Gross - Emotion Regulation

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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

[email protected].

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 ) .

22 4



TWO FORMS OF EMOTION REGULATION 225

aspects of the procedure. Other participant s heard no soundtrack

at all. Compared with the no-soundtrack condition, participants

who heard the soundtrack had slower heart rates, lower skin

conductance levels, and more pleasant mood ratings. These

findings suggested that leading participants to view the film less

negatively decreased the stressfulness of what otherwise would

have been a quite distressing experience.

Studies such as this one demonstrated that cognitive strategies

could reduce stress responses and suggested that such regulation

might have benefits for psychological health. This view has

been incorporated into theories of emotion (e.g., Frijda, 1988;

Lazarus, 1991; Plutchik, 1980), coping and stress reduction

(e.g., Katz & Epstein, 1991; Lazarus & Folkman, 1984; Meichen-

baum, 1985), delay of gratification (Mischel, 1974; Shoda, Mis-

chel, & Peake, 1990), and psychopathology (e.g. , Barlow, 1988;

Beck et al., 1979; Sayette, 1993). Despite its wide currency,

however, the view that cogni tive strategies may be used to de-

crease negative emotion has a surprisingly weak empirical foun-

dation. Since Lazarus' s pioneering studies, there has been at least

one failure to replicate (Steptoe & Vogele, 1986) and only one

successful replication (Dandoy & Goldstein, 1990). As Wegner(1994) demonstrated so elegantly in the realm of thought sup-

pression, attempts to influence ongoing mental processes may

have paradoxical or unintended effects. This suggests caution in

assuming that the cognitive control of emotion has uniquely, or

even primarily, salutary consequences.

Emotion Regulation: More Physiological Activation

and Worse Physical Health

With the advent of psychosomatic medicine, the impact of

emotion regulati on on physical health took center stage (Alexan-

der, 1939). Here, however, emotion regulation was cast not as

hero, bu t as villa in. Indeed, the notion that the regulation of

negative emotions could have deleterious consequences becamea cornerstone of the entire psychosomatic enterprise (Alexan-

der & French, 1946; Dunbar, 1954). The ch ronic inhi bition of

sadness and crying was thought to lead to respi ratory disorders,

such as asthma (Alexander, 1950; Halliday, 1937); the chronic

inhibition of affiliative tendencies was linked to gastrointestinal

disorders, such as ulcers (Alexander, 1950); and the chronic

inhib ition of anger was associated with cardiovascula r disorders,

such as hypertension (Alexander, 1939).

Although some of these hypotheses have fallen into disfavor,

others have remained popular, such as the view that chronic

hostility and anger inhibition may be linked to hypertension and

coronary heart disease (e.g., Friedman & Booth-Kewley, 1987;

Manuck & Krantz, 1986; T. W. Smith, 1992; Steptoe, 1993). In

addition, new hypotheses involving emotion regulation have

emerged, suggesting that emotion inhibition may exacerbate mi-

nor ailments (Pennebaker, 1990) and that inexpressiveness may

accelerate cancer progression (Fawzy et al., 1993; Gross, 1989;

Spiegel, Bloom, Kraemer, & Gottheil, 1989).

The theme that unites these hypotheses is that tight control

of negative emotions may adversely affect physical health. Just

how this might happen is not known, but the underlying premise

usually is that inhibiti ng emotion leads to acute increases in

physiological response parameters that may, over the long term,

do damage (Krantz & Manuck, 1984). Results of studies that

have examined the acute physiological effects of emotion regu-

lation empirica lly have been mixed (for a review, see Gross &

Levenson, 1993), but more recent work has shown that emo-

tional suppress ion leads to acute increases in sympathetic activa-

tion of the sort postulated by these models (Gross & Levenson,

1993, 1997).

Integrating the Two LiteraturesWhen placed side by side, the literatures on psychological and

physical health give the uncomfortable impression that emotion

regulation may benefit psychological health but harm physical

health. Are psychological well-being and physical well-being

really at odds with one another?

To address this issue, I have adopted the process model of

emotion shown in Figure 1. This model is a dist illation of major

points of convergence among researchers concerned with emo-

tion (e.g., Arnold, 1960; Ekman, 1972; Frijda, 1986; Izard,

1977; Lang, 1995; Lazarus, 1991; Levenson, 1994; Plutchik,

1980; Scherer, 1984; Tomkins, 1984). According to this consen-

sual model, emotion begins with an evaluation of external or

internal emotion cues. Certain evaluations trigger a coordinated

set of behavioral, experiential, and physiological emotional re-

sponse tendencies that together facilitate adaptive responding to

perceived challenges and opportuni ties. However, these response

tendencies may be modulated, and it is this modulation that

gives final shape to manifest emotional responses.

