Individual differences in emotion regulation and their impact on selective attention

• Author / Creator

  Arndt, Jody

• Studies were conducted to investigate relationships between trait emotion regulation variables (including reappraisal and suppression) and selective attention to negative emotional information. Correlation analyses of data in experiment 1 showed that trait-suppression was related to early attentional avoidance of angry faces, while reappraisal showed no relationship to attention. Experiment 2 directly compared selective attention to angry faces in groups of high trait-suppressors and high trait-reappraisers. Since reappraisers are also low trait-anxious and suppressors are high trait-anxious, low emotion regulating high- and low-anxious control groups were included. Contrary to findings from experiment 1, trait-suppressors did not have lower selective attention to angry faces than low-regulating high anxious controls. Trait-reappraisers in experiment 2 showed pronounced vigilance for angry faces compared to both trait suppressors and low-regulating low anxious controls. These results suggest that trait-suppression may reduce attentional threat biases. Conversely, trait-reappraisal combined with low anxiety may allow individuals to prioritize threat in attention.

• Subjects / Keywords

  • Selective attention
  • Emotion
  • Emotion regulation
  • Personality
  • Individual differences

• Graduation date

  Spring 2010

• Type of Item

  Thesis

• Degree

  Master of Science

• DOI

  https://doi.org/10.7939/R3S02R

• License

  This thesis is made available by the University of Alberta Libraries with permission of the copyright owner solely for non-commercial purposes. This thesis, or any portion thereof, may not otherwise be copied or reproduced without the written consent of the copyright owner, except to the extent permitted by Canadian copyright law.