Abstract
Compared to healthy individuals, individuals with depressive symptoms are likely to respond to negative events by overusing maladaptive emotion regulation (ER) strategies, which are associated with greater negative emotional intensity and intolerance. Research suggests that during negative event recall, self-distancing, a putatively adaptive ER strategy, is associated with decreases in maladaptive ER strategies (e.g., rumination), negative affect, and emotional intensity. However, less is known about the effects of self-distancing as a sad evocative event unfolds. Given that the experience of frequent and prolonged periods of sad emotion is characteristic of depressive syndromes, identifying a useful strategy to regulate emotion during sad events could help de-intensify and shorten those periods, which may ultimately reduce depression vulnerability. The present study examined spontaneous ER, instructed self-distancing, and their effects on emotion intensity and intolerance in dysphoric and nondysphoric individuals. Participants viewed sadness-inducing film clips, regulating emotions without specific instructions in one condition, and engaging in instructed self-distancing in the other. After each film, participants reported the intensity and intolerance of their emotions, and ER strategy use. The dysphoric group reported significantly greater intensity and intolerance of emotion than the nondysphoric group. Instructed self-distancing reduced emotional intensity more than spontaneous ER irrespective of group status, however it decreased rumination use only for the nondysphoric group. Decreased rumination use was associated with decreased emotion intensity and intolerance. Thus, promoting and monitoring the effectiveness of self-distancing may enhance ER. Pairing self-distancing with 2 other evidence-supported anti-rumination strategies may be needed to help reduce depression vulnerability more robustly.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Data Availability
Available upon request.
Notes
Despite its well-known utility, greater α coefficients reflect more narrowed, overlapping content among measure items (Loevinger, 1954; McCrae et al., 2011). Thus, it is quite possible for a three-item scale assessing a more broad construct to have a relatively low α coefficient but good construct validity (i.e., it efficiently captures important but only modestly-overlapping aspects of the construct). Further, principal components analysis can provide support for a construct operationalization’s unidimensionality, which is essential in evaluating reliability (Tavakol & Dennick, 2011). Thus based on the rumination scale’s low internal consistency at time 1, a principal components analysis, using varimax rotation, was conducted on time 1 SERQ data for full recruited sample. From this analysis a component (eigen value = 1.64, accounting for 13.63% of the variance) emerged with strong loadings (672, .690, and .737) for the three rumination items. No other items loaded above .222 on this component. Additionally, test-retest reliability for the rumination scale was as robust (r = .47) considering that the measure was administered before and after an experimental manipulation expected to influence T2 SERQ scale responding. Thus, PCA and test-retest findings provide some support for the operationalized composition of the construct within the measure despite its relatively low internal consistency value.
It is possible that participants’ awareness that they would experience distress from viewing the first film clip induced anticipatory anxiety and uncomfortable uncertainty at baseline, leading to a ceiling effect of NA whereby film 1 did not increase NA significantly further. In partial support of this possibility, follow up analysis showed that level of NA prior to film 1 was marginally higher than prior to film 2 (F(1, 72) = 3.43, p = .07), which elicited a significant increase in NA. Moreover, the significant decrease in positive affect from film 1 is consistent with induction of depressed mood (Clark & Watson, 1991). Thus, as planned, film 1 promoted relevant affects for participants to regulate.
References
Aldao, A. (2013). The future of emotion regulation research: Capturing context. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 8(2), 155–172. https://doi.org/10.1037/e530982014-001.
Aldao, A., Nolen-Hoeksema, S., & Schweizer, S. (2009). Emotion-regulation strategies across psychopathology: A meta-analytic review. Clinical Psychology Review, 30(2), 217–237. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2009.11.004.
American Psychiatric Association. (2000). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed., text rev.). : Author.
Ayduk, O., & Kross, E. (2010). From a distance: Implications of spontaneous self-distancing for adaptive self-reflection. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 98(5), 809–829. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0019205.
Barrett, L. F., Gross, J., Christensen, T. C., & Benvenuto, M. (2001). Knowing what you're feeling and knowing what to do about it: Mapping the relation between emotion differentiation and emotion regulation. Cognition & Emotion, 15(6), 713–724. https://doi.org/10.1080/02699930143000239.
Beblo, T., Fernando, S., Klocke, S., Griepenstroh, J., Aschenbrenner, S., & Driessen, M. (2012). Increased suppression of negative and positive emotions in major depression. Journal of Affective Disorders, 141(2), 474–479. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2012.03.019.
Beck, A. T. (1967). Depression: Causes and treatment. University of Philadelphia Press.
