d i n g ( s e e F i g u r e s
3 - 5 ) r e v e a ls th a t r e a p p r a i sa l p a r t i c ip a n t s m a y h a v e s h o w n
s l i gh t l y l e s s phys i o l o g i c a l a c ti va t i on , bu t t he s e d i f f e r e nc e s w e r e
n o t s i g n if i ca n t . W h y d i d n ' t r e a p p r a i s a l d e c r e a s e p h y s i o l o g i c a l
r e s pon d i ng ? N u l l f i nd i ngs a r e s u s c e p t i b l e t o d i ve r ge n t e xp l a n a -t i o n s, b u t o n e p o s s i b i l i t y i s t h a t r e a p p r a i sa l s i m p l y d o e s n o t
a f f e ct t h e p h y s i o l o g i c a l c o m p o n e n t o f a n e m o t i o n a l r e s p o n s e
( S t e p t o e & V o g e l e, 1 9 8 6 ) . G i v e n t h e s m a l l c o r r e l a ti o n s a m o n g
t h e c o m p o n e n t s o f a n e m o t i o n a l r e s p o n s e ( e . g . , L a n g , R i c e , &
S t e r nba c h , 197 2 ) , a n i n t e r ve n t i on s uc h a s r e a pp r a i s a l m i g h t
s e l e ct i v e ly ta r g e t j u s t t w o o f t h e c o m p o n e n t s o f t h e r e s p o n s e
( b e h a v i o r a n d e x p e r i e n c e ) a n d n o t a t h i r d ( p e r i p h e r a l p h y s i o l -
o g y ) . A l t e rn a t iv e l y , i t m a y b e t h a t t h e p o t e n c y o f t h e a m p u t a t io n
f i l m ga ve r e a pp r a i s a l pa r t i c i pa n t s l i t tl e c ha nc e t o s hu t dow n i t s
p o w e r f u l ( p o s s i b l y s u b c o r t i c a l l y m e d i a t e d ) a u t o n o m i c e f f e ct s
( s e e L e D o u x , 1 9 8 9 ) . P e r h a p s w i t h a m i l d e r f il m , a m o r e c o g n i -
t iv e l y e la b o r a t e d e m o t i o n , a l o n g e r e m o t i o n e p i s o d e , o r m o r e
de t a i l e d r e a pp r a i s a l i n s t r uc t i ons , r e a pp r a i s a l pa r t i c i pa n t s w ou l d
h a v e s h o w n l e s s er p h y s i o l o g i c a l r e s p o n d i n g .
E f f ec t s o f suppres s ion . C o m p a r e d w i t h w a t c h p a r t i c i p a n t s ,
t h o s e i n t h e s u p p r e s s io n c o n d i t i o n s h o w e d t h e e x p e c t e d d e c r e a s e
i n e xp r e s s i ve be ha v i o r . M or e ove r , t he y e xp e r i e nc e d ju s t a s m uc h
d i s g u s t a n d s h o w e d m o r e s y m p a t h e t i c a c t i v a t i o n o n a l l t h r e e
m e a s u r e s ( f i nge r pu l s e a m p l i t ude , f i nge r t e m pe r a t u r e , a nd s k i nc onduc t a nc e l e ve l ) . T h i s pa t t e r n o f f i nd i ngs i s c ons i s t e n t w i t h
p r e v i o u s s t u d i es u s i n g t h is p a r a d i g m ( G r o s s & L e v e n s o n , 1 99 3 ,
1 9 9 7 ) a n d s u g g e s t s t h a t r e s p o n s e - f o c u s e d e m o t i o n r e g u l a t i o n
c o m e s a t t h e c o s t o f h e i g h t e n e d p h y s i o l o g i c a l r e s p o n d i n g , p o s s i -
b l y due t o t he pa r a l l e l a c t i va ti on o f s ubc o r t i c a l e m o t i on c e n t e r s
a l ongs i de h i ghe r o r de r i nh i b i t o r y s t r uc t u r e s .