Clearly, this input-output model does not do--and is not

meant to do--full justice to the complexities of emotion. For

example, this model does not adequately represent the multifac-

eted evaluation and modulation processes. Neither does this

model capture the dynamic and recursive nature of emotion.

Nor does it provide sufficient means of representing differences

among emotions or differences among individuals. These limita-

tions notwithstanding, this model does suggest two major ways

in which emotions might be regulated.As shown in Figure 1, this model suggests that emotions may

be regulated either by manipulat ing he input to the system ( a n t e -

c e d e n t - f o c u s e d emotion regulation) or by manipulating ts output

( r e s p o n s e - f o c u s e d emotion regulation). Within these two broad

classes of emotion regulation, more fine-grained distinctions may

be made (see Frijda, 1986; Gross, 1998). For example, anteced-

ent-focused emotion regulation includes s i tua t ion se lec t ion , in

which one approaches or avoids certain people or situations on

the basis of their likely emotional impact; s i tua t ion modi f ica t ion ,

in which one modifies an environment so as to alter its emotional

impact; a t t e n t io n d e p l o y m e n t , in which one turns attention toward

or away from something in order to influence one's emotions;

and c o g n i t i v e c h a n g e , in which one reevaluates either the situation

one is in or one's capacity to manage the situation so as toalter one's emotions. Response-focused emotion regulation also

includes a multiplic ity of types, such as strategies that intensify,

d imin ish , pro long , or c u r t a i l ongoing emotional e x p e r i e n c e , e x -

p r e s s i o n , or p h y s i o l o g i c a l r e s p o n d in g . 2

2 The distinction between antecedent- and response-focused emotion

regulation should not be confused with Lazarus and colleagues' distinc-tion between problem- and emotion-focused coping, a distinction re-

cently retired in favor of more specific coping strategies (Folkman &

Lazarus, 1988). Emotion-focused coping refers to efforts to regulatestressful emotion and thus is coextensivewith the superordinatecategory



226 GROSS

Emotional

Cues

E m o t i o n a l

Resp on se Ten d en c ies

-Behavioral

.Experiential.Physiological

IEmotional

Responses

Figure 1.

t

Antecedent-Focused

Emotion Regulation

(e.g., Reappraisal )

t

Response-Focused

Emotion Regulation

(e.g., Suppre ssion)

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

desired emotional response tendencies (Gross & Levenson,

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,

1993, 1997).



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 ) .



2 2 8 G R O S S

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

v i s i o n .



T W O FO R M S O F E M O T I O N R E G U L A T I O N

T a b l e 1

Mean Change in Expressive Behavior and Physio log ica l Responding

During the Instruct ional Period

Instructions

Reappraise Watch Supp ress

Measure M SD M SD M SD

BehavioralEm otional intensity 0.90, 1.01 0.35h 0.86 0 . 5 8 a . b 0.87Overal l ac t ivi ty -0 .06 , 0.81 -0 .2 4, 0.76 0.30b 0.60

PhysiologicalFin ger pulse amplitude --2.26a 3.19 --0.13b 2.07 --4.13c 2.78Fin ger temperature --0.07, 0.52 0.18b 0.62 --0.13a 0.45Skin conductance 0.06a 0.62 -0.2 0b 0.51 0.36c 0.55Som atic activity 0.06, 0.14 -0.0 1b 0.13 0.12a 0.23Interbeat interval -25 .90 , 39.62 - 10.99, 3 6 .5 4 -47.73b 52.09

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



23 0 GROSS

Table 2

Mean Change in Expressive Behavior During the Film and Postfilm Periods

Instructions

Reappraise Watch Suppress

Behavioral measure M SD M SD M SD

Target variablesOverall disgustFilm 0.82, 1.11 2.30b 2.10 0.35c 1.00Postfilm 0.35,, 0.92 0.85b 1.27 0.13, 0.40

Emotional intensityFilm 1.03, 1.05 2.27b 1.69 0.45c 0.90Postfilm 0.80a 1.07 1.00, 1.01 0.30b 0.52

Overall activityFilm -0.12a 0.66 0.24b 0.96 -0.12, 0.56Postfilm -0.01, 0.68 0.11 a 0.77 -0.10a 0.69

Control variableObscures vision

Film 0.43, 1.58 0.53a 1.52 0.53a 3.16Postfilm 0.00, 0.00 0.00a 0.00 0.00, 0.00

Note. Means n a given row with different subscripts differ at p < .05, two-tailed.

elucidate the dynamic effects of emotion regulation (see Figures

3 -5 ) .

