Coherence between subjective experience and physiology in emotion: Individual differences and implications for...

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Affective Science
• Psychophysiology

Background:

• Emotion theories propose that coherent responding across emotion systems (e.g., subjective experience, physiology) is crucial.
• Greater response system coherence is theorized to promote psychological well-being, but empirical evidence is limited.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the relationship between the coherence of emotion experience and physiological responses and self-reported well-being.
• To explore predictors of emotion coherence, including emotion intensity, cognitive reappraisal, and expressive suppression.

Main Methods:

• Sixty-three participants rated their emotional experience while viewing film clips and had their autonomic physiological responses recorded.
• Time-lagged cross-correlations assessed within-participant coherence between subjective emotion intensity and a composite physiological measure.
• Self-report questionnaires measured well-being, expressive suppression, and cognitive reappraisal.

Main Results:

• Individuals reporting greater coherence between their emotional experience and physiological responses also reported higher levels of well-being.
• Emotion coherence was highest during emotionally intense stimuli and in individuals with lower levels of expressive suppression.
• Cognitive reappraisal was not significantly associated with emotion coherence.

Conclusions:

• Findings support the hypothesis that greater emotion coherence is associated with enhanced psychological well-being.
• Emotion intensity and expressive suppression appear to influence the magnitude of emotion coherence.
• This research highlights the importance of integrated emotional responding for well-being.