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Only reappraisers profit from reappraisal instructions: Effects of instructed and habitual reappraisal on stress responses during interpersonal conflicts
Author(s) -
Mauersberger Heidi,
Hoppe Annekatrin,
Brockmann Gudrun,
Hess Ursula
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
psychophysiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.661
H-Index - 156
eISSN - 1469-8986
pISSN - 0048-5772
DOI - 10.1111/psyp.13086
Subject(s) - psychology , cognitive reappraisal , interpersonal communication , developmental psychology , reactivity (psychology) , expressive suppression , social psychology , clinical psychology , cognition , medicine , alternative medicine , pathology , neuroscience
Conflicts are an undesirable yet common aspect of daily interactions with wide‐ranging negative consequences. The present research aimed to examine the buffering effect of experimentally instructed reappraisal on self‐reported, physiological and behavioral stress indices during interpersonal conflicts, taking into account habitual emotion regulation strategies. For this, 145 participants experienced a standardized laboratory conflict with the instruction to either reappraise ( n = 48), to suppress ( n = 50), or with no instruction ( n = 47) while cardiovascular and neuroendocrine measures were taken. Participants were allowed to eat sweet and salty snacks during the conflict situation. Prior to as well as after the conflict, participants reported on their subjective stress level. Reappraisal instructions were only effective for high habitual reappraisers who exhibited lower cardiovascular and cortisol reactivity and demonstrated fewer snack‐eating behaviors under reappraisal instructions than under suppression or no instructions. The opposite pattern emerged for low habitual reappraisers. Neither experimentally instructed nor habitual reappraisal by itself reduced the negative effects of conflicts. Our findings complement the literature on the diverging effects of instructed reappraisal in tense social interactions.