James Gross

All Publications

• Loneliness and emotion regulation PERSONALITY AND INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES Preece, D. A., Goldenberg, A., Becerra, R., Boyes, M., Hasking, P., Gross, J. J. 2021; 180

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.paid.2021.110974

  View details for Web of Science ID 000658981200004

• Beyond willpower. The Behavioral and brain sciences Gross, J. J., Duckworth, A. L. 2021; 44: e37

  Abstract

  For all its popularity as a psychological construct, willpower is irremediably polysemous. A more helpful construct is self-control, defined as the self-regulation of conflicting impulses. We show how the process model of self-control provides a principled framework for examining how undesirable impulses may be weakened and desirable impulses may be strengthened.

  View details for DOI 10.1017/S0140525X20000722

  View details for PubMedID 33899714

• Parental Burnout Around the Globe: a 42-Country Study. Affective science Roskam, I., Aguiar, J., Akgun, E., Arikan, G., Artavia, M., Avalosse, H., Aunola, K., Bader, M., Bahati, C., Barham, E. J., Besson, E., Beyers, W., Boujut, E., Brianda, M. E., Brytek-Matera, A., Carbonneau, N., Cesar, F., Chen, B., Dorard, G., Dos Santos Elias, L. C., Dunsmuir, S., Egorova, N., Favez, N., Fontaine, A., Foran, H., Fricke, J., Furutani, K., Gallee, L., Gannage, M., Gaspar, M., Godbout, L., Goldenberg, A., Gross, J. J., Gurza, M. A., Hall, R., Hashmi, M. A., Hatta, O., Helmy, M., Hoang, T. V., Huynh, M. T., Kaneza, E., Kawamoto, T., Knezevic, G., Kpassagou, B. L., Lazarevic, L. B., Le Vigouroux, S., Lebert-Charron, A., Leme, V., Lin, G., MacCann, C., Manrique-Millones, D., Matias, M., Miranda-Orrego, M. I., Miscioscia, M., Morgades-Bamba, C., Mousavi, S. F., Moutassem-Mimouni, B., Muntean, A., Murphy, H., Ndayizigiye, A., Tenkue, J. N., Olderbak, S., Ornawka, S., Osman, F., Oyarce-Cadiz, D., Perez-Diaz, P. A., Petrides, K. V., Pineda-Marin, C., Prandstetter, K., Prikhidko, A., Ricci, R. T., Salinas-Quiroz, F., Sanchez-Rodriguez, R., Sarrionandia, A., Scola, C., Sezibera, V., Silva, P., Simonelli, A., Soenens, B., Sorbring, E., Sorkkila, M., Schrooyen, C., Stanculescu, E., Starchenkova, E., Szczygiel, D., Tapia, J., Tri, T. M., Tremblay, M., Ustundag-Budak, A. M., Pacheco, M. V., van Bakel, H., Verhofstadt, L., Wendland, J., Yotanyamaneewong, S., Mikolajczak, M. 2021: 1–22

  Abstract

  High levels of stress in the parenting domain can lead to parental burnout, a condition that has severe consequences for both parents and children. It is not yet clear, however, whether parental burnout varies by culture, and if so, why it might do so. In this study, we examined the prevalence of parental burnout in 42 countries (17,409 parents; 71% mothers; Mage = 39.20) and showed that the prevalence of parental burnout varies dramatically across countries. Analyses of cultural values revealed that individualistic cultures, in particular, displayed a noticeably higher prevalence and mean level of parental burnout. Indeed, individualism plays a larger role in parental burnout than either economic inequalities across countries, or any other individual and family characteristic examined so far, including the number and age of children and the number of hours spent with them. These results suggest that cultural values in Western countries may put parents under heightened levels of stress.Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s42761-020-00028-4.

  View details for DOI 10.1007/s42761-020-00028-4

  View details for PubMedID 33758826

• Affective Benefits of Nature Contact: The Role of Rumination FRONTIERS IN PSYCHOLOGY Bratman, G. N., Young, G., Mehta, A., Lee Babineaux, I., Daily, G. C., Gross, J. J. 2021; 12

  View details for DOI 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.643866

  View details for Web of Science ID 000631818600001

• Affective Benefits of Nature Contact: The Role of Rumination. Frontiers in psychology Bratman, G. N., Young, G., Mehta, A., Lee Babineaux, I., Daily, G. C., Gross, J. J. 2021; 12: 643866

  Abstract

  Mounting evidence shows that nature contact is associated with affective benefits. However, the psychological mechanisms responsible for these effects are not well understood. In this study, we examined whether more time spent in nature was associated with higher levels of positive affect in general, and lower levels of negative affect and rumination in general. We also conducted a cross-sectional mediation analysis to examine whether rumination mediated the association of nature contact with affect. Participants (N = 617) reported their average time spent in nature each week, as well as their general levels of positive and negative affect, and the degree to which they typically engaged in rumination in daily life. We then used structural equation modeling to test our hypotheses. Our results support the hypothesis that nature contact is associated with general levels of affect, and that rumination mediates this association for negative affect, and marginally mediates this association for positive affect.

  View details for DOI 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.643866

  View details for PubMedID 33776870

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC7988226

• Beyond Job Burnout: Parental Burnout! Trends in cognitive sciences Mikolajczak, M., Gross, J. J., Roskam, I. 2021

  Abstract

  Here, we lift the veil on an existing but long taboo phenomenon: parental burnout (PB), an exhaustion syndrome related to the parenting role. PB is caused by a perceived gap between parenting resources and demands, and has a host of serious consequences for both parents and their children.

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.tics.2021.01.012

  View details for PubMedID 33714668

• The moderating effects of anger suppression and anger expression on cognitive behavioral group therapy and mindfulness-based stress reduction among individuals with social anxiety disorder. Journal of affective disorders Kuo, J. R., Zeifman, R. J., Morrison, A. S., Heimberg, R. G., Goldin, P. R., Gross, J. J. 2021; 285: 127–35

  Abstract

  BACKGROUND: . Cognitive-behavioral therapy and mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) are two prominent evidence-based treatments for social anxiety disorder (SAD). It is not clear, however, whether outcomes of these two treatments are moderated by similar factors. For example, whereas anger suppression and anger expression each predict outcomes in cognitive- behavioral group therapy (CBGT), it is unknown whether they differentially influence outcomes in CBGT versus MBSR.METHODS: . One hundred eight participants with SAD were randomized to CBGT, MBSR or Waitlist (WL). WL participants were later randomized to CBGT or MBSR, and their data were combined with data from those originally randomized to CBGT or MBSR. Anger suppression and anger expression were assessed at pre-treatment, and social anxiety was assessed at pre-treatment, post-treatment, and every 3 months throughout a 12-month follow-up period.RESULTS: . From pre- to post-treatment, higher anger suppression was associated with significantly greater reduction in social anxiety in CBGT compared with MBSR. From post-treatment through follow-up, higher anger expression was associated lesser reduction in social anxiety in MBSR but not in CBGT.LIMITATIONS: . Data are limited by sole reliance on self-report and it is unclear whether these findings generalize beyond group-based interventions.CONCLUSIONS: . Individuals with SAD who are higher in anger suppression and/or expression might be better suited to CBGT than MBSR.

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.jad.2021.02.022

  View details for PubMedID 33647580

• Regulating road rage SOCIAL AND PERSONALITY PSYCHOLOGY COMPASS Bjureberg, J., Gross, J. J. 2021

  View details for DOI 10.1111/spc3.12586

  View details for Web of Science ID 000614911100001

• The Emotion Regulation Questionnaire: Psychometric Properties and Relations with Affective Symptoms in a United States General Community Sample. Journal of affective disorders Preece, D. A., Becerra, R., Hasking, P., McEvoy, P. M., Boyes, M., Sauer-Zavala, S., Chen, W., Gross, J. J. 2021; 284: 27–30

  Abstract

  BACKGROUND: Difficulties in emotion regulation are a key risk factor for affective disorders. The Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ) is a 10-item measure of two emotion regulation strategies, cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression. It is widely used tool in the United States, however, most psychometric studies of the ERQ have so far been conducted with college students and some researchers have recently questioned its factorial validity in non-student samples. In this study, we conducted the first confirmatory factor analysis study of the ERQ in a United States general community sample.METHOD: We examined the ERQ's factor structure, measurement invariance across age, education and gender categories, internal consistency reliability, and concurrent validity with a sample of 508 adults.RESULTS: The intended two-factor model (cognitive reappraisal, expressive suppression) was an excellent fit to the data, and this structure was invariant across different age, education, and gender categories. Both ERQ scale scores had good omega and alpha reliabilities, and correlated as expected with depression and anxiety symptoms. Cognitive reappraisal was negatively correlated with these symptoms, whereas expressive suppression was positively correlated with these symptoms.LIMITATIONS: We did not include a clinical sample and future psychometric studies of the ERQ in specialised clinical populations would be useful.CONCLUSIONS: The ERQ appears to have strong psychometric properties when used with general community members from the United States. ERQ scores can be confidently used and compared across adults of different ages, genders, and educational backgrounds.

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.jad.2021.01.071

  View details for PubMedID 33582429

• Reductions in social anxiety during treatment predict lower levels of loneliness during follow-up among individuals with social anxiety disorder. Journal of anxiety disorders O'Day, E. B., Butler, R. M., Morrison, A. S., Goldin, P. R., Gross, J. J., Heimberg, R. G. 2021; 78: 102362

  Abstract

  INTRODUCTION: Individuals with social anxiety disorder (SAD) are at elevated risk of loneliness, yet little research has examined loneliness in this population. Cognitive-behavioral group therapy (CBGT) and mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) have demonstrated efficacy in treating SAD, yet research has not examined whether they lead to reductions in loneliness.METHODS: This sample comprised 108 individuals with SAD who were randomized to CBGT, MBSR, or a waitlist control (WL); WL participants were re-randomized to CBGT or MBSR following WL. Assessments were completed pre- and post-treatment, and 3-, 6-, 9-, and 12-month follow-up assessments.RESULTS: Compared to WL, individuals in CBGT and MBSR were less lonely at post-treatment; there was no difference between treatments after treatment or during follow-up. Greater reductions in social anxiety from pre- to post-treatment predicted lower levels of loneliness during follow-up. Greater reductions in loneliness from pre- to post-treatment also predicted lower levels of social anxiety during follow-up.DISCUSSION: Individuals who experience reductions in their social anxiety during treatment may also feel less lonely following treatment. Reductions in loneliness also lead to improvements in social anxiety. Future research should continue to examine the relationship between social anxiety and loneliness and how interventions for SAD may help reduce loneliness.