I n p r e v i o u s s tu d i e s ( G r o s s & L e v e n s o n , 1 9 9 3 ) , p a r t i ci p a n t s
w h o s u p p r e s s e d d i s g u s t s h o w e d d e c r e a s e d s o m a t i c a c t i v it y an d
ha d c onc om i t a n t de c r e a s e s i n he a r t r a t e . I n t he p r e s e n t s t udy ,
how e ve r , e ve n t hough s upp r e s s i on pa r t i c i pa n t s w e r e r a t e d a s
s h o w i n g l e s s e x p r e ss i v e b e h a v i o r t h a n w a t c h p a r t ic i p a n t s , th e y
s how e d ne i t he r l e s s s om a t i c a c t i v i t y no r l ow e r he a r t ra t e s . W hy
m i g h t t h i s f e a t u r e o f t h e s u p p r e s s i o n r e s p o n s e f o u n d i n t w op r e v i o u s s t u d i e s o f d i s g u s t b e a b s e n t i n t h e p r e s e n t s t u d y ? A n
e x a m i n a t i o n o f a c t i v it y l ev e l m e a n s a c r o s s s t u d ie s p r o v i d e s o n e
p o s s i b l e e x p l a n a ti o n . W h e r e a s p a r t i c ip a n t s i n t h e w a t c h c o n d i -
t i o n in t h e t w o p r i o r s tu d i e s ( G r o s s & L e v e n s o n , 1 9 9 3 ) s h o w e d
a n a ve r a g e i nc r e a s e o f 0 . 11 un i t s o f s om a t i c a c ti v i ty , pa r t i c i pa n t s
i n t he w a t c h c ond i t i on i n t he p r e s e n t s t udy s how e d a de c r e a s e
f r o m b a s e l in e o f - 0 . 0 5 u n i ts ( a s c o m p a r e d w i t h - 0 . 0 8 i n t h e
s upp r e s s i on c on d i t i on ) . T h i s m a ke s i t li ke l y t ha t a f loo r e f f e c t
w a s ope r a t i ve : Supp r e s s i on c ou l d no t de c r e a s e s om a t i c a c t i v i t y
f u r t he r be c a us e t he s om a t i c a c t i v i t y l e ve l s o f t he pa r t i c i pa n t s i n
t h e w a t c h c o n d i t i o n a l r e a d y w e r e w e l l b e l o w t h e ir b a s e l in e l e v -
T W O F O R M S O F E M O T I O N R E G U L A T IO N 2 3 5
t h a t o c c u r o u t s i d e c o n s c i o u s a w a r e n e s s , s u c h a s r e p r e s s i o n
( B r o w n e t a l ., 1 9 9 6 ; W e i n b e r g e r , 1 9 9 0 ) . L a b o r a t o r y - b a s e d s t u d -
i e s m u s t b e c o m p l e m e n t e d w i t h f i e l d w o r k , a n d t h e r a n g e o f
d e p e n d e n t m e a s u r e s s h o u l d b e b r o a d e n e d t o i n c l u d e a w i d e r
r a n g e o f c o g n i t i v e , e x p e r i e n t i a l , p h y s i o l o g i c a l , a n d b e h a v i o r a l
m e a s u r e s .
