Regulating Mixed Emotions: The Role of Emotion Goals on Experiential, Expressive, and Physiological Responses

While mixed emotions are prevalent, the impact of intentional regulation on these states remains unclear. To investigate how individuals modulate these complex emotional states across experience, expression, and physiology, we propose a three-dimensional extension of the Evaluative Space Model (3D-ESM). We used this model to examine whether negative and positive emotion goals during cognitive reappraisal of emotionally ambivalent stimuli (disgusting-amusing) differentially influence negative affect (NA) and positive affect (PA) system reactivity. A repeated-measures design exposed 48 women to 20-30 s film clips under three conditions: natural response (no goal), emphasizing the film clip's negative aspects (negative emotion goal), or emphasizing its positive aspects (positive emotion goal). We assessed self-reported feelings (negative, positive), facial muscle reactivity (corrugator supercilii, zygomaticus major electromyography), and autonomic responses (pre-ejection period [PEP], respiratory sinus arrhythmia [RSA]). Compared to baseline, unregulated mixed emotions evoked NA-PA system coactivation: increased negative and positive feelings, increased corrugator and zygomaticus reactivity, and increased RSA. The negative emotion goal, relative to no goal, caused reciprocal NA-PA system activation: increased negative and decreased positive feelings, increased corrugator and decreased zygomaticus reactivity, and shortened PEP. Conversely, the positive emotion goal elicited reciprocal PA-NA system activation: decreased negative and increased positive feelings, decreased corrugator and increased zygomaticus reactivity, and no difference in PEP or RSA. These findings suggest that reappraisal emphasizing either negative or positive aspects of mixed-emotion contexts can shift experience and expression in the desired direction. We demonstrate that the 3D-ESM effectively predicts regulation effects across response domains.