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.janxdis.2021.102362

  View details for PubMedID 33486385

• Development and Validation of the Parental Assistance with Child Emotion Regulation (PACER) Questionnaire. Research on child and adolescent psychopathology Cohodes, E. M., Preece, D. A., McCauley, S., Rogers, M. K., Gross, J. J., Gee, D. G. 2021

  Abstract

  Caregivers play a central role in promoting emotion regulation throughout infancy, childhood, and adolescence. However, there are no existing psychometric measures to assess how parents assist children in employing emotion regulation strategies for negative emotions. We therefore developed the Parental Assistance with Child Emotion Regulation (PACER) Questionnaire to assess the degree to which parents assist their children in their use of ten different regulation strategies. In this paper, we describe the development of the PACER and examine its psychometric properties (N=407 parents of children ages birth to 17years). In so doing, we also use the PACER to comprehensively explore the links between parent-assisted emotion regulation and indices of parent and child stress, symptomatology, and attachment. Confirmatory factor analyses of the PACER items supported its intended ten-factor structure (corresponding to ten specific regulation strategies), which was invariant across different child age and sex categories. PACER scale scores had excellent internal consistency and generally acceptable test-retest reliability over a one-week period. Convergent validity was established via correlations between PACER scales and indices of parental emotion sensitivity, expressivity, and regulation, as well as parents' perception of the efficacy of their assistance with children's execution of emotion regulatory strategies. Lower parental facilitation of stereotypically adaptive emotion regulatory strategies was associated with higher child internalizing and externalizing problems and with poorer parent-child relationship quality. Overall, these findings suggest that the PACER may be a useful tool for the assessment of parental assistance with child emotion regulation across development.

  View details for DOI 10.1007/s10802-020-00759-9

  View details for PubMedID 33411232

• Childhood Maltreatment and Narcissism: The Mediating Role of Dissociation. Journal of interpersonal violence Bertele, N., Talmon, A., Gross, J. J. 2020: 886260520984404

  Abstract

  Childhood maltreatment (CM) is thought to be linked to adult narcissistic traits. However, it remains unclear how CM is associated with each type of narcissism, vulnerable and grandiose, and what mechanism mediates these links. One potential candidate is dissociation. This study examines the relations among CM, dissociation, vulnerable narcissism, and grandiose narcissism. A total of 322 women completed self-reported questionnaires assessing CM, dissociation, vulnerable narcissism, and grandiose narcissism. To examine the relations among CM, dissociation, and each type of narcissism, we performed Pearson's correlations and mediation analyses. In secondary analyses, we conducted latent class analyses to classify different types of CM and to assess their relations with the study variables. We found small to moderate correlations between CM and vulnerable narcissism, (r = .35, p < .001) and CM and grandiose narcissism (r = .2, p < .001), with the former association being greater than the latter (z = -3.25, p < .001). Dissociation was found to mediate the link between CM and each type of narcissism (p < .001). Results suggest that CM may play a role in the etiology of vulnerable and grandiose narcissism, and that dissociation links CM to each type of narcissism. Findings highlight that CM may lead to different responses in terms of narcissism-through the same mediation process.

  View details for DOI 10.1177/0886260520984404

  View details for PubMedID 33356780

• Behavior Change. Organizational behavior and human decision processes Duckworth, A. L., Gross, J. J. 2020; 161 (Suppl): 39-49

  Abstract

  Despite rapid growth in the empirical research on behavior change, modern science has yet to produce a coherent set of recommendations for individuals and organizations eager to align everyday actions with enduringly valued goals. We propose the process model of behavior change as a parsimonious framework for organizing strategies according to where they have their primary impact in the generation of behavioral impulses. To begin, individuals exist in objective situations, only certain features of which attract attention, which in turn lead to subjective appraisals, then finally give rise to response tendencies. Unhealthy habits develop when conflicting impulses are consistently resolved in favor of momentary temptations instead of valued goals. To change behavior for the better, we can strategically modify objective situations, where we pay attention, how we construct appraisals, and how we enact responses. Crucially, behavior change strategies can be initiated either by the individual (i.e., self-control) or by others (e.g., a benevolent employer).

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.obhdp.2020.09.002

  View details for PubMedID 33716396

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC7946166

• Assessing alexithymia: Psychometric properties of the Perth Alexithymia Questionnaire and 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale in United States adults PERSONALITY AND INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES Preece, D. A., Becerra, R., Allan, A., Robinson, K., Chen, W., Hasking, P., Gross, J. J. 2020; 166

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.paid.2020.110138

  View details for Web of Science ID 000551465100003

• Behavior change ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR AND HUMAN DECISION PROCESSES Duckworth, A. L., Gross, J. J. 2020; 161: 39–49

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.obhdp.2020.09.002

  View details for Web of Science ID 000600120900005

• Digital Emotion Regulation CURRENT DIRECTIONS IN PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE Wadley, G., Smith, W., Koval, P., Gross, J. J. 2020

  View details for DOI 10.1177/0963721420920592

  View details for Web of Science ID 000542339900001

• Neural Correlates of Non-Specific Skin Conductance Responses During Resting State fMRI Gertler, J., Novotny, S., Poppe, A., Chung, Y., Gross, J., Pearlson, G., Stevens, M. ELSEVIER SCIENCE INC. 2020: S313

  View details for Web of Science ID 000535308201007

• The impact of emotion awareness and regulation on psychotic symptoms during daily functioning. NPJ schizophrenia Kimhy, D., Lister, A., Liu, Y., Vakhrusheva, J., Delespaul, P., Malaspina, D., Ospina, L. H., Mittal, V. A., Gross, J. J., Wang, Y. 2020; 6 (1): 7

  Abstract

  Emotion regulation (ER) difficulties are ubiquitous among individuals with schizophrenia and have been hypothesized to contribute to stress sensitivity and exacerbation of psychotic symptoms in this population. However, the evidence supporting this link is equivocal, potentially due to previous studies' reliance on retrospective assessments of ER and psychosis, as well as lack of consideration of putative moderators such as emotion awareness. To address these limitations, we employed experience sampling method using mobile electronic devices to investigate the links between momentary in vivo use of ER strategies (mER), emotion awareness, and psychotic symptoms during daily functioning. Fifty-four individuals with schizophrenia completed assessment of mER and psychotic symptoms, along with traditional retrospective measures of ER and symptoms. Use of mER suppression predicted significant increases in momentary experiences of thought insertion, mind reading, auditory and visual hallucinations. Use of mER reappraisal predicted significant increases in momentary experiences of suspiciousness, thought insertion, and mind reading. Emotion awareness, driven primarily by difficulties identifying feelings, moderated the impact of ER on psychotic symptoms. There were no associations between retrospective measures of ER and symptoms. Our results indicate that, among individuals with schizophrenia, emotion awareness significantly impacts the relationship between use of ER and exacerbations in psychotic symptoms during the course of daily functioning. Our results highlight the need to incorporate emotion awareness and regulation difficulties into the development of treatment models and interventions for psychosis. In addition, our results underscore the need to employ in vivo, high time-resolution assessment methods to study dynamic clinical phenomena such as ER and psychotic symptoms.

  View details for DOI 10.1038/s41537-020-0096-6

  View details for PubMedID 32210232

• Neural correlates of non-specific skin conductance responses during resting state fMRI. NeuroImage Gertler, J., Novotny, S., Poppe, A., Chung, Y. S., Gross, J. J., Pearlson, G., Stevens, M. C. 2020: 116721

  Abstract

  Skin conductance responses (SCRs) reliably occur in the absence of external stimulation. However, the neural correlates of these non-specific SCRs have been less explored than brain activity associated with stimulus-elicited SCRs. This study modeled spontaneous skin conductance responses observed during an unstructured resting state fMRI scan in 58 adolescents. A Finite Impulse Response (FIR) fMRI model was used to detect any type of hemodynamic response shape time-locked to non-specific SCRs; the shape of these responses was then carefully characterized. The strongest evidence for signal change was found in several sub-regions of sensorimotor cortex. There also was evidence for engagement of discrete areas within the lateral surfaces of the parietal lobe, cingulate cortex, fronto-insular operculum, and both visual and auditory primary processing areas. The hemodynamic profile measured by FIR modeling clearly resembled an event-related response. However, it was a complex response, best explained by two quickly successive, but opposing neuronal impulses across all brain regions - a brief positive response that begins several seconds prior to the SCR with a much longer negative neuronal impulse beginning shortly after the SCR onset. Post hoc exploratory analyses linked these two hemodynamic response phases to different emotion-related individual differences. In conclusion, this study shows the neural correlates of non-specific SCRs are a widespread, cortical network of brain regions engaged in a complex, seemingly biphasic fashion. This bimodal response profile should be considered in replication studies that attempt to directly link brain activity to possible homeostatic mechanisms or seek evidence for alternative mechanisms.

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2020.116721

  View details for PubMedID 32184189

• Contextual determinants of parental reflective functioning: Children with autism versus their typically developing siblings. Autism : the international journal of research and practice Enav, Y., Erhard-Weiss, D., Goldenberg, A., Knudston, M., Hardan, A. Y., Gross, J. J. 2020: 1362361320908096

  Abstract

  LAY ABSTRACT: In this study, we examined parental reflective functioning using the Parental Developmental Interview when parents were talking about their interactions with their child with autism versus the child's typically developing siblings. Our sample included 30 parents who had a child between the ages of 3 and 18years with a clinical diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder and at least one typically developing child. Findings indicated that parents exhibited significantly higher reflective functioning when interacting with their child with autism spectrum disorder versus the typically developing siblings, and the difference was moderated by parental self-efficacy.

  View details for DOI 10.1177/1362361320908096

  View details for PubMedID 32168987

• Treating Parental Burnout: Impact of Two Treatment Modalities on Burnout Symptoms, Emotions, Hair Cortisol, and Parental Neglect and Violence. Psychotherapy and psychosomatics Brianda, M. E., Roskam, I., Gross, J. J., Franssen, A., Kapala, F., Gerard, F., Mikolajczak, M. 2020: 1–3

  View details for DOI 10.1159/000506354

  View details for PubMedID 32155634

• The neural bases of cognitive emotion regulation: The roles of strategy and intensity. Cognitive, affective & behavioral neuroscience Moodie, C. A., Suri, G., Goerlitz, D. S., Mateen, M. A., Sheppes, G., McRae, K., Lakhan-Pal, S., Thiruchselvam, R., Gross, J. J. 2020

  Abstract

  When confronted with unwanted negative emotions, individuals use a variety of cognitive strategies for regulating these emotions. The brain mechanisms underlying these emotion regulation strategies have not been fully characterized, and it is not yet clear whether these mechanisms vary as a function of emotion intensity. To address these issues, 30 community participants (17 females, 13 males, Mage = 24.3 years) completed a picture-viewing emotion regulation task with neutral viewing, reacting to negative stimuli, cognitive reappraisal, attentional deployment, and self-distancing conditions. Brain and behavioral data were simultaneously collected in a 3T GE MRI scanner. Findings indicated that prefrontal regions were engaged by all three regulation strategies, but reappraisal showed the least amount of increase in activity as a function of intensity. Overall, these results suggest that there are both brain and behavioral effects of intensity and that intensity is useful for probing strategy-specific effects and the relationships between the strategies. Furthermore, while these three strategies showed significant overlap, there also were specific strategy-intensity interactions, such as frontoparietal control regions being preferentially activated by reappraisal and self-distancing. Conversely, self-referential and attentional regions were preferentially recruited by self-distancing and distraction as intensity increased. Overall, these findings are consistent with the notion that there is a continuum of cognitive emotion regulation along which all three of these strategies lie.