Beck, A. T., Steer, R. A., Ball, R., & Ranieri, W. F. (1996). Comparison of Beck depression inventories -IA and -II in psychiatric outpatients. Journal of Personality Assessment, 67(3), 588–597. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327752jpa6703_13.
Campbell-Sills, L., Barlow, D. H., Brown, T. A., & Hofmann, S. G. (2006). Effects of suppression and acceptance on emotional responses of individuals with anxiety and mood disorders. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 44(9), 1251–1263. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2005.10.001.
Clark, L., & Watson, D. (1991). Tripartite model of anxiety and depression: Psychometric evidence and taxonomic implications. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 100(3), 316–336. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-843X.100.3.316.
Cuijpers, P., & Smit, F. (2004). Subthreshold depression as a risk indicator for major depressive disorder: A systematic review of prospective studies. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 109(5), 325–331. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0447.2004.00301.x.
Dorfman, A., Oakes, H., Santos, H. C., & Grossmann, I. (2019). Self-distancing promotes positive emotional change after adversity: Evidence from a micro-longitudinal field experiment. Journal of Personality, 89, 132–144. https://doi.org/10.1111/jopy.12534.
Edwards, T., & Holtzman, N. (2017). A meta-analysis of correlations between depression and first-person pronoun use. Journal of Research in Personality, 68, 63–68. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2017.02.005.
Eifert, G. H., & Heffner, M. (2003). The effects of acceptance versus control contexts on avoidance of panic-related symptoms. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 34(3), 293–312. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbtep.2003.11.001.
Foa, E. B., & Kozak, M. J. (1986). Emotional processing of fear: Exposure to corrective information. Psychological Bulletin, 99(1), 20–35. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.99.1.20.
Garland, E., Gaylord, S., & Park, J. (2009). The role of mindfulness in positive reappraisal. Explore: The Journal of Science and Healing, 5(1), 37–44. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.explore.2008.10.001.
Gross, J. J. (1998). Antecedent-and response-focused emotion regulation: Divergent consequences for experience, expression, and physiology. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74(1), 224–237. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.74.1.224.
Gross, J. J. (2002). Emotion regulation: Affective, cognitive, and social consequences. Psychophysiology, 39(3), 281–291. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0048577201393198.
Gross, J. J. (2014). Emotion regulation: Conceptual and empirical foundations. In J. J. Gross (Ed.), Handbook of emotion regulation (pp. 3–20). Guilford ress.
Haft, S. (Producer), & Weir, P. (Director). (1989). Dead poets Society [motion picture]. : Touchstone Pictures.
Hata, M. (Director). (1989). Milo and Otis [Motion picture]. Sony Pictures.
Hollar, S. M., & Siegel, J. T. (2020). Self-distancing as a path to help-seeking for people with depression. Social Science & Medicine, 245, 112700. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2019.112700.
Ingram, R. E., & Ritter, J. (2000). Vulnerability to depression: Cognitive reactivity and parental bonding in high-risk individuals. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 109(4), 588–596. https://doi.org/10.1037//0021-843X.109.4.588.
Joormann, J., & Gotlib, I. H. (2010). Emotion regulation in depression: Relation to cognitive inhibition. Cognition and Emotion, 24(2), 281–298. https://doi.org/10.1080/02699930903407948.
Joormann, J., & Siemer, M. (2011). Affective processing and emotion regulation in dysphoria and depression: Cognitive biases and deficits in cognitive control. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 5(1), 13–28. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1751-9004.2010.00335.x.
Joormann, J., & Siemer, M. (2014). Emotion regulation in mood disorders. In J. J. Gross (Ed.), Handbook of emotion regulation (pp. 413–427). Guilford Press.
Joormann, J., Talbot, L., & Gotlib, I. H. (2007). Biased processing of emotional information in girls at risk for depression. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 116(1), 135–143. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-843X.116.1.135.
Kabat-Zinn, J., Massion, A. O., Kristeller, J., Peterson, L. G., Fletcher, K. E., Pbert, L., Lenderking, W. R., & Santorelli, S. F. (1992). Effectiveness of a meditation-based stress reduction program in the treatment of anxiety disorders. The American Journal of Psychiatry, 149(7), 936–943. https://doi.org/10.1176/ajp.149.7.936.
Kendall, P. C., Hollon, S. D., Beck, A. T., Hammen, C. L., & Ingram, R. E. (1987). Issues and recommendations regarding the use of the Beck depression inventory. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 11(1), 289–299. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01186280.
