Stimulus arousal level and savoring: An electrocortical investigation

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Neuroscience
• Cognitive Science

Background:

• Savoring is a positive emotion up-regulation strategy.
• Engaged emotion regulation is less effective for high-arousal stimuli in down-regulation.
• Prior research suggested savoring might be less effective for high-arousal stimuli.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate if stimulus arousal level moderates the effectiveness of savoring.
• To examine the impact of savoring on electrocortical and subjective responses to varying arousal levels.
• To compare savoring's efficacy for positive emotion up-regulation with engaged strategies for negative emotion down-regulation.

Main Methods:

• Participants (N=90) viewed high- and low-arousing positive pictures.
• Participants were instructed to either savor or simply view the images.
• Electroencephalography (EEG) and subjective ratings of arousal and valence were recorded.

Main Results:

• Savoring increased the late positive potential (LPP), arousal, and valence ratings for both high- and low-arousing pictures.
• No significant interaction was found between stimulus arousal level and savoring condition for the LPP.
• Anecdotal evidence suggested savoring might be more effective for increasing arousal ratings of high-arousal pictures.

Conclusions:

• Savoring is an effective strategy for up-regulating positive emotions regardless of stimulus arousal level.
• Unlike engaged emotion down-regulation strategies, savoring is not compromised by high-arousal stimuli.
• Findings support the use of savoring for enhancing positive emotional responses to diverse stimuli.