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Updated: Aug 6, 2026
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Psychophysiological Assessment of the Effectiveness of Emotion Regulation Strategies in Childhood
Published on: February 11, 2017
Working memory capacity and emotion regulation strategies differentially predict proactive and reactive cognitive
Ping Xu1,2, Junming Qi1, Wenchang Wen1
1College of Health and Intelligent Engineering, Chengdu Medical College, Chengdu, China.
Frontiers in Psychology
|July 17, 2026
Summary
Working memory capacity predicts proactive control, while emotion regulation strategies influence reactive control. These cognitive and affective systems interact dynamically to shape goal-directed behavior.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Affective Neuroscience
Background:
- Working memory (WM) and emotion regulation are known to influence cognitive control.
- However, their specific roles in proactive versus reactive control are not well understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the distinct contributions of working memory capacity and emotion regulation strategies to proactive and reactive cognitive control.
- To examine the interplay between cognitive and affective systems in goal-directed behavior.
Main Methods:
- Sixty-six healthy participants completed tasks assessing working memory capacity (change detection), proactive and reactive control (stop-signal task), and emotion regulation strategies (Emotion Regulation Questionnaire).
- Correlation and regression analyses were employed to analyze the data.
Main Results:
- Working memory capacity significantly predicted proactive control.
- Cognitive reappraisal was associated with reactive control, while expressive suppression showed a marginal and suppressor effect on reactive control.
- Proactive and reactive control demonstrated partial interdependence.
Conclusions:
- Working memory and emotion regulation strategies exert distinct yet complementary influences on cognitive control.
- This highlights a dynamic interplay between cognitive and affective systems in goal-directed behavior.
Keywords:
cognitive reappraisalinhibitory controlproactive controlstop-signal taskworking memory capacityMore Related Videos
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