  View details for DOI 10.3758/s13415-020-00775-8

  View details for PubMedID 32133586

• Collective Emotions CURRENT DIRECTIONS IN PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE Goldenberg, A., Garcia, D., Halperin, E., Gross, J. J. 2020

  View details for DOI 10.1177/0963721420901574

  View details for Web of Science ID 000515460800001

• Emotion regulation. Emotion (Washington, D.C.) McRae, K., Gross, J. J. 2020; 20 (1): 1–9

  Abstract

  Emotion regulation (ER) refers to attempts to influence emotions in ourselves or others. Over the past several decades, ER has become a popular topic across many subdisciplines within psychology. One framework that has helped to organize work on ER is the process model of ER, which distinguishes 5 families of strategies defined by when they impact the emotion generation process. The process model embeds these ER strategies in stages in which a need for regulation is identified, a strategy is selected and implemented, and monitoring occurs to track success. Much of the research to date has focused on a strategy called cognitive reappraisal, which involves changing how one thinks about a situation to influence one's emotional response. Reappraisal is thought to be generally effective and adaptive, but there are important qualifications. In this article, we use reappraisal as an example to illustrate how we might consider 4 interrelated issues: (a) the consequences of using ER, either when instructed or spontaneous; (b) how ER success and frequency are shaped by individual and environmental determinants; (c) the psychological and neurobiological mechanisms that make ER possible; and (d) interventions that might improve how well and how often people use ER. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

  View details for DOI 10.1037/emo0000703

  View details for PubMedID 31961170

• Beyond Emotional Similarity: The Role of Situation-Specific Motives JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY-GENERAL Goldenberg, A., Garcia, D., Halperin, E., Zaki, J., Kong, D., Golarai, G., Gross, J. J. 2020; 149 (1): 138–59

  Abstract

  It is well established that people often express emotions that are similar to those of other group members. However, people do not always express emotions that are similar to other group members, and the factors that determine when similarity occurs are not yet clear. In the current project, we examined whether certain situations activate specific emotional motives that influence the tendency to show emotional similarity. To test this possibility, we considered emotional responses to political situations that either called for weak (Studies 1 and 3) or strong (Study 2 and 4) negative emotions. Findings revealed that the motivation to feel weak emotions led people to be more influenced by weaker emotions than their own, whereas the motivation to feel strong emotions led people to be more influenced by stronger emotions than their own. Intriguingly, these motivations led people to change their emotions even after discovering that others' emotions were similar to their initial emotional response. These findings are observed both in a lab task (Studies 1-3) and in real-life online interactions on Twitter (Study 4). Our findings enhance our ability to understand and predict emotional influence processes in different contexts and may therefore help explain how these processes unfold in group behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

  View details for DOI 10.1037/xge0000625

  View details for Web of Science ID 000503451800010

  View details for PubMedID 31192635

• Evaluating a Personalizable, Inconspicuous Vibrotactile(PIV) Breathing Pacer for In-the-Moment Affect Regulation CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems Miri, P., Jusuf, E., Uusberg, A., Margarit, H., Flory, R., Isbister, K., Marzullo, K., Gross, J. J. 2020: 13

  View details for DOI 10.1145/3313831.3376757

• Digital Emotion Contagion. Trends in cognitive sciences Goldenberg, A. n., Gross, J. J. 2020; 24 (4): 316–28

  Abstract

  People spend considerable time on digital media, and are thus often exposed to expressions of emotion by other people. This exposure can lead their own emotion expressions becoming more similar to those of others, a process we refer to as 'digital emotion contagion'. This article reviews the growing literature on digital emotion contagion. After defining emotion contagion, we suggest that one unique feature of digital emotion contagion is that it is mediated by digital media platforms that are motivated to upregulate user emotions. We then turn to measurement, and consider the challenges of demonstrating that digital emotion contagion has occurred, and how these challenges have been addressed. Finally, we call for a greater focus on understanding when emotion contagion effects are likely to be strong versus weak or nonexistent.

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.tics.2020.01.009

  View details for PubMedID 32160568

• Assessing beliefs about emotions: Development and validation of the Emotion Beliefs Questionnaire. PloS one Becerra, R., Preece, D. A., Gross, J. J. 2020; 15 (4): e0231395

  Abstract

  People's beliefs about emotions may be grouped into two main categories: beliefs about the controllability of emotions and beliefs about the usefulness of emotions. These beliefs influence emotion regulation efforts and mental health, so the assessment of these beliefs is important. However, few psychometric measures are available, particularly for assessing the usefulness dimension. In this study (N = 161), we address this issue by developing and conducting an initial validation of a 16-item self-report measure called the Emotion Beliefs Questionnaire (EBQ). Confirmatory factor analyses found its structure to consist of three first-order factors: a controllability factor spanning both negatively and positively valenced emotions (General-Controllability), and two valence-specific usefulness factors (Negative-Usefulness, Positive-Usefulness). All first-order factors also loaded together on a higher-order factor, representing an overall maladaptive beliefs about emotions construct. All subscale and composite scores had good levels of internal consistency. Correlational and regression analyses found that EBQ scores related in expected ways with other measures, and were significant predictors of emotion regulation abilities and psychopathology. We conclude that the beliefs about emotions construct is multidimensional, and the EBQ appears to be a promising new tool to assess it.

  View details for DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0231395

  View details for PubMedID 32287328

• PIV: Placement, Pattern, and Personalization of an Inconspicuous Vibrotactile Breathing Pacer ACM TRANSACTIONS ON COMPUTER-HUMAN INTERACTION Miri, P., Flory, R., Uusberg, A., Culbertson, H., Harvey, R. H., Kelman, A., Peper, D., Gross, J. J., Isbister, K., Marzullo, K. 2020; 27 (1)

  View details for DOI 10.1145/3365107

  View details for Web of Science ID 000535715400005

• What Is the Relationship between Pain and Emotion? Bridging Constructs and Communities. Neuron Gilam, G. n., Gross, J. J., Wager, T. D., Keefe, F. J., Mackey, S. C. 2020

  Abstract

  Although pain is defined as a sensory and emotional experience, it is traditionally researched and clinically treated separately from emotion. Conceptual and mechanistic relationships between these constructs highlight the need for better understanding of their bi-directional influences and the value of bridging the pain and emotion research and clinical communities.

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.neuron.2020.05.024

  View details for PubMedID 32562660

• Incremental theories of emotion across time: Temporal dynamics and correlates of change. Emotion (Washington, D.C.) Gutentag, T. n., John, O. P., Gross, J. J., Tamir, M. n. 2020

  Abstract

  Accumulating research points to the importance of incremental theories of emotion. Yet, little is known about whether these beliefs change in adulthood across long time spans, and if so, whether such changes are prospectively linked to emotion regulation outcomes. In the present investigation, we tested how incremental theories of emotion change during college, and whether such changes are linked to emotion regulation practices. We followed 394 undergraduates as they entered and ultimately graduated from college. Focusing on the temporal dynamics of incremental theories of emotion, we found that they were somewhat stable, and their mean-level increased over time. Focusing on the correlates of such changes, we found that students who during college came to believe that emotions (but not intelligence) are more controllable, ended up using more cognitive reappraisal (but not expressive suppression) at the end of college. Similarly, students who during college came to use cognitive reappraisal (but not expressive suppression) more frequently, ended up believing that emotion (but not intelligence) is more controllable at the end of college. This pattern could not be explained by differences in initial levels or by differences in underlying affective experiences. We discuss potential implications of these findings for understanding the interplay between beliefs and emotion regulation. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

  View details for DOI 10.1037/emo0000945

  View details for PubMedID 33370149

• The Affective Benefits of Nature Exposure: What's Nature Got to Do with It? Journal of environmental psychology Meidenbauer, K. L., Stenfors, C. U., Bratman, G. N., Gross, J. J., Schertz, K. E., Choe, K. W., Berman, M. G. 2020: 101498

  Abstract

  Nature interactions have been demonstrated to produce reliable affective benefits. While adults demonstrate strong preferences for natural environments over urban ones, it is not clear whether these affective benefits result from exposure to nature stimuli per se, or result from viewing a highly preferred stimulus. In one set of studies (Study 1 and 2), state affect before and after image viewing was examined as a function of both preference level (high, low, very high, or very low aesthetic value) and environment type (nature or urban). When aesthetic value was matched, no differences in affect change were found between environments. However, affect change was predicted by individual participants' ratings for the images. The largest affective benefits occurred after viewing very high aesthetic nature images, but Study 2 lacked an equivalently preferred urban image set. In a second set of studies (Study 3 and 4), new sets of very highly preferred images in categories other than nature scenes (urban scenes and animals) were employed. As before, individual differences in preference for the images (but not image category) was predictive of changes in affect. In Study 5, the nature and urban images from Study 1were rated on beauty to assess whether the stimuli's preference ratings were capturing anything other than simple aesthetics. Results showed that beauty/aesthetics and preference ('liking') were nearly identical. Lastly, a replication of Study 2 (Study 6) was conducted to test whether priming preference accounted for these benefits, but this was not the case. Together, these results suggest that nature improves affective state because it is such a highly preferred environment.

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.jenvp.2020.101498

  View details for PubMedID 32982008

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC7500282

• The Affect Regulation in Cancer framework: Understanding affective responding across the cancer trajectory JOURNAL OF HEALTH PSYCHOLOGY Kangas, M., Gross, J. J. 2020; 25 (1): 7–25

  View details for DOI 10.1177/1359105317748468

  View details for Web of Science ID 000505827600002

• What is Alexithymia? Using Factor Analysis to Establish its Latent Structure and Relationship with Fantasizing and Emotional Reactivity. Journal of personality Preece, D. A., Becerra, R. n., Robinson, K. n., Allan, A. n., Boyes, M. n., Chen, W. n., Hasking, P. n., Gross, J. J. 2020

  Abstract

  There is ongoing uncertainty about the structure and definition of alexithymia. Conceptually, alexithymia has traditionally been defined as a multidimensional trait with four components: difficulty identifying feelings, difficulty describing feelings, externally orientated thinking, and difficulty fantasizing. However, some authors suggest that difficulty fantasizing might not be a component, and others suggest low emotional reactivity is a fifth component. In this study, we sought to clarify this issue using factor analysis.In a sample of adults (N=508), we administered a comprehensive battery of psychometric measures and analyzed their latent structure using an exploratory factor analysis.Subscales assessing difficulty identifying feelings, difficulty describing feelings, and externally orientated thinking all loaded well together on the alexithymia factor. However, none of the subscales assessing aspects of difficulty fantasizing (i.e., daydreaming frequency, vividness, content, or use of daydreams to regulate emotions) loaded on the alexithymia factor. Similarly, no emotional reactivity subscales loaded on the alexithymia factor, and alexithymia was associated with higher (not lower) levels of emotional reactivity for negative emotions.Difficulty fantasizing and low emotional reactivity are not components of the latent alexithymia construct. The traditional four-component definition of alexithymia likely warrants refinement to a more parsimonious three-component solution.

