Explicit emotion regulation: Comparing emotion inducing stimuli

Abstract

Emotions are a major part of our subjective experiences of the world. At times, our emotions are not appropriate and require active management. Emotion regulation refers to the various ways of managing or controlling emotional responses. External stimuli play specific role in electing emotions. Pictures and movies elicit emotions and emotional effects of films are believed to exceed that of pictures. The aim of the present study is to compare the effectiveness of emotion regulation strategies across emotion induction method (picture and films). Forty participants rated their emotion on Self-Assessment Manikin (SAM) ratings for each pictorial and video stimuli while following the emotion regulation instructions. Repeated-measures ANOVAs revealed that the pictures were more effective in modulating emotions. Cognitive reappraisal and distraction strategies downregulated emotions.