The effect of emotion counter-regulation to anger on working memory updating

Emotion counter-regulation has been suggested as the core cognitive mechanism of automatic emotion regulation. Emotion counter-regulation not only induces an unintentional transfer of attention from the current emotional state to stimuli with the opposite valence but also prompts approach to stimuli of the opposite valence and increases response inhibition to stimuli of the same valence. Working memory (WM) updating has been shown to be related to attention selection and response inhibition. However, it remains unclear whether emotion counter-regulation would affect WM updating with emotional stimuli. In the present study, 48 participants were recruited and randomly assigned to the angry-priming group that watched highly arousing angry video clips, or the control group that watched neutral video clips. Then participants performed a two-back face identity matching task with happy and angry face pictures. Behavioral results showed higher accuracy for identity recognition of happy than of angry faces. The event-related potential (ERP) results revealed smaller P2 to angry faces than to happy faces in the control group. In the angry-priming group, there was no difference in P2 amplitude between angry and happy trials. Between groups, P2 to angry faces was larger in the priming group than in the control group. Late positive potential (LPP) was smaller for happy faces than for angry faces in the priming group, but not in the control group. These findings suggest that emotion counter-regulation affects the onset updating and maintenance of emotional face stimuli in WM.