  View details for DOI 10.1111/jopy.12563

  View details for PubMedID 32463926

• SOCIAL ANXIETY, LONELINESS, AND THE MODERATING ROLE OF EMOTION REGULATION JOURNAL OF SOCIAL AND CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY O'Day, E. B., Morrison, A. S., Goldin, P. R., Gross, J. J., Heimberg, R. G. 2019; 38 (9): 751–73

  View details for DOI 10.1521/jscp.2019.38.9.751

  View details for Web of Science ID 000497743000002

• The Croatian version of the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire: Links with higher- and lower-level personality traits and mood. International journal of psychology : Journal international de psychologie Gracanin, A., Kardum, I., Gross, J. J. 2019

  Abstract

  The Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ) measures habitual use of two emotion regulation strategies, cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression. The present study tested the psychometric properties and validity of a newly developed Croatian adaptation of the ERQ. In a sample of 347 participants, we first sought to confirm the ERQ's original factor structure. Next, we tested its convergent, divergent and incremental validity. In the first subsample (N =140), we linked the ERQ with a measure of the Five-Factor Model dimensions and their facets (Revised NEO Personality Inventory). In the second subsample (N =207), we tested its ability to predict personality dimensions assessed by a different measure (Big Five Inventory) as well as the traits of positive and negative affect, including its incremental validity in predicting the latter. The results corroborated earlier findings, showing that the Croatian ERQ has equivalent psychometrics and predictive validity as ERQs in other languages. Crucially, the observed links between the ERQ and the facets of the Five-Factor Model dimensions enrich our understanding of the personality mechanisms behind the employment of these emotion regulation strategies.

  View details for DOI 10.1002/ijop.12624

  View details for PubMedID 31598985

• Acceptance versus reappraisal: Behavioral, autonomic, and neural effects COGNITIVE AFFECTIVE & BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE Goldin, P. R., Moodie, C. A., Gross, J. J. 2019; 19 (4): 927–44

  View details for DOI 10.3758/s13415-019-00690-7

  View details for Web of Science ID 000483690400010

• Development of human emotion circuits investigated using a Big-Data analytic approach: Stability, reliability, and robustness. The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience Zhang, Y., Padmanabhan, A., Gross, J. J., Menon, V. 2019

  Abstract

  Emotion perception is fundamental to affective and cognitive development and is thought to involve distributed brain circuits. Efforts to chart neurodevelopmental changes in emotion have been severely hampered by narrowly focused approaches centered on activation of individual brain regions and small sample sizes. Here we investigate the maturation of human functional brain circuits associated with identification of fear, anger, sadness, happiness, and neutral faces using a large sample of 759 children, adolescents, and adults (ages 8-23; female/male = 419/340). Network analysis of emotion-related brain circuits revealed three functional modules, encompassing lateral frontoparietal, medial prefrontal-posterior cingulate, and subcortical-posterior insular cortices, with hubs in medial prefrontal, but not posterior cingulate, cortex. This overall network architecture was stable by age eight, and it anchored maturation of circuits important for salience detection and cognitive control, as well as dissociable circuit patterns across distinct emotion categories. Our findings point to similarities and differences in functional circuits associated with identification of fearful, angry, sad, happy, and neutral faces, and reveal aspects of brain circuit organization underlying emotion perception that are stable over development as well as features that change with age. Reliability analyses demonstrated the robustness of our findings and highlighted the importance of large samples for probing functional brain circuit development. Our study emphasizes a need to focus beyond amygdala circuits and provides a robust neurodevelopmental template for investigating emotion perception and identification in psychopathology.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENTEmotion perception is fundamental to cognitive and affective development. However, efforts to chart neurodevelopmental changes in emotion perception have been hampered by narrowly focused approaches centered on the amygdala and prefrontal cortex and small sample sizes. Using a large sample of 759 children, adolescents, and adults and a multipronged analytical strategy, we investigated the development of brain network organization underlying identification and categorization of fearful, happy, angry, sad, and neutral facial expressions. Results revealed a developmentally-stable modular architecture that anchored robust age-related and emotion category-related changes in brain connectivity across multiple brain systems that extend far beyond amygdala circuits and provide a new template for investigation of emotion processing in the developing brain.

  View details for DOI 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0220-19.2019

  View details for PubMedID 31332001

• Is this my group or not? The role of ensemble coding of emotional expressions in group categorization. Journal of experimental psychology. General Goldenberg, A., Sweeny, T. D., Shpigel, E., Gross, J. J. 2019

  Abstract

  When exposed to others' emotional responses, people often make rapid decisions as to whether these others are members of their group or not. These group categorization decisions have been shown to be extremely important to understanding group behavior. Yet, despite their prevalence and importance, we know very little about the attributes that shape these categorization decisions. To address this issue, we took inspiration from ensemble coding research and developed a task designed to reveal the influence of the mean and variance of group members' emotions on participants' group categorization. In Study 1, we verified that group categorization decreases when the group's mean emotion is different from the participant's own emotional response. In Study 2, we established that people identify a group's mean emotion more accurately when its variance is low rather than high. In Studies 3 and 4, we showed that participants were more likely to self-categorize as members of groups with low emotional variance, even if their own emotions fell outside of the range of group emotions they saw, and that this preference is seen for judgments of both positive and negative group emotions. In Study 5, we showed that this unique preference for low group emotional variance is special to group categorization and does not appear in a more basic face categorization task. Our studies reveal unexplored and important tendencies in group categorization based on group emotions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

  View details for DOI 10.1037/xge0000651

  View details for PubMedID 31318257

• Promoting Psychological Well-Being Through an Evidence-Based Mindfulness Training Program FRONTIERS IN HUMAN NEUROSCIENCE Tang, Y., Tang, R., Gross, J. J. 2019; 13

  View details for DOI 10.3389/fnhum.2019.00237

  View details for Web of Science ID 000474815200001

• Promoting Psychological Well-Being Through an Evidence-Based Mindfulness Training Program. Frontiers in human neuroscience Tang, Y. Y., Tang, R., Gross, J. J. 2019; 13: 237

  Abstract

  Psychological well-being is a core feature of mental health, and may be defined as including hedonic (enjoyment, pleasure) and eudaimonic (meaning, fulfillment) happiness, as well as resilience (coping, emotion regulation, healthy problem solving). To promote psychological well-being, it is helpful to understand the underlying mechanisms associated with this construct and then develop targeted and effective training programs. In this perspective article, we discuss key components and potential brain-body mechanisms related to psychological well-being and propose mindfulness training as a promising way to improve it. Based on a series of randomized controlled trial (RCT) studies of one form of mindfulness training in adolescents and adults, the integrative body-mind training (IBMT), we use IBMT as an exemplar to provide research evidence of the positive effects of mindfulness training on psychological well-being. We focus on one of the mechanisms by which IBMT enhances psychological well-being-the interaction between mind (mindfulness) and body (bodifulness)-which involves both the central nervous system (CNS) and the autonomic nervous system (ANS). We also highlight the role of brain self-control networks, including the anterior cingulate cortex/prefrontal cortex (ACC/PFC), in improving psychological well-being. We suggest that mindfulness training may be a promising program that promotes the synergistic engagement of mind and body to achieve the goals of enhancing psychological well-being.

  View details for DOI 10.3389/fnhum.2019.00237

  View details for PubMedID 31354454

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC6635568

• Emotion Reactivity and Regulation in Maltreated Children: A Meta-Analysis. Child development Lavi, I., Katz, L. F., Ozer, E. J., Gross, J. J. 2019

  Abstract

  The many adverse effects of child maltreatment make the scientific investigation of this phenomenon a matter of vital importance. Although the relationship between maltreatment and problematic emotion reactivity and regulation has been studied, the strength and specificity of these associations are not yet clear. We examine the magnitude of the maltreatment-child-emotion reactivity/regulation link. Studies with substantiated maltreatment involving children aged up to 18 were included, along with a smaller number of longitudinal studies (58 papers reviewed, encompassing more than 11,900 children). In comparison to nonmaltreated children, maltreated children experience more negative emotions, behave in a manner indicative of more negative emotion, and display emotion dysregulation. We outline several theoretical implications of our results.

  View details for DOI 10.1111/cdev.13272

  View details for PubMedID 31281975

• Sleep quality and treatment of social anxiety disorder ANXIETY STRESS AND COPING Horenstein, A., Morrison, A. S., Goldin, P., ten Brink, M., Gross, J. J., Heimberg, R. G. 2019; 32 (4): 387–98

  View details for DOI 10.1080/10615806.2019.1617854

  View details for Web of Science ID 000469270400004

• Broadening Our Field of View: The Role of Emotion Polyregulation EMOTION REVIEW Ford, B. Q., Gross, J. J., Gruber, J. 2019; 11 (3): 197–208

  View details for DOI 10.1177/1754073919850314

  View details for Web of Science ID 000475328500001

• Nature and mental health: An ecosystem service perspective. Science advances Bratman, G. N., Anderson, C. B., Berman, M. G., Cochran, B., de Vries, S., Flanders, J., Folke, C., Frumkin, H., Gross, J. J., Hartig, T., Kahn, P. H., Kuo, M., Lawler, J. J., Levin, P. S., Lindahl, T., Meyer-Lindenberg, A., Mitchell, R., Ouyang, Z., Roe, J., Scarlett, L., Smith, J. R., van den Bosch, M., Wheeler, B. W., White, M. P., Zheng, H., Daily, G. C. 2019; 5 (7): eaax0903

  Abstract

  A growing body of empirical evidence is revealing the value of nature experience for mental health. With rapid urbanization and declines in human contact with nature globally, crucial decisions must be made about how to preserve and enhance opportunities for nature experience. Here, we first provide points of consensus across the natural, social, and health sciences on the impacts of nature experience on cognitive functioning, emotional well-being, and other dimensions of mental health. We then show how ecosystem service assessments can be expanded to include mental health, and provide a heuristic, conceptual model for doing so.

  View details for DOI 10.1126/sciadv.aax0903

  View details for PubMedID 31355340

• Mental illness and well-being: an affect regulation perspective. World psychiatry : official journal of the World Psychiatric Association (WPA) Gross, J. J., Uusberg, H., Uusberg, A. 2019; 18 (2): 130–39

  Abstract

  Mental health crucially depends upon affective states such as emotions, stress responses, impulses and moods. These states shape how we think, feel and behave. Often, they support adaptive functioning. At other times, however, they can become detrimental to mental health via maladaptive affect generation processes and/or maladaptive affect regulation processes. Here, we present an integrative framework for considering the role of affect generation and regulation in mental illness and well-being. Our model views affect generation as an iterative cycle of attending to, appraising and responding to situations. It views affect regulation as an iterative series of decisions aimed at altering affect generation. Affect regulation decisions include identifying what, if anything, should be changed about affect, selecting where to intervene in the affect generation cycle, choosing how to implement this intervention, and monitoring the regulation attempt to decide whether to maintain, switch or stop it. Difficulties with these decisions, often arising from biased inputs to them, can contribute to manifestations of mental illness such as clinical symptoms, syndromes and disorders. The model has a number of implications for clinical assessment and treatment. Specifically, it offers a common set of concepts for characterizing different affective states; it highlights interactions between affect generation and affect regulation; it identifies assessment and treatment targets among the component processes of affect regulation; and it is applicable to prevention and treatment of mental illness as well as to promotion and restoration of psychological well-being.

