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Acceptance versus reappraisal: Behavioral, autonomic, and neural effects

  • Philippe R. GoldinEmail author
  • Craig A. Moodie
  • James J. Gross
Article
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Abstract

Emotion regulation (ER) is an important skill for well-being. Cognitive reappraisal is a goal-oriented cognitive change strategy. Acceptance involves decentering from immediate habits of reactivity, observing moment-to-moment shifts in thoughts, emotions, and sensations. These two regulation strategies are thought to have different effects on emotion; however, no study has examined the differential effects of reappraisal and acceptance on behavioral, autonomic, and brain responses in the context of ideographic personally salient negative self-beliefs. Thirty-five right-handed, healthy adults were presented idiographic negative self-beliefs embedded in autobiographical scripts. We measured negative emotion ratings, autonomic psychophysiology, and functional magnetic resonance imaging blood oxygen-level dependent responses while participants read neutral statements, reacted to their own negative self-beliefs, and implemented reappraisal and acceptance strategies. Compared with react, reappraisal resulted in significantly lesser negative emotion and respiration rate; no differences in heart rate and skin conductance level; greater brain responses implicated in cognitive control, language, and social cognition; and lesser amygdala responses. Compared with react, acceptance resulted in significantly lesser negative emotion, respiration rate, and heart rate; no difference in skin conductance level; and greater brain responses in networks implicated in cognitive control and attention. Compared with acceptance, reappraisal resulted in significantly lesser negative emotion; no difference in respiration rate and skin conductance level; higher heart rate; greater brain responses in brain regions implicated in cognitive control; and lesser brain responses in amygdala. Reappraisal is more effective than acceptance in down-regulating negative emotion, but may require greater recruitment of autonomic, cognitive, and brain resources.

ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02036658

Keywords

Acceptance Emotion regulation fMRI Reappraisal Mindful attention Neuroimaging 
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Notes

Acknowledgments

This research was supported by NIMH Grant R01 MH076074, awarded to James Gross. We wish to thank Gary Glover for his technical assistance with magnetic resonance imaging. Philippe Goldin, who is independent of any commercial funder, had full access to all of the data in the study and takes responsibility for the integrity of the data and the accuracy of the data analysis.

Compliance with ethical standards

Conflict of interest

None of the authors of this manuscript have any biomedical financial interests or potential conflicts of interest.

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Copyright information

© The Psychonomic Society, Inc. 2019

Authors and Affiliations

  • Philippe R. Goldin
    • 1
    Email author
  • Craig A. Moodie
    • 2
  • James J. Gross
    • 2
  1. 1.University of California, DavisSacramentoUSA
  2. 2.Stanford UniversityStanfordUSA

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