Did the two emotion regulat ion conditions diverge f rom the

control cond ition? As predicted, dur ing the film period, suppres-

sion participants showed greater sympathetic activation than

watch participants, and this effect was evident for all three

measures of sympathetic responding. Compared with both

watch and reappraisal participants, suppression participants

~ 3

~ 2

Reappraise Watch Suppress

Figure 2. Meanchange in self-reported disgust experience during theamputation film for the three instructional groups. Error bars indicate

standard error of the mean.

showed greater decreases in finger pulse amplitude and greater

decreases in finger temperature (both indicative of greater vaso-

constriction and hence greater sympathetic activation), as well

as greater increases in skin conductance (another sign of in-

creased sympathetic activation). This effect continued into the

postfilm period in a somewhat attenuated form. Here, suppres-

sion participants had greater decreases in finger pulse amplitude

and finger temperature than the other two groups. Unexpectedly,

however, suppression participants did not show less somatic or

heart rate responding than watch participants during either film

or postfilm periods. The hypothesis that reappraisal participants

would show fewer physiological signs of emotion than watch

participants also was not confirmed. Reappraisal participants

showed physiological responses that were indistinguishable

from watch participants during film and postfilm periods.

Discussion

These findings suggest a number of differences between the

antecedent -focused and response-focused forms of emotion reg-

ulation studied here. In the following sections, I review the

present results and discuss their implications for psychological

and physical health.

What Happens When We Regulate Our Emotions?

Despite striking commonalties in the effects of preparing to

regulate emotions, participants in the two emotion regulation

conditions showed quite different responses during the actual

period of emotion regulation. Reappraisal led to decreases in

both behavioral and subjective signs of emotion, with no hint of

elevations in physiological responding. Thus, it was a relatively

effective means of inhibi ting emotion. Suppression, by contrast,

although effective at diminishing expressive behavior, had no

impact on subjective experience and led to increases in multiple

indices of sympathetic nervous system activation.



T W O FO R M S O F E M O T I O N R E G U L A T I O N

T a b l e 3

M ean C hange i n P hys io log i ca l R espond ing D ur ing t he F i lm and P os t f i lm P er iods

Instructions

Reappraise Watch Supp ress

Physiological measure M SD M SD M SD

Sympathetic activationFinger pulse ampli tude

Fi lm -2.70 a 4.40 -3.25 a 4.77 --6.08b 4.71Postfi lm -0.60 a 3.28 -0.01 a 3.82 -2.17b 3.82

Finger temperatureFi lm -0.49 a 0.83 -0.19 a 1.00 -1.13 b 0.79Postfilm -0. 54 a 1.10 -0.4 5a 1.35 - 1.47b 1.31

Skin condu ctanceFilm 0.13a 0.87 0.34a 1.28 0.79b 0.89Postfilm -0.10~ 0.75 0.10a 0.90 0.21 ~ 0.82

Activity and heart rateSomatic activity

Fi lm -0.06 a 0.11 -0.05~ 0.18 -0.0 8a 0.25Postfilm 0.03~ 0.11 0.05~ 0.25 -0.02~ 0.22

Interbeat intervalFilm 38.27a 44.87 33.81~ 51.83 32 .6L 70.38Pos tfilm 9.32a 26.4 0 12.07~b 29.43 30.68b 56.73

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 -



232 GROSS

Figure 3. Mean change in finger pulse amplitude during the amputation trial for the three instructional

groups. Note that the ordinate's scale is such that increased sympathetic activation is upward.

els. This suggests that the specific effects of suppression on

somatic activity, and hence heart rate, wil l depend on the preci se

pattern of somatic activity generated by the target emotion in a

given setting (see Gross & Levenson, 1997).

Implications for Psychological Health

The present research suggests that for negative emotions such

as disgust, antecedent-focused and response-focused emotion

regulation may have quite different consequences. Reappraisal

led to decreased feelings of disgust, even when this strategy

was foisted on participants in the context of a potent emotion-

eliciting film, where it might be thought there would be little

room for such cogni tive strategies. This suggests that reappraisal

might have much to recommend it as an effective route to experi-

encing less negative emotion, and it may well be reappraisaland other antecedent-focused emotion regulatory strategies that

theorists have in mind when espousing the positive consequences

of emotion regulation for psychological health (Thayer, New-

man, & McClain, 1994). By contrast, inhi biting the outward

expression of negative emotion fails to provide any relief from

the subjective experience of negative emotion.