Kross, E., & Ayduk, O. (2008). Facilitating adaptive emotional analysis: Distinguishing distanced-analysis of depressive experiences from immersed-analysis and distraction. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 34(7), 924–938. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167208315938.
Kross, E., & Ayduk, O. (2009). Boundary conditions and buffering effects: Does depressive symptomology moderate the effectiveness of distanced-analysis for facilitating adaptive self-reflection? Journal of Research in Personality, 43(5), 923–927. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2009.04.004.
Kross, E., & Ayduk, O. (2011). Making meaning out of negative experiences by self-distancing. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 20(3), 187–191. https://doi.org/10.1177/0963721411408883.
Kross, E., Ayduk, O., & Mischel, W. (2005). When asking “why” does not hurt: Distinguishing rumination from reflective processing of negative emotions. Psychological Science, 16(9), 709–715. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2005.01600.x.
Kross, E., Gard, D., Deldin, P., Clifton, J., & Ayduk, O. (2012). “Asking why” from a distance: Its cognitive and emotional consequences for people with major depressive disorder. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 121(3), 559–569. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0028808.
Larsen, R. J., & Diener, E. (1987). Affect intensity as an individual difference characteristic: A review. Journal of Research in Personality, 21(1), 1–39. https://doi.org/10.1016/0092-6566(87)90023-7.
Lau, M. A., Segal, Z. V., & Williams, J. M. G. (2004). Teasdale’s differential activation hypothesis: Implications for mechanisms of depressive relapse and suicidal behaviour. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 42(9), 1001–1017. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2004.03.003.
Leahy, R. L. (2002). A model of emotional schemas. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice, 9(3), 177–190. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1077-7229(02)80048-7.
Liverant, G., Kamholz, I., Sloan, B., & Brown, W. (2011). Rumination in clinical depression: A type of emotional suppression? Cognitive Therapy and Research, 35(3), 253–265. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-010-9304-4.
Loevinger, J. (1954). Effect of distortions of measurement on item selection. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 14(3), 441–448. https://doi.org/10.1177/001316445401400301.
Lovell, D. P. (Producer), & Zeffirelli, F. D. (Director). (1979). The Champ [Motion picture]. MGM.
Macatee, R. J., & Cougle, J. R. (2013). The roles of emotional reactivity and tolerance in generalized, social, and health anxiety: A multimethod exploration. Behavior Therapy, 44(1), 39–50. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.beth.2012.05.006.
McFarland, C., & Buehler, R. (1998). The impact of negative affect on autobiographical memory: The role of self-focused attention to moods. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 75(6), 1424–1440. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.75.6.1424.
McCrae, R. R., Kurtz, J. E., Yamagata, S., & Terracciano, A. (2011). Internal consistency, retest reliability, and their implications for personality scale validity. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 15(1), 28–50. https://doi.org/10.1177/1088868310366253.
Michl, L. C., McLaughlin, K. A., Shepherd, K., & Nolen-Hoeksema, S. (2013). Rumination as a mechanism linking stressful life events to symptoms of depression and anxiety: Longitudinal evidence in early adolescents and adults. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 122(2), 339–352. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0031994.
Muraven, M., & Baumeister, R. F. (2000). Self-regulation and depletion of limited resources: Does self-control resemble a muscle? Psychological Bulletin, 126(2), 247–259. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.126.2.247.
Naragon-Gainey, K., McMahon, T. P., & Chacko, T. P. (2017). The structure of common emotion regulation strategies: A meta-analytic examination. Psychological Bulletin, 143(4), 384–427. https://doi.org/10.1037/bul0000093.
Nolen-Hoeksema, S. (1991). Responses to depression and their effects on the duration of depressive episodes. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 100(4), 569–582. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-843X.100.4.569.
Nolen-Hoeksema, S. (2004). Depressive rumination: Nature, theory, and treatment. In C. Papageorgiou & A. Wells (Eds.), Depressive rumination (1st ed., pp. 105–123). Wiley. https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470713853.
Nolen-Hoeksema, S., Wisco, B. E., & Lyubomirsky, S. (2008). Rethinking rumination. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 3(5), 400–424. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-6924.2008.00088.x.
Quigley, L., & Dobson, K. S. (2014). An examination of trait, spontaneous and instructed emotion regulation in dysphoria. Cognition & Emotion, 28(4), 622–635. https://doi.org/10.1080/02699931.2013.848786.
Résibois, M., Kuppens, P., Van Mechelen, I., Fossati, P., & Verduyn, P. (2018). Depression severity moderates the relation between self-distancing and features of emotion unfolding. Personality and Individual Differences, 123, 119–124. 10 .1016/j.paid.2017.11.018
Robinson, J. A., & Swanson, K. L. (1993). Field and observer modes of remembering. Memory, 1(3), 169–184. https://doi.org/10.1080/09658219308258230.