I n a d d i t i o n , i t w i l l b e i m p o r t a n t t o c o n s i d e r h o w i n d i v i d u a l s '
e m o t i o n r e g u l a t o r y g o a l s ( e . g ., K i n g & E m m o n s , 1 9 9 0 ; S w i n -k e l s & G i u l i a n o , 1 9 9 5 ) a n d s p o n t a n e o u s l y c h o s e n s t r a t e g i e s
( e . g . , B a n d u r a & R o s e n t h a l , 1 9 6 6 ) a f f e c t p r o x i m a l i n t ra i n d i v i d -
u a l a n d i n t e r p e r s o n a l f u n c t i o n i n g , a s w e l l a s m o r e d i s t a l p s y c h o -
l o g i c a l a n d p h y s i c a l h e a l th o u t c o m e s . F o r e x a m p l e , d o e s t h e
e f f e c t o f r e a p p r a i s a l d e p e n d o n w h e t h e r s o m e o n e h a b i t u a l l y u s e s
t h i s s t r a t e g y ? O r h o w , s p e c i f i c a l l y , a p e r s o n g o e s a b o u t t r y i n g
t o re a p p r a i s e a p o t e n t i a l l y e m o t i o n - e l i c i t i n g s i t u a ti o n ? C o m p l e -
m e n t i n g t h i s i d i o g r a p h i c a p p r o a c h , n o m o t h e t i c a n a l y s e s w i l l b e
n e e d e d t o i n t e g r a t e b r o a d e r b u t r e l a t e d c o n s t r u c t s , s u c h a s t h e
i n t e r n a l i z e r - e x t e rn a l i z e r d i m e n s i o n ( B u c k , 1 9 79 ; C a c i o p p o e t
a l ., 1 9 9 2 ) , d i v e r s e f a c e t s o f e m o t i o n a l e x p r e s s i v i t y ( G r o s s &
J o h n , 1 9 9 7 ) , e m o t i o n a l a m b i v a l e n c e ( K i n g & E m m o n s , 1 9 9 0 ) ,
a n d e m o t i o n a l i n t e l l ig e n c e ( G o l e m a n , 1 9 9 5 ; S a lo v e y , H s e e , &
M a y e r , 1 9 9 3 ) . B y e x a m i n i n g t h e s e p e r s o n a l a n d c o n t e x t u a l f a c -
t o rs , w e w i l l le a r n w h e t h e r s o m e p e o p l e a r e b e t t e r s u i te d c o g n i -
t i v e ly a n d t e m p e r a m e n t a l l y t o u s e s o m e e m o t i o n r e g u l a t o r y s t r a t -
e g i e s r a t h e r t h a n o t h e r s i n p a r t i c u l a r s i t u a t i o n s ( e . g . , E n g e b r e t -
s o n , M a t t h e w s , & S c h e i e r, 1 9 8 9 ; R o t h b a r t & A h a d i , 1 9 9 4 ) .
S u m m a r y
I n t h e c o m p l e x s o c i a l w o r l d i n w h i c h w e l i v e , s t r o n g e m o t i o n s
o c c a s i o n a l l y m a y b e u n w e l c o m e ( e . g . , w h e n t h e y c o m p r o m i s e
t a s k p e r f o r m a n c e o r b e t r a y s e c r e t p r e f e r e n c e s ) . A t s u c h t i m e s ,
w e a t t e m p t t o r e g u l a t e o u r e m o t i o n s , a n d I h a v e s u g g e s t e d t h a t
w e m a y d o s o i n t w o q u i t e d i f f e r e n t w a y s . T h e f i r s t i s t o r e a p -
p r a i s e o u r c i r c u m s t a n c e s s o a s t o a l t e r t h e i r e m o t i o n a l i m p a c t .T h i s s t u d y h a s s h o w n t h a t s u c h r e a p p r a i sa l s d e c r e a s e e x p r e s s i v e
b e h a v i o r a n d s u b j e c t i v e e x p e r i e n c e . T h e s e c o n d i s to i n h i b i t
e m o t i o n - e x p r e s s i v e b e h a v i o r o n c e t h e e m o t i o n i s a l r e a d y u n d e r
w a y . T h i s s t u d y h a s s h o w n t h a t s u c h e m o t i o n a l s u p p r e s s i o n
d e c r e a s e s e x p r e s s i v e b e h a v i o r , b u t d o e s n o t a f f e c t s u b j e c t i v e
e x p e r i e n c e , a n d a c t u a l l y i n c r e a s e s c e r t a i n a s p e c t s o f p h y s i o l o g i -
c a l r e sp o n d i n g . W i t h t h e s e d i v e r g e n t c o n s e q u e n c e s i n m i n d , I
h a v e s p e c u l a t e d t h a t c e r t a i n f o r m s o f a n t e c e d e n t - f o c u s e d e m o -
t i o n r e g u l a t i o n ( e . g . , r e a p p r a i s a l ) o f t e n m a y b e b e t t e r f o r o n e ' s
h e a l t h th a n c e r t a i n f o r m s o f re s p o n s e - f o c u s e d e m o t i o n r e g u l a -
t i o n ( e . g . , s u p p r e s s i o n ) .
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