These findings indicate that reappraisal may be prefe rable to

suppression as a route to psychological well-being. But anteced-

ent-focused emotion regulation is not itself without costs. For

example, inflexible or unrealistic reappraisals might lead one

to deny important features of one' s environment, such as haz-

ards at work or abusive tendencies in a partner. In such cases,

the short-term benefits of relief from negative emotion would

almost certainly be outweighed by the long- term costs of stifling

the adaptive behavioral tendencies, such as flight, associated

with negative emotions. In addition, there may be more general

costs of any form of emotion regulation that diminishes emo-

tion-expressive behavior. Theorists since Darwin (187 2/1 965)

have argued that we rely on the emotional expressions of our

social partners to give us information about their needs and

preferences. For example, if we inadvertently anger someone,

their angry expression signals what has happened, and we are

able to apologize. But if the person we have angered regulates

emotion in a way that diminishes expressive behavior, we may

be oblivious to the problem and do nothing to change our ac-

tions. In this case, the person who is regulating is likely to

continue to have emotional responses, perhaps at even greater

intensi ty levels.

If, as I have argued, different forms of emotion regulation

have different consequences, no one strategy is likely to prove

unifor mly superior to all others across all contexts. Thus, what

is crucial is knowing how and when to use various emotion

regulatory strategies (Tavris, 1984). Such knowledge may be

communica ted in a variety of ways (Gross & Mufioz, 1995),

and a more complete understanding of the costs and benefits of

diverse regulatory processes promises to inform clinical inter-

ventions designed to promote healthy forms of emotion regula-



TWO FORMS OF EMOTION REGULATION 233

- 3 . 5 -

~- 2 . 5 -

&

~ - - 1 . 5 -

IN

q~

w - 0 . 5 -

iBa,,eUnell Ilnetructtoneli [ ~

m i 0 mi j O i

O J O g

e 00

mI

i P o n ~ n , , , , , _ h

- . - . E espp r s l m

• I imq

0 . 62 1 4 ,1 6 1 8 1 1 0 1 1 2 1 1 4 1 1 6 1 1 8 1 2 0 1 2 2 1 2 4 1

r i m e ( - , )

Figure 4. Meanchange in finger emperature during the amputation trial for the three instructional groups.

Note that the ordinate's scale is such that increased sympathetic activation is upward.

tion that are well matched to situational demands. These inter-

ventions may target individuals known to be at elevated risk for

depression or anxiety, or those whose professions (e.g., airline

personnel and paramedics) require them to regularly manage

intense emotions such as anger and disgust (Hochschild, 1983;

A. C. Smith & Kleinman , 1989; Sutton, 1991 ).

Impl icat ions for Physical Heal th

The present results are consistent with the view that emotion

regulation, particularly emotional suppression, may play a role

in physical health. Although the long-term health consequences

of acute emotional suppression were not assessed in this study,

the present results do show that each time emotion is suppressed

rather than expressed, sympathetic tone will be elevated. Any

one response of increased intensity would be unlikely to have

deleterious consequences, but it is conceivable that if such re-

sponses were repeated many times there might be adverse health

consequences (Krant z & Manuck, 1984). Extrapolating further,

suppression might increase not onl y the intensity of physiologi-

cal responses but also their frequency. As noted above, one

importan t functio n of emotions is to signal to others o ne' s

wishes and needs. I f these signals are systematically concealed,

others may not know one's wishes. This would make it less

likely that one 's interactants would be accommodating and more

likely that one would have intense and frequent negative-emo-

tion-laden interactions.

