۱- Introduction

۲- Methods

۳- Results

۴- Discussion

References

Abstract

The current study aimed at investigating the effect of endorsing different beliefs about emotions (BAEs) on the emotional response and perceived control of emotions. Two hundred and fourteen individuals were randomly assigned to one of four groups. One group was instructed to endorse irrational BAEs, one rational BAEs, one to approach emotions with acceptance, and a control group received no specific instructions. Participants further watched an emotion-provoking film and applied the instructions assigned to their group while their negative emotions, skin conductance, respiratory rate, heart rate, negative meta-emotions, and perceived emotional control were assessed. Results showed that after the film clip, individuals endorsing irrational and rational BAEs showed significant decreases in negative emotions compared to the control group. However, individuals endorsing irrational BAEs reported more negative meta-emotions and poorer perceived emotional control. Further, after a recovery period, only individuals endorsing rational BAEs and those endorsing an acceptance-based approach showed significant decreases in negative emotions. No between-groups differences were observed on physiological measures. Thus, current results show that how individuals evaluate their emotions has important consequences for emotional functioning and instructing them to endorse rational BAEs might be beneficial when encountering emotional situations.

Introduction

It is very common for individuals to experience negative emotions in stressful situations, but it is also clear that these individuals differ on how they evaluate their emotional responses that arise in these contexts (Ford & Gross, 2018). Recently, an increased interest has been observed in investigating individuals’ evaluations of emotions or beliefs about emotions (BAEs) (Kneeland, Dovidio, Joormann & Clark, 2016). Across the literature, BAEs are defined as the personal-specific beliefs individuals endorse about their emotions (Edwards & Wupperman, 2019). To date, a number of BAEs were investigated, such as beliefs that emotions are fixed/uncontrollable (vs. malleable) (Kneeland et al., 2016), beliefs that emotions are unacceptable (vs. acceptable) (Ford, Lam, John & Mauss, 2018), anxiety sensitivity (beliefs that anxiety experiences are dangerous) (Naragon-Gainey, 2010), emotional schemas (e.g., beliefs that emotions are not comprehensible) (Leahy, 2002) and other BAEs (Manser, Cooper & Trefusis, 2012). Recent research has suggested that these BAEs influence (1) how individuals control their emotions (their ability to effectively regulate emotions in a given context), as well as (2) the emotional response per se (both at the subjective and physiological level) (Ford & Gross, 2018). In addition, researchers revealed that these BAEs are significantly associated with various psychological conditions (Edwards & Wupperman, 2019).