Rottenberg, J., Ray, R. D., & Gross, J. J. (2007). Emotion elicitation using films. In J. A. Coan & J. J. B. Allen (Eds.), Handbook of emotion elicitation and assessment (pp. 104–128). Oxford University Press.
Schaefer, A., Nils, F., Sanchez, X., & Philippot, P. (2010). Assessing the effectiveness of a large database of emotion-eliciting films: A new tool for emotion researchers. Cognition and Emotion, 24(7), 1153–1172. https://doi.org/10.1080/02699930903274322.
Seah, T. S., Matt, L. M., & Coifman, K. G. (2020). Spontaneous self-distancing mediates the association between working memory capacity and emotion regulation success. Clinical Psychological Science, 9, 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1177/2167702620953636.
Segal, Z. V., Williams, J. M. G., & Teasdale, J. D. (2002). Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for depression: A new approach to preventing relapse. Guilford Press.
Shallcross, A. J., Troy, A. S., Boland, M., & Mauss, I. B. (2010). Let it be: Accepting negative emotional experiences predicts decreased negative affect and depressive symptoms. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 48(9), 921–929. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2010 .05.025
Sheppes, G., Scheibe, S., Suri, G., Radu, P., Blechert, J., & Gross, J. J. (2014). Emotion regulation choice: A conceptual framework and supporting evidence. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 143(1), 163–181. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0030831.
Shiota, M. N., & Levenson, R. W. (2012). Turn down the volume or change the channel? Emotional effects of detached versus positive reappraisal. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 103(3), 416–429. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0029208.
Sonnemans, J., & Frijda, N. H. (1994). The structure of subjective emotional intensity. Cognition & Emotion, 8(4), 329–350. https://doi.org/10.1080/02699939408408945.
Travers-Hill, E., Dunn, B. D., Hoppitt, L., Hitchcock, C., & Dalgleish, T. (2017). Beneficial effects of training in self-distancing and perspective broadening for people with a history of recurrent depression. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 95, 19–28. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2017.05.008.
Treynor, W., Gonzalez, R., & Nolen-Hoeksema, S. (2003). Rumination reconsidered: A psychometric analysis. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 27(3), 247–259. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1023910315561.
Watson, D., Clark, L. A., & Tellegen, A. (1988). Development and validation of brief measures of positive and negative affect: The PANAS scales. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 54(6), 1063–1070. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.54.6.1063.
Webb, T. L., Miles, E., & Sheeran, P. (2012). Dealing with the feeling: A meta-analysis of the effectiveness of strategies derived from the process model of emotion regulation. Psychological Bulletin, 138(4), 775–808. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0027600.
Wegner, D. M. (1994). Ironic processes of mental control. Psychological Review, 101(1), 34–52. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.101.1.34.
Wenzlaff, R. M., & Wegner, D. M. (2000). Thought suppression. Annual Review of Psychology, 51(1), 59–91. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.51.1.59.
Werner-Seidler, A., Banks, R., Dunn, B. D., & Moulds, M. L. (2013). An investigation of the relationship between positive affect regulation and depression. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 51(1), 46–56. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2012.11.001.
White, R. E., Kuehn, M. M., Duckworth, A. L., Kross, E., & Ayduk, Ö. (2018). Focusing on the future from afar: Self-distancing from future stressors facilitates adaptive coping. Emotion, 19, 903–916. https://doi.org/10.1037/emo0000491.
Wilson, T. D., & Gilbert, D. T. (2008). Explaining away: A model of affective adaptation. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 3(5), 370–386. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-6924.2008.00085.x.
Wisco, B. E. (2009). Depressive cognition: Self-reference and depth of processing. Clinical Psychology Review, 29(4), 382–392. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2009.03.003.
Code Availability
Not applicable.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Ethics Approval
The methodology used in this study was approved by the University of Houston Clear-Lake Committee for the Protection of Human Subjects.
Consent to Participate
Informed consent was obtained from all individuals participating in this study.
Conflicts of Interest/Competing Interests
On behalf of all authors, the corresponding author states that there is no conflict of interest.
Additional information
Publisher’s Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Balderas, J., Bistricky, S.L., Schield, S. et al. Spontaneous and instructed emotion regulation in dysphoria: Effects on emotion experience and use of other emotion regulation strategies. Curr Psychol 42, 6257–6270 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-021-01924-z
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-021-01924-z