The influence of emotion regulation on convergent thinking under different cognitive loads

Convergent thinking is a critical aspect of creative thinking, and it has a substantial influence on the learning and work of college students. Emotion regulation not only enhances emotional well-being but also plays a vital role in the creative process. Additionally, various social and cognitive factors contribute to the completion of complex convergent thinking tasks, with cognitive load being one of the primary determinants. This study recruited 93 undergraduates as participants and randomly divided them into three groups: cognitive reappraisal, expressive suppression, and free viewing. All participants were required to complete a convergent creativity test (Chinese compound remote associate problems, CCRA) under high and low cognitive load conditions. The results showed a significant main effect of cognitive load on convergent thinking scores, with participants achieving higher scores under low cognitive load than under high cognitive load. However, the interaction between cognitive load and emotion regulation strategy on convergent thinking scores was not significant. Response time analyses revealed a significant interaction between cognitive load and regulation strategy: under high cognitive load, cognitive reappraisal was associated with faster responses than free viewing, whereas under low cognitive load, expressive suppression led to faster responses than both cognitive reappraisal and free viewing. This study explored the impact of emotion regulation on convergent thinking under different cognitive loads, which has certain implications for the optimization of college students' mental and physical health and academic performance.