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Brain Imaging Investigation of the Neural Correlates of Emotion Regulation
Published on: August 26, 2011
Motor control accuracy: a consequential probe of individual differences in emotion regulation
Konrad Bresin1, Adam K Fetterman, Michael D Robinson
1Psychology Department, North Dakota State University, USA. konrad.bresin@gmail.com
Emotion (Washington, D.C.)
|October 26, 2011
Summary
This study shows how hostile thoughts impact motor control, influenced by agreeableness. Better motor control after hostile thoughts predicts reduced stress reactivity and increased empathy.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Neuroscience
- Social Psychology
Background:
- Emotion regulation is crucial for psychological well-being.
- Cognitive-motoric processes may underlie emotion regulation.
- Individual differences, like agreeableness, likely moderate these processes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To model emotion regulation in cognitive-motoric terms.
- To investigate the impact of hostile thought activation on motor control.
- To examine the relationship between motor control, trait agreeableness, and stress reactivity.
Main Methods:
- Two studies (N=147) primed hostile or nonhostile thoughts.
- Participants performed a joystick accuracy task.
- Study 1 assessed trait agreeableness; Study 2 used experience sampling for stress reactivity.
Main Results:
- Hostile thoughts impaired motor control in low-agreeableness individuals but improved it in high-agreeableness individuals.
- Better motor control after hostile thoughts predicted lower daily anger and negative affect.
- Enhanced motor control following hostile thoughts correlated with greater empathy on high-stress days.
Conclusions:
- Cognitive-motoric tasks can reveal emotion regulation mechanisms.
- Motor control serves as a marker for successful emotion regulation.
- Individual differences significantly influence the cognitive-motoric regulation of emotions.
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