But how might these intense, frequent emotional responses

affect physical health? One link between emotional suppression

and physical health is suggested by the literature on cardiovascu-

lar disease. Here, emotional suppression has been shown to

be associated with essential hypertension and coronary artery

disease (Friedman & Booth-Kewley, 1987; Manuck & Krantz,

1986; Roter & Ewart, 1992; Steptoe, 1993). One possible mech-

anism underly ing this association may be sustained physiologi-

cal reactivity that is in excess of current metabolic demands

(Steptoe, 1981; Williams, 1986). The evidence from the present

study is consisten t with this possibility, showing that the acute

effects of emotional suppression include increased sympathetic

activation of the cardiovascular system despite low levels of

somatic activity. It remains to be determined, of course, whether

repeated episodes of this sort do in fact affect the integrity of

the cardiovascular system in vulnerable individuals.A second potential link between emotional suppression and

health is suggested by the stress tradition (Ursin & Olff, 1993)

and, more particularly, by research on stress and immune func-

tioning (Kiecolt-Gla ser & Glaser, 1991). Here, the suggestion

is that the stress response (which involves both autonomic and

neuroendocrine compon ents) may lead to the selective inhibit ion

of certain aspects of the immune response (Maier, Watldns, &

Fleshner, 1994; Sapolsky, 1994). Clearly, the links between vari-

ous components of the stress response and immune functioning

are extremely complex (Dienstbier, 1989; O'Leary, 1990).



234 GROSS

2 . 5 "

IB &- eUnq l [In-,la.ucUonq ~ Ipo,,t.t.ml,

i : I - " ' * " I: "..,.

; - . , / . - - - . t

i J a ,i 55 " , ' , ~4 , , , ~ , ;^ r~ " e " . ,~_ 1 A . ._• / I f I1"~11 m d I " L | I ~ , IP I I ~ l , i I~ '~ I" L • ~1~

/ : :," A.I/%;

1 21 41 Ol 81 101 121 1,1.1 161 181 201 221 2,1.1

T i m e ( , . )

Figure 5. Meanchange in skin conductanceduring the amputation trial for the three instructional groups.

Note that the ordinate's scale is such that increased sympathetic activation is upward.

Nonetheless, the finding that inhibiti ng moderate levels of emo-

tional expressive behavior leads to increased sympathetic activa-

tion of the cardiovascular system raises the possibility that sup-

press ion may activate some elements of the classic stress re-

sponse, which in turn may influence the nature and course of

immune responding (Esterling, Antoni, Kumar, & Schnei-

derman, 1990; Felten & Felten, 1994; Pennebaker, Kiecolt-Gla-

ser, & Glaser, 1988).

Direc t ions fo r Future Research

One direction for future research concerns the generalizability

of the present findings. For example, might the consequences

of emotion regulation vary according to whether the emotion

being regulated is anger, disgust, sadness, or some other emo-

tion? The lack of consensus as to whether each emotion calls

forth emotion-specific physiological (e.g., Cacioppo, Klein,Berntson, & Hatfield, 1993; Levenson, 1992; Zajonc & Mcln-

tosh, 1992) and behavioral (e.g., Ekman, 1994; Izard, 1994;

Russell, 1994) response tendencies makes this question difficult

to answer, bu t different emotions conceivably might present dif-

ferent emotion regulatory challenges. Note, however, that in the

context of emotional suppression, results to date suggest that

commonalities in the effects of suppression outweigh differ-

ences (Gross & Levenson, 1997). A second form of generaliz-

ability concerns participant characteristics. Over ha lf of the par-

ticipants in the present study were Asian American, and all were

college-age. Given known differences in emotional experience,

expression, and control across ethnic groups (e.g., Gross &

John, 1998) and age groups (e.g., Gross et al., 1997), it will

be important to assess whether these findings generalize to other

research participants. A third aspect of generalizability concerns

relations with other forms of emotion regulation, such as distrac-

tion or exaggeration (see Ekman & Friesen, 1969). It also will

be impor tant to test limits of generalizability by examining other

regulatory processes, such as negative mood regulation (Catan-

zaro & Mearns, 1990; Nolen-Hoeksema, Parker, & Larson, 1994;

Thayer et al., 1994) , thought suppression (Roemer & Borkovec,

1994; Wegner, 1994), and even self-es teem regulation (Steele,

Spencer, & Lynch, 1993). By tracing points of divergence and

convergence across different emotions, participant groups, and

regulatory processes, a more differentiated view of emotion

regulation will emerge--one that avoids premature synthesis

but reveals interconnecti ons among apparently diverse processes

(e.g., Westen, 1994).

Future work also must consider emotion regulation in all its

complexity outside the confines of the laboratory. Interview data

(Gross et al., 1998; Tice & Baumeister, 1993) suggest that

individuals use a rich variety of emotion regulation strategies

and that these may vary rapidly over the course o f an interaction.

Some of these would have been difficult to observe in a labora-

tory paradigm such as the one used here. Examples include

situation selection and situation modification (primary control

strategies in which a person modifies a bothersome environment;

see Rothbaum, Weisz, & Snyder, 1982) , as well as strategies



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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