  View details for PubMedID 31059626

• Mental illness and well-being: an affect regulation perspective WORLD PSYCHIATRY Gross, J. J., Uusberg, H., Uusberg, A. 2019; 18 (2): 130–39

  View details for DOI 10.1002/wps.20618

  View details for Web of Science ID 000467337100003

• Neural Markers of Successful In-Scanner Worry Reappraisal in Older Adults Karim, H., Gross, J., Aizenstein, H., Andreescu, C. ELSEVIER SCIENCE INC. 2019: S224–S225

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.biopsych.2019.03.569

  View details for Web of Science ID 000472661000547

• Sleep quality and treatment of social anxiety disorder. Anxiety, stress, and coping Horenstein, A., Morrison, A. S., Goldin, P., Ten Brink, M., Gross, J. J., Heimberg, R. G. 2019: 1–12

  Abstract

  BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Poor sleep is prevalent among individuals with social anxiety disorder (SAD) and may affect treatment outcome. We examined whether: (1) individuals with SAD differed from healthy controls (HCs) in sleep quality, (2) baseline sleep quality moderated the effects of treatment (Cognitive-behavioral group therapy [CBGT] vs. mindfulness-based stress reduction [MBSR] vs. waitlist [WL]) on social anxiety, (3) sleep quality changed over treatment, and (4) changes in sleep quality predicted anxiety 12-months post-treatment.DESIGN: Participants were 108 adults with SAD from a randomized controlled trial of CBGT vs. MBSR vs. WL and 38 HCs.METHODS: SAD and sleep quality were assessed pre-treatment and post-treatment; SAD was assessed again 12-months post-treatment.RESULTS: Participants with SAD reported poorer sleep quality than HCs. The effect of treatment condition on post-treatment social anxiety did not differ as a function of baseline sleep quality. Sleep quality improved in MBSR, significantly more than WL, but not CBGT. Sleep quality change from pre- to post-treatment in CBGT or MBSR did not predict later social anxiety.CONCLUSIONS: MBSR, and not CBGT, improved sleep quality among participants. Other results were inconsistent with prior research; possible explanations, limitations, and implications for future research are discussed. ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02036658.

  View details for PubMedID 31082285

• Emotion Regulation in Achievement Situations: An Integrated Model EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGIST Harley, J. M., Pekrun, R., Taxer, J. L., Gross, J. J. 2019; 54 (2): 106–26

  View details for DOI 10.1080/00461520.2019.1587297

  View details for Web of Science ID 000468535800003

• STRESS, SLEEP, AND COPING SELF-EFFICACY IN ADOLESCENTS ten Brink, M., Lee, H., Manber, R., Gross, J., Yeager, D. OXFORD UNIV PRESS INC. 2019

  View details for Web of Science ID 000471071001028

• The Emotion Regulation Questionnaire: Psychometric Properties in General Community Samples. Journal of personality assessment Preece, D. A., Becerra, R., Robinson, K., Gross, J. J. 2019: 1–9

  Abstract

  The Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ) is a 10-item self-report measure of 2 emotion regulation strategies, cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression. It is a widely used measure of emotion regulation, but its factor structure has rarely been examined outside of university student samples, and some authors have recently questioned its factorial validity in general community samples. In this study, we examine the psychometric properties of the ERQ (original English version) in 3 Australian general community samples (N=300, 400, 348). Confirmatory factor analyses in each sample demonstrated that the traditional 2-factor model (comprised of cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression factors) was replicable and an excellent fit to the data. In all samples, ERQ cognitive reappraisal (alpha = .89-.90) and expressive suppression (alpha = .76-.80) scores had acceptable to excellent levels of internal consistency reliability. As expected, cognitive reappraisal scores were significantly negatively correlated with psychological distress and alexithymia, whereas expressive suppression scores were significantly positively correlated with psychological distress and alexithymia. We conclude that, similar to previous findings in student samples, the ERQ has strong psychometric properties in general community samples and can therefore be used confidently regardless of participants' student status.

  View details for PubMedID 30714818

• Acceptance versus reappraisal: Behavioral, autonomic, and neural effects. Cognitive, affective & behavioral neuroscience Goldin, P. R., Moodie, C. A., Gross, J. J. 2019

  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.

  View details for PubMedID 30656602

• Self-Control and Academic Achievement. Annual review of psychology Duckworth, A. L., Taxer, J. L., Eskreis-Winkler, L., Galla, B. M., Gross, J. J. 2019; 70: 373–99

  Abstract

  Self-control refers to the alignment of thoughts, feelings, and actions with enduringly valued goals in the face of momentarily more alluring alternatives. In this review, we examine the role of self-control in academic achievement. We begin by defining self-control and distinguishing it from related constructs. Next, we summarize evidence that nearly all students experience conflict between academic goals that they value in the long run and nonacademic goals that they find more gratifying in the moment. We then turn to longitudinal evidence relating self-control to academic attainment, course grades, and performance on standardized achievement tests. We use the process model of self-control to illustrate how impulses are generated and regulated, emphasizing opportunities for students to deliberately strengthen impulses that are congruent with, and dampen impulses that are incongruent with, academic goals. Finally, we conclude with future directions for both science and practice.

  View details for PubMedID 30609915

• Reappraising faces: effects on accountability appraisals, self-reported valence, and pupil diameter COGNITION & EMOTION Yih, J., Sha, H., Beam, D. E., Parvizi, J., Gross, J. J. 2019; 33 (5): 1041–50

  View details for DOI 10.1080/02699931.2018.1507999

  View details for Web of Science ID 000471013900013

• Emotion Regulation in Social Anxiety Disorder: Reappraisal and Acceptance of Negative Self-Beliefs. Biological psychiatry. Cognitive neuroscience and neuroimaging Dixon, M. L., Moodie, C. A., Goldin, P. R., Farb, N. n., Heimberg, R. G., Gross, J. J. 2019

  Abstract

  Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is characterized by negative self-beliefs (NSBs) that are thought to maintain symptom severity-at least in part-by impairing emotion regulation. Few studies to date have investigated the neural basis of emotion regulation during NSBs in SAD. Moreover, different regulation strategies have not been directly compared, leaving open questions about the generality of emotion regulation deficits in SAD.Patients with SAD (n = 113) and healthy control subjects (n = 35) underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging while reacting to NSBs or attempting to downregulate negative emotions occasioned by NSBs using either reappraisal (reinterpreting negative beliefs) or acceptance (nonjudgmentally experiencing thoughts and emotions). Ratings of negative emotion were collected after each trial.When cued to do so, patients with SAD were able to downregulate negative emotions using both reappraisal and acceptance and demonstrated effective recruitment of frontoparietal regulatory regions. Patients with SAD demonstrated greater activation of default mode network and somatomotor regions for the react versus accept contrast. Both groups demonstrated reductions in frontoparietal and default mode network activation during acceptance relative to reappraisal. Greater SAD symptom severity was associated with lower activation in frontoparietal regions during both regulation conditions.There were no group differences in frontoparietal recruitment during two distinct emotion regulation strategies. However, individual differences in symptom severity within the SAD group were associated with frontoparietal regulation-related activation. Patients with SAD were differentiated from control subjects in default mode network recruitment patterns, suggesting that acceptance may be a useful task condition for revealing altered neural activity in SAD.

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.bpsc.2019.07.009

  View details for PubMedID 31547972

• The regulation of recurrent negative emotion in the aftermath of a lost election. Cognition & emotion Mehta, A. n., Formanowicz, M. n., Uusberg, A. n., Uusberg, H. n., Gross, J. J., Suri, G. n. 2019: 1–10

  Abstract

  For some American voters, the news of Mr. Trump's victory in the 2016 presidential election caused recurrent emotions that were negative, persistent, and intense enough to elicit repeated attempts at emotion regulation. This afforded a rare opportunity to analyse the regulation of recurrent emotions in a natural, non-laboratory context. The regulation of recurrent emotion involves additional considerations relative to single-instance emotion, such as representations of past and future encounters with the emotion-eliciting variables, ongoing consequences of each regulatory episode, and a tendency to repeatedly deploy emotion regulation strategies that one is most familiar with in the context of the particular recurrent emotion. Despite the ubiquitous nature of recurrent emotions, its associated regulatory processes have been infrequently examined and are not well-understood. Over eight days (11/10/16-11/18/16), we administered four surveys to 202 participants who voted against Mr. Trump. We examined the determinants and outcomes of regulatory strategies in the context of recurrent emotion. We found that (1) reappraisal (compared to distraction and acceptance) was associated with greater decline in emotion intensity, (2) high-intensity emotions were more likely to be distracted, whereas low-intensity emotions were more likely to be reappraised, and (3) strategy variability was associated with greater affective adaptation.

  View details for DOI 10.1080/02699931.2019.1682970

  View details for PubMedID 31701806

• A preliminary study of association between adolescent estradiol level and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex activity during emotion regulation. Psychoneuroendocrinology Chung, Y. S., Poppe, A. n., Novotny, S. n., Epperson, C. N., Kober, H. n., Granger, D. A., Blumberg, H. P., Ochsner, K. n., Gross, J. J., Pearlson, G. n., Stevens, M. C. 2019; 109: 104398

  Abstract

  Non-human primate models have been useful in clarifying estradiol's role in cognitive processing. These animal studies indicate estradiol impacts cognitive processes supported by regions within dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). Although human functional neuroimaging studies have begun to find similar relationships between estradiol in women for some forms of 'cold' cognitive control, to date no studies have examined the relationship between estradiol and DLPFC function in the context of active attempts to regulate one's emotions. Here, we asked whether peripheral 17-beta estradiol levels in adolescent girls in different pubertal developmental stages (age = 14.9 years ± 1.74) were related to engagement of DLPFC regions during the use of a cognitive strategy for regulating emotion known as reappraisal using functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging. Findings indicated that higher estradiol levels predicted greater DLPFC activity during the down-regulation of negative emotion using reappraisal. This is the first report of an association between estradiol level and DLPFC activity during cognitive reappraisal of negative emotion. The study suggests a possibility that estradiol might positively contribute to regulatory function of a cortical system important for emotional experiences.

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2019.104398

  View details for PubMedID 31394491

• Empathy and emotion regulation: An integrative account. Progress in brain research Thompson, N. M., Uusberg, A. n., Gross, J. J., Chakrabarti, B. n. 2019; 247: 273–304

  Abstract

  How we understand and respond to others' emotions (i.e., empathy) may be influenced by the regulatory processes that are used to shape which emotions we and others have (i.e., emotion regulation). Empathy and emotion regulation are complex multidimensional constructs and the relationship between their component processes is not well characterized. To enable future work to examine their relationship more closely, this chapter presents an integrative framework of empathy and emotion regulation. We begin by delineating the component processes that underlie empathy and emotion regulation, and the neural underpinnings of these processes. We then present an integrative framework describing the processes of empathy and how these may be acted upon by distinct regulatory strategies. We conclude with a brief consideration of contextual influences on empathy and emotion regulation using a reward-based heuristic.

  View details for DOI 10.1016/bs.pbr.2019.03.024

  View details for PubMedID 31196438

• Happiness and Social Behavior. Psychological science Quoidbach, J. n., Taquet, M. n., Desseilles, M. n., de Montjoye, Y. A., Gross, J. J. 2019: 956797619849666

  Abstract

  It is often assumed that there is a robust positive symmetrical relationship between happiness and social behavior: Social relationships are viewed as essential to happiness, and happiness is thought to foster social relationships. However, empirical support for this widely held view is surprisingly mixed, and this view does little to clarify which social partner a person will be motivated to interact with when happy. To address these issues, we monitored the happiness and social interactions of more than 30,000 people for a month. We found that patterns of social interaction followed the hedonic-flexibility principle, whereby people tend to engage in happiness-enhancing social relationships when they feel bad and sustain happiness-decreasing periods of solitude and less pleasant types of social relationships that might promise long-term payoff when they feel good. These findings demonstrate that links between happiness and social behavior are more complex than often assumed in the positive-emotion literature.

  View details for DOI 10.1177/0956797619849666

  View details for PubMedID 31268832

• Central mechanisms of real and sham electroacupuncture in the treatment of chronic low back pain: study protocol for a randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial. Trials Kong, J., MacIsaac, B., Cogan, R., Ng, A., Law, C. S., Helms, J., Schnyer, R., Karayannis, N. V., Kao, M., Tian, L., Darnall, B. D., Gross, J. J., Mackey, S., Manber, R. 2018; 19 (1): 685

  Abstract

  BACKGROUND: Chronic low back pain (CLBP) is the most common chronic pain condition and is often resistant to conventional treatments. Acupuncture is a popular alternative for treating CLBP but its mechanisms of action remain poorly understood. Evidence suggests that pain regulatory mechanisms (particularly the ascending and secondarily the descending pain modulatory pathways) and psychological mechanisms (e.g., expectations, pain catastrophizing and self-efficacy) may be involved in the pathogenesis of CLBP and its response to treatments. We will examine these mechanisms in the treatment of CLBP by electroacupuncture (EA).METHODS: We present the aims and methods of a placebo-controlled, participant-blinded and assessor-blinded mechanistic study. Adult patients with CLBP will be randomized to receiving 16 sessions of real (active) or sham (placebo) EA over the course of 8weeks. The primary pain regulatory measure for which the study was powered is temporal summation (TS), which approximates ascending pain facilitation. Conditioned pain modulation (CPM), representing a descending pain modulatory pathway, will be our secondary pain regulatory measure. The primary psychological measure is expectations of benefit, and the secondary psychological measures are pain catastrophizing and self-efficacy in managing pain. Main clinical outcomes are back pain bothersomeness on a 0-100 visual analog scale (primary), Roland Morris Disability Questionnaire (secondary), and relevant items from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Patient-Reported Outcome Measures Information System (secondary). We hypothesize that compared to sham, real EA will lead to greater reduction in TS after 8 treatment sessions (4weeks); and that reduction in TS (and secondarily, increase in CPM) after 8 treatment sessions will mediate reduction in back pain bothersomeness from baseline to week 10 (clinical response) to EA. We also hypothesize that the three psychological factors are moderators of clinical response. With 100 treatment completers, the study is designed to have 80% power to detect a medium-sized between-group effect (d=0.5) on temporal summation.DISCUSSION: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first appropriately powered, placebo-controlled clinical trial evaluating mechanisms of EA in the treatment of CLBP.TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02503475 . Registered on 15 July 15 2015. Retrospectively registered.

  View details for PubMedID 30541586

• Bending time: The role of affective appraisal in time perception. Emotion (Washington, D.C.) Uusberg, A., Naar, R., Tamm, M., Kreegipuu, K., Gross, J. J. 2018; 18 (8): 1174–88

  Abstract

  Affective states are known to distort time perception, but it remains unclear why and how they do so. To test whether appraisal processes involved in affect may play a role in temporal distortions, we investigated bisection behavior during experimental events with varying appraisal values along three dimensions: goal relevance (high vs. low), goal type (approach vs. avoid), and goal congruence (conducive vs. obstructive). Forty female participants performed an incentive-compatible gambling task attempting to accumulate wins and avoid losses of small amounts of chocolate. On each trial, a prechoice stimulus first announced whether a win, a loss, or no change was available. Participants then made a choice that ostensibly determined the outcome of the trial, which was communicated by a postchoice stimulus. Participants also made temporal bisection decisions indicating whether the presentation durations of pre- and postchoice stimuli (which varied between 200, 320, 440, 560, 680, and 800 ms) were closer to a previously learned short (200 ms) or long (800 ms) standard. We analyzed appraisal effects on psychometric bisection point, response speed, and drift diffusion parameter variance using custom regression contrasts. Subjective durations were found to be lengthened by high goal relevance, conducive goal congruence, and approach goal type. Analysis of diffusion parameters suggested that these results reflected appraisal-related shifts in duration perception rather than in subsequent decision-making. These findings encourage further research into the possibility that temporal distortions are among the cognitive changes triggered by appraisal processes during affective states. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

  View details for PubMedID 29504799

• The Role of Working Alliance in CBT and MBSR for Social Anxiety Disorder MINDFULNESS Jazaieri, H., Goldin, P. R., Gross, J. J. 2018; 9 (5): 1381–89

  View details for DOI 10.1007/s12671-017-0877-9

  View details for Web of Science ID 000444573800006

• Does Centrality in a Cross-Sectional Network Suggest Intervention Targets for Social Anxiety Disorder? JOURNAL OF CONSULTING AND CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY Rodebaugh, T. L., Tonge, N. A., Piccirillo, M. L., Fried, E., Horenstein, A., Morrison, A. S., Goldin, P., Gross, J. J., Lim, M. H., Fernandez, K. C., Blanco, C., Schneier, F. R., Bogdan, R., Thompson, R. J., Heimberg, R. G. 2018; 86 (10): 831–44

  Abstract

  Network analysis allows us to identify the most interconnected (i.e., central) symptoms, and multiple authors have suggested that these symptoms might be important treatment targets. This is because change in central symptoms (relative to others) should have greater impact on change in all other symptoms. It has been argued that networks derived from cross-sectional data may help identify such important symptoms. We tested this hypothesis in social anxiety disorder.We first estimated a state-of-the-art regularized partial correlation network based on participants with social anxiety disorder (n = 910) to determine which symptoms were more central. Next, we tested whether change in these central symptoms were indeed more related to overall symptom change in a separate dataset of participants with social anxiety disorder who underwent a variety of treatments (n = 244). We also tested whether relatively superficial item properties (infrequency of endorsement and variance of items) might account for any effects shown for central symptoms.Centrality indices successfully predicted how strongly changes in items correlated with change in the remainder of the items. Findings were limited to the measure used in the network and did not generalize to three other measures related to social anxiety severity. In contrast, infrequency of endorsement showed associations across all measures.The transfer of recently published results from cross-sectional network analyses to treatment data is unlikely to be straightforward. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

  View details for PubMedID 30265042

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC6166439

• To reappraise or not to reappraise? Emotion regulation choice and cognitive energetics. Emotion (Washington, D.C.) Milyavsky, M., Webber, D., Fernandez, J. R., Kruglanski, A. W., Goldenberg, A., Suri, G., Gross, J. J. 2018

  Abstract

  Research shows that cognitive reappraisal is an effective emotion regulation (ER) strategy that often has clear benefits. Yet, surprisingly, recent findings demonstrate that people use cognitive reappraisal less frequently than might be expected (Suri, Whittaker, & Gross, 2015). We employ cognitive energetics theory (CET) to explain this puzzling behavior. CET posits that the likelihood of launching any cognitive process is a function of two opposing forces: the driving force (i.e., the motivation to launch the process) and the restraining force (i.e., task difficulty). We thus hypothesized that people choose to use cognitive reappraisal relatively rarely because of the difficulty of implementing it. We also postulated that the decision to reappraise (or not) does not simply depend on stimuli emotional intensity because the latter is associated with both the driving and the restraining forces. In support of our hypotheses, we found that when the images' emotional intensity posed difficulty for reappraisal (i.e., highly intense images), reducing this difficulty by asking participants to merely predict others' (Study 1) or their own choices (Study 2) increased reappraisal choice. Finally, in Study 3, we show that a relatively easy to implement reappraisal strategy was chosen more often than the more difficult one for high (but not low) intensity images. These findings illustrate the relevance of a CET-based motivational analysis to emotion regulation choice. (PsycINFO Database Record

  View details for PubMedID 30234328

• Relapse/Recurrence Prevention in Major Depressive Disorder: 26-Month Follow-Up of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy Versus an Active Control BEHAVIOR THERAPY Shallcross, A. J., Willroth, E. C., Fisher, A., Dimidjian, S., Gross, J. J., Visvanathan, P. D., Mauss, I. B. 2018; 49 (5): 836–49

  Abstract

  We conducted a 26-month follow-up of a previously reported 12-month study that compared mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) to a rigorous active control condition (ACC) for depressive relapse/recurrence prevention and improvements in depressive symptoms and life satisfaction. Participants in remission from major depression were randomized to an 8-week MBCT group (n = 46) or the ACC (n = 46). Outcomes were assessed at baseline; postintervention; and 6, 12, and 26 months. Intention-to-treat analyses indicated no differences between groups for any outcome over the 26-month follow-up. Time to relapse results (MBCT vs. ACC) indicated a hazard ratio = .82, 95% CI [.34, 1.99]. Relapse rates were 47.8% for MBCT and 50.0% for ACC. Piecewise analyses indicated that steeper declines in depressive symptoms in the MBCT vs. the ACC group from postintervention to 12 months were not maintained after 12 months. Both groups experienced a marginally significant rebound of depressive symptoms after 12 months but were still improved at 26 months compared to baseline (b = -4.12, p <= .008). Results for life satisfaction were similar. In sum, over a 26-month follow-up, MBCT was no more effective for preventing depression relapse/recurrence, reducing depressive symptoms, or improving life satisfaction than a rigorous ACC. Based on epidemiological data and evidence from prior depression prevention trials, we discuss the possibility that both MBCT and ACC confer equal therapeutic benefit. Future studies that include treatment as usual (TAU) control conditions are needed to confirm this possibility and to rule out the potential role of time-related effects. Overall findings underscore the importance of comparing MBCT to TAU as well as to ACCs.

  View details for PubMedID 30146148

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC6112178

• Reappraising faces: effects on accountability appraisals, self-reported valence, and pupil diameter. Cognition & emotion Yih, J., Sha, H., Beam, D. E., Parvizi, J., Gross, J. J. 2018: 1–10

  Abstract

  Many of our emotions arise in social contexts, as we interact with and learn about others. What is not yet clear, however, is how such emotions unfold when we either react to others or attempt to regulate our emotions. To address this issue, 30 healthy volunteers reacted to or reappraised positive or negative information that was paired with neutral faces. While they were doing this task, we assessed pupillary responses. We also asked participants to provide ratings of accountability and experienced emotion. Findings indicated that appraised accountability increased in response to emotional information, and changes in accountability were associated with commensurate changes in valence reports and increased pupil diameter. During reappraisal, accountability and emotion decreased, but pupil diameter increased. The findings highlight the importance of accountability appraisals during the generation and regulation of emotional reactions to others, while also documenting pupillary increases during emotional reactivity and regulation.

  View details for PubMedID 30092708

• Emotion regulation in teachers: The "why" and "how" TEACHING AND TEACHER EDUCATION Taxer, J. L., Gross, J. J. 2018; 74: 180–89

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.tate.2018.05.008

  View details for Web of Science ID 000436650300016

• Better together: a unified perspective on appraisal and emotion regulation. Cognition & emotion Yih, J., Uusberg, A., Taxer, J. L., Gross, J. J. 2018: 1–7

  Abstract

  Advances in our understanding of appraisal processes and emotion regulation have been two of the most important contributions of research on cognition and emotion in recent decades. Interestingly, however, progress in these two areas has been less mutually informative than one might expect or desire. To help remedy this situation, we provide an integration of appraisal theory and the process model of emotion regulation by describing parallel, interacting and iterative systems for emotion generation and emotion regulation. Outputs of the emotion generation system are perceived by the emotion regulation system, and emotion regulation strategies then modulate emotion by intervening at specific stages of the emotion generation system, ultimately changing appraisal dimensions. We hope that our unified perspective will encourage and guide future research at the interface of cognition and emotion.

  View details for PubMedID 30058449

• Understanding dehumanization: The role of agency and communion JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY Formanowicz, M., Goldenberg, A., Saguy, T., Pietraszkiewicz, A., Walker, M., Gross, J. J. 2018; 77: 102–16

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.jesp.2018.04.003

  View details for Web of Science ID 000436886900009

• Evidence for Common and Unique Brain Structures Underlying Emotion Regulation With Different Strategies and Valence: A Developmental Study Poppe, A., Novotny, S., Chung, Y., Pearlson, G., Kober, H., Phillips, M., Ochsner, K., Gross, J., Stevens, M. ELSEVIER SCIENCE INC. 2018: S145–S146

  View details for Web of Science ID 000432466300358

• Reappraisal of Personal Criticism in Social Anxiety Disorder: A Brain Network Perspective Jacob, Y., Shany, O., Goldin, P., Gross, J., Hendler, T. ELSEVIER SCIENCE INC. 2018: S360–S361

  View details for Web of Science ID 000433001900322

• Is Neural Processing of Negative Stimuli Altered in Addiction Independent of Drug Effects? Findings From Drug-Naive Youth with Internet Gaming Disorder NEUROPSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY Yip, S. W., Gross, J. J., Chawla, M., Ma, S., Shi, X., Liu, L., Yao, Y., Zhu, L., Worhunsky, P. D., Zhang, J. 2018; 43 (6): 1364–72

  Abstract

  Difficulties in emotion regulation are commonly reported among individuals with alcohol and drug addictions and contribute to the acquisition and maintenance of addictive behaviors. Alterations in neural processing of negative affective stimuli have further been demonstrated among individuals with addictions. However, it is unclear whether these alterations are a general feature of addictions or are a result of prolonged exposure to drugs of abuse. To test the hypothesis of altered negative affect processing independent of drug effects, this study assessed neural function among drug-naïve youth with a behavioral addiction-Internet gaming disorder (IGD). Fifty-six young adults (28 with IGD, 28 matched controls) participated in fMRI scanning during performance of a well-validated emotion regulation task. Between-group differences in neural activity during task performance were assessed using a whole-brain, mixed-effects ANOVA with correction for multiple comparisons at currently recommended thresholds (voxel-level p<0.001, pFWE<0.05). Compared to controls, youth with IGD exhibited significantly blunted neural responses within distributed subcortical and cortical regions including the striatum, insula, lateral prefrontal cortex and anterior cingulate in response to negative affective cues, as well as during emotion regulation. Independent component analysis (ICA) further identified between-group differences in engagement of a fronto-cingulo-parietal network, involving decreased engagement in IGD youth relative to controls. Study findings are largely consistent with those from prior neuroimaging studies in substance-use disorders, thus raising the possibility that neural processing of negative affect may be blunted across drug and behavioral addictions independent of acute or chronic drug effects.

  View details for PubMedID 29154365

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC5916358

• Estradiol Modulation of Female Adolescent Emotion Regulation Chung, Y., Poppe, A., Novotny, S., Epperson, C., Kober, H., Ochsner, K., Gross, J., Pearlson, G., Stevens, M. ELSEVIER SCIENCE INC. 2018: S362

  View details for Web of Science ID 000433001900326

• Individual Differences in Executive Functioning, Emotion Regulation Traits, and Their Neural Correlates During Successful Cognitive Reappraisal Novotny, S., Chung, Y., Poppe, A., Pearlson, G., Kober, H., Phillips, M. L., Ochsner, K., Gross, J., Stevens, M. ELSEVIER SCIENCE INC. 2018: S146

  View details for Web of Science ID 000432466300359

• Emotional clarity and attention to emotions in cognitive behavioral group therapy and mindfulness-based stress reduction for social anxiety disorder JOURNAL OF ANXIETY DISORDERS Butler, R. M., Boden, M. T., Olino, T. M., Morrison, A. S., Goldin, P. R., Gross, J. J., Heimberg, R. G. 2018; 55: 31–38

  Abstract

  We examined (1) differences between controls and patients with social anxiety disorder (SAD) in emotional clarity and attention to emotions; (2) changes in emotional clarity and attention to emotions associated with cognitive-behavioral group therapy (CBGT), mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR), or a waitlist (WL) condition; and (3) whether emotional clarity and attention to emotions moderated changes in social anxiety across treatment. Participants were healthy controls (n = 37) and patients with SAD (n = 108) who were assigned to CBGT, MBSR, or WL in a randomized controlled trial. At pretreatment, posttreatment, and 12-month follow-up, patients with SAD completed measures of social anxiety, emotional clarity, and attention to emotions. Controls completed measures at baseline only. At pretreatment, patients with SAD had lower levels of emotional clarity than controls. Emotional clarity increased significantly among patients receiving CBGT, and changes were maintained at 12-month follow-up. Emotional clarity at posttreatment did not differ between CBGT and MBSR or between MBSR and WL. Changes in emotional clarity predicted changes in social anxiety, but emotional clarity did not moderate treatment outcome. Analyses of attention to emotions were not significant. Implications for the role of emotional clarity in the treatment of SAD are discussed.

  View details for PubMedID 29558650

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC5879018

• Reappraising Test Anxiety Increases Academic Performance of First-Year College Students JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY Brady, S. T., Hard, B., Gross, J. J. 2018; 110 (3): 395–406

  View details for DOI 10.1037/edu0000219

  View details for Web of Science ID 000429737200006

• Why do we do what we do? The Attention-Readiness-Motivation framework SOCIAL AND PERSONALITY PSYCHOLOGY COMPASS Suri, G., Shine, J. M., Gross, J. J. 2018; 12 (4)

  View details for DOI 10.1111/spc3.12382

  View details for Web of Science ID 000429579200008

• Cognitive Reappraisal Intervention for Suicide Prevention (CRISP) for Middle-Aged and Older Adults Hospitalized for Suicidality AMERICAN JOURNAL OF GERIATRIC PSYCHIATRY Kiosses, D. N., Alexopoulos, G. S., Hajcak, G., Apfeldorf, W., Duberstein, P. R., Putrino, D., Gross, J. J. 2018; 26 (4): 494–503

  Abstract

  Middle-aged and older adults constitute a high suicide-risk group. Among adults aged 50 years old and older, suicide rates increased and suicide deaths almost doubled during the period from 2000 to 2015. Suicide rates are elevated for patients hospitalized for suicidality (i.e., active suicidal ideation or suicide attempt) and the 3 months post-hospitalization is the time of the highest suicide risk. Psychosocial interventions for middle-aged and older adults hospitalized for suicidality are sparse. In this article, we present the main aspects, stages, techniques and a clinical case study of Cognitive Reappraisal Intervention for Suicide Prevention (CRISP), a psychosocial intervention targeting cognitive reappraisal to reduce suicide risk in middle-aged and older adults who have been recently hospitalized for suicidal ideation or a suicide attempt. CRISP is based on the theory that hospitalization for suicidality is preceded by an emotional crisis ("perfect storm"); this emotional crisis is related to personalized (patient- and situation-specific) triggers; and identifying these personalized triggers and the associated negative emotions and providing strategies for an adaptive response to these triggers and negative emotions will reduce suicidal ideation and improve suicide prevention. CRISP therapists identify these triggers of negative emotions and use cognitive reappraisal techniques to reduce these negative emotions. The cognitive reappraisal techniques have been selected from different psychosocial interventions and the affective neuroscience literature and have been simplified for use with middle-aged and older adults. CRISP may fill a treatment need for the post-discharge high-risk period for middle-aged and older adults hospitalized for suicidality.

  View details for PubMedID 29395858

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC5860974

• An investigation into the drivers of avolition in schizophrenia PSYCHIATRY RESEARCH Suri, G., Lavaysse, L. M., Young, G., Moodie, C., Tersakyan, A., Gross, J. J., Gard, D. E. 2018; 261: 225–31

  Abstract

  Over a century of research has documented that avolition is a core symptom in schizophrenia. However, the drivers of avolition remain unclear. Conceptually, there are at least two potential mutually compatible drivers that could cause avolition in schizophrenia. First, people with schizophrenia might have differences in preferences that result in less goal-directed behavior than non-clinical populations (preference-differences). Second, people with schizophrenia might have difficulty translating their preferences into manifest behavior at rates similar to non-clinical populations (psychological-inertia). In the present work, we modified and validated a well-validated paradigm from the motivation/decision making literature to compare levels of preference-differences and psychological-inertia. To measure preference-differences, people with and without schizophrenia choose between a lower-valenced and higher-valenced image. We measured the rate at which the normatively lower-valenced image was preferred. To measure psychological-inertia, both groups were given the opportunity to volitionally switch from a lower-valenced image and view a higher-valenced image. Contrary to expectations, people with schizophrenia did not differ on either preference-differences or psychological-inertia. Statistical analysis revealed that the possibility of a Type II error for even a weak effect was small. The present data suggest new avenues for research investigating mechanisms underlying avolition and clinical interventions targeting avolition in schizophrenia.

  View details for PubMedID 29329039

• Emotion regulation choice: the role of orienting attention and action readiness CURRENT OPINION IN BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES Ghafur, R. D., Suri, G., Gross, J. J. 2018; 19: 31–35

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.cobeha.2017.08.016

  View details for Web of Science ID 000428954900007

• Profiling risk for depressive disorder by circuit, behavior and self-report measures of emotion function JOURNAL OF AFFECTIVE DISORDERS Watters, A. J., Korgaonkar, M. S., Carpenter, J. S., Harris, A. W. F., Gross, J. J., Williams, L. M. 2018; 227: 595–602

  Abstract

  Major depressive disorder (MDD) is characterized by maladaptions in affective brain circuitry and in emotion regulation. It remains unknown whether these maladaptions characterize first-degree relatives of probands who are unaffected yet have a higher risk of developing MDD.Participants were 72 unaffected first-degree relatives of probands with MDD and 66 matched non-relative controls. We investigated brain circuit function and self-reported emotion regulation strategies for reappraisal and suppression. During functional magnetic resonance imaging, we probed circuitry relevant to both negative and positive valence systems using facial expressions signaling potential threat, sadness and happiness, presented under both conscious and subliminal viewing conditions. We compared groups using a statistically controlled region of interest (ROI) approach including the amygdala, insula, anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), ventromedial prefrontal cortex and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. We also used a data-driven cluster analytic approach for characterizing the relatives by their brain function profiles.As a group, relatives were distinguished by hyper-reactivity of the pregenual ACC during subliminal viewing of threat-related expressions but hypo-activation of the amygdala, insula and dorsal ACC during explicit viewing of the same threat-related expressions and sadness. When considered individually, this brain function profile characterized two-thirds of relatives, and these relatives were also less likely to use reappraisal to regulate negative emotion.The design was cross-sectional and therefore does not provide direct evidence as to the trait- (versus state-) like profile observed in relatives.Familial risk for MDD may involve a disruption to the normal recruitment of neural circuits for appraising salient emotions, both implicit and explicit. Interventions targeting reappraisal strategies for regulating negative emotion may serve to buffer this risk.

  View details for PubMedID 29172052

• Emotion Regulation: Why Beliefs Matter CANADIAN PSYCHOLOGY-PSYCHOLOGIE CANADIENNE Ford, B. Q., Gross, J. J. 2018; 59 (1): 1–14

  View details for DOI 10.1037/cap0000142

  View details for Web of Science ID 000423875900001

• Altering the Trajectory of Affect and Affect Regulation: the Impact of Compassion Training MINDFULNESS Jazaieri, H., McGonigal, K., Lee, I. A., Jinpa, T., Doty, J. R., Gross, J. J., Goldin, P. R. 2018; 9 (1): 283–93

  View details for DOI 10.1007/s12671-017-0773-3

  View details for Web of Science ID 000422842100024

• Testing the impact and durability of a group malleability intervention in the context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Goldenberg, A., Cohen-Chen, S., Goyer, J., Dweck, C. S., Gross, J. J., Halperin, E. 2018; 115 (4): 696–701

  Abstract

  Fostering perceptions of group malleability (teaching people that groups are capable of change and improvement) has been shown to lead to short-term improvements in intergroup attitudes and willingness to make concessions in intractable conflicts. The present study, a field intervention involving 508 Israelis from three locations in Israel, replicated and substantially extended those findings by testing the durability of a group malleability intervention during a 6-month period of frequent violence. Three different 5-hour-long interventions were administered as leadership workshops. The group malleability intervention was compared with a neutral coping intervention and, importantly, with a state-of-the-art perspective-taking intervention. The group malleability intervention proved superior to the coping intervention in improving attitudes, hope, and willingness to make concessions, and maintained this advantage during a 6-month period of intense intergroup conflict. Moreover, it was as good as, and in some respects superior to, the perspective-taking intervention. These findings provide a naturalistic examination of the potential of group malleability interventions to increase openness to conflict resolution.

  View details for PubMedID 29311299

• Beliefs about emotion: implications for avoidance-based emotion regulation and psychological health COGNITION & EMOTION De Castella, K., Platow, M. J., Tamir, M., Gross, J. J. 2018; 32 (4): 773–95

  Abstract

  People's beliefs about their ability to control their emotions predict a range of important psychological outcomes. It is not clear, however, whether these beliefs are playing a causal role, and if so, why this might be. In the current research, we tested whether avoidance-based emotion regulation explains the link between beliefs and psychological outcomes. In Study 1 (N = 112), a perceived lack of control over emotions predicted poorer psychological health outcomes (increased self-reported avoidance, lower well-being, and higher levels of clinical symptoms), and avoidance strategies indirectly explained these links between emotion beliefs and psychological health. In Study 2 (N = 101), we experimentally manipulated participants' emotion beliefs by leading participants to believe that they struggled (low regulatory self-efficacy) or did not struggle (high regulatory self-efficacy) with controlling their emotions. Participants in the low regulatory self-efficacy condition reported increased intentions to engage in avoidance strategies over the next month and were more likely to avoid seeking psychological help. When asked if they would participate in follow-up studies, these participants were also more likely to display avoidance-based emotion regulation. These findings provide initial evidence for the causal role of emotion beliefs in avoidance-based emotion regulation, and document their impact on psychological health-related outcomes.

  View details for PubMedID 28737108

• Emotion regulation choice: the role of environmental affordances COGNITION & EMOTION Suri, G., Sheppes, G., Young, G., Abraham, D., McRae, K., Gross, J. J. 2018; 32 (5): 963–71

  Abstract

  Which emotion regulation strategy one uses in a given context can have profound affective, cognitive, and social consequences. It is therefore important to understand the determinants of emotion regulation choice. Many prior studies have examined person-specific, internal determinants of emotion regulation choice. Recently, it has become clear that external variables that are properties of the stimulus can also influence emotion regulation choice. In the present research, we consider whether reappraisal affordances, defined as the opportunities for re-interpretation of a stimulus that are inherent in that stimulus, can shape individuals' emotion regulation choices. We show that reappraisal affordances have stability across people and across time (Study 1), and are confounded with emotional intensity for a standardised set of picture stimuli (Study 2). Since emotional intensity has been shown to drive emotion regulation choice, we construct a context in which emotional intensity is separable from reappraisal affordances (Study 3) and use this context to show that reappraisal affordances powerfully influence emotion regulation choice even when emotional intensity and discrete emotions are taken into account (Study 4).

  View details for PubMedID 28862078

• Testing the mindfulness-to-meaning theory: Evidence for mindful positive emotion regulation from a reanalysis of longitudinal data PLOS ONE Garland, E. L., Hanley, A. W., Goldin, P. R., Gross, J. J. 2017; 12 (12): e0187727

  Abstract

  The Mindfulness to Meaning Theory (MMT) provides a detailed process model of mindful positive emotion regulation.We conducted a post-hoc reanalysis of longitudinal data (N = 107) derived from a RCT of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) versus cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) for social anxiety disorder to model the core constructs of the MMT (attentional control, decentering, broadened awareness, reappraisal, and positive affect) in a multivariate path analysis.Findings indicated that increases in attentional control from baseline to post-training predicted increases in decentering by 3 months post-treatment (p<.01) that in turn predicted increases in broadened awareness of interoceptive and exteroceptive data by 6 months post-treatment (p<.001). In turn, broadened awareness predicted increases in the use of reappraisal by 9 months post-treatment (p<.01), which culminated in greater positive affect at 12 months post-treatment (p<.001). MBSR led to significantly greater increases in decentering (p<.05) and broadened awareness than CBT (p<.05). Significant indirect effects indicated that increases in decentering mediated the effect of mindfulness training on broadening awareness, which in turn mediated enhanced reappraisal efficacy.Results suggest that the mechanisms of change identified by the MMT form an iterative chain that promotes long-term increases in positive affectivity. Though these mechanisms may reflect common therapeutic factors that cut across mindfulness-based and cognitive-behavioral interventions, MBSR specifically boosts the MMT cycle by producing significantly greater increases in decentering and broadened awareness than CBT, providing support for the foundational assumption in the MMT that mindfulness training may be a key means of stimulating downstream positive psychological processes.

  View details for PubMedID 29211754

• PTSD Psychotherapy Outcome Predicted by Brain Activation During Emotional Reactivity and Regulation AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PSYCHIATRY Fonzo, G. A., Goodkind, M. S., Oathes, D. J., Zaiko, Y. V., Harvey, M., Peng, K. K., Weiss, M., Thompson, A. L., Zack, S. E., Lindley, S. E., Arnow, B. A., Jo, B., Gross, J. J., Rothbaum, B. O., Etkin, A. 2017; 174 (12): 1163–74

  View details for DOI 10.1176/appi.ajp.2017.16091072

  View details for Web of Science ID 000417355900010

• PTSD Psychotherapy Outcome Predicted by Brain Activation During Emotional Reactivity and Regulation. The American journal of psychiatry Fonzo, G. A., Goodkind, M. S., Oathes, D. J., Zaiko, Y. V., Harvey, M., Peng, K. K., Weiss, M. E., Thompson, A. L., Zack, S. E., Lindley, S. E., Arnow, B. A., Jo, B., Gross, J. J., Rothbaum, B. O., Etkin, A. 2017; 174 (12): 1163-1174

  Abstract

  Exposure therapy is an effective treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), but many patients do not respond. Brain functions governing treatment outcome are not well characterized. The authors examined brain systems relevant to emotional reactivity and regulation, constructs that are thought to be central to PTSD and exposure therapy effects, to identify the functional traits of individuals most likely to benefit from treatment.Individuals with PTSD underwent functional MRI (fMRI) while completing three tasks assessing emotional reactivity and regulation. Participants were then randomly assigned to immediate prolonged exposure treatment (N=36) or a waiting list condition (N=30). A random subset of the prolonged exposure group (N=17) underwent single-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) concurrent with fMRI to examine whether predictive activation patterns reflect causal influence within circuits. Linear mixed-effects modeling in line with the intent-to-treat principle was used to examine how baseline brain function moderated the effect of treatment on PTSD symptoms.At baseline, individuals with larger treatment-related symptom reductions (compared with the waiting list condition) demonstrated 1) greater dorsal prefrontal activation and 2) less left amygdala activation, both during emotion reactivity; 3) better inhibition of the left amygdala induced by single TMS pulses to the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex; and 4) greater ventromedial prefrontal/ventral striatal activation during emotional conflict regulation. Reappraisal-related activation was not a significant moderator of the treatment effect.Capacity to benefit from prolonged exposure in PTSD is gated by the degree to which prefrontal resources are spontaneously engaged when superficially processing threat and adaptively mitigating emotional interference, but not when deliberately reducing negative emotionality.

  View details for DOI 10.1176/appi.ajp.2017.16091072

  View details for PubMedID 28715908

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC5711543

• Selective Effects of Psychotherapy on Frontopolar Cortical Function in PTSD AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PSYCHIATRY Fonzo, G. A., Goodkind, M. S., Oathes, D. J., Zaiko, Y. V., Harvey, M., Peng, K. K., Weiss, M., Thompson, A. L., Zack, S. E., Mills-Finnerty, C. E., Rosenberg, B. M., Edelstein, R., Wright, R. N., Kole, C. A., Lindley, S. E., Arnow, B. A., Jo, B., Gross, J. J., Rothbaum, B. O., Etkin, A. 2017; 174 (12): 1175–84

  View details for DOI 10.1176/appi.ajp.2017.16091073

  View details for Web of Science ID 000417355900011

• The emotion regulation questionnaire in women with cancer: A psychometric evaluation and an item response theory analysis PSYCHO-ONCOLOGY Brandao, T., Schulz, M. S., Gross, J. J., Matos, P. 2017; 26 (10): 1647–53

  Abstract

  Emotion regulation is thought to play an important role in adaptation to cancer. However, the emotion regulation questionnaire (ERQ), a widely used instrument to assess emotion regulation, has not yet been validated in this context. This study addresses this gap by examining the psychometric properties of the ERQ in a sample of Portuguese women with cancer.The ERQ was administered to 204 women with cancer (mean age = 48.89 years, SD = 7.55). Confirmatory factor analysis and item response theory analysis were used to examine psychometric properties of the ERQ.Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the 2-factor solution proposed by the original authors (expressive suppression and cognitive reappraisal). This solution was invariant across age and type of cancer. Item response theory analyses showed that all items were moderately to highly discriminant and that items are better suited for identifying moderate levels of expressive suppression and cognitive reappraisal. Support was found for the internal consistency and test-retest reliability of the ERQ. The pattern of relationships with emotional control, alexithymia, emotional self-efficacy, attachment, and quality of life provided evidence of the convergent and concurrent validity for both dimensions of the ERQ.Overall, the ERQ is a psychometrically sound approach for assessing emotion regulation strategies in the oncological context. Clinical implications are discussed.

  View details for PubMedID 28010039

• Genetic and Environmental Influences on Emotion Regulation: A Twin Study of Cognitive Reappraisal and Expressive Suppression EMOTION McRae, K., Rhee, S., Gatt, J. M., Godinez, D., Williams, L. M., Gross, J. J. 2017; 17 (5): 772–77

  Abstract

  Previous studies have established that personality traits related to emotionality are moderately heritable. However, the relative heritability of the strategies people use to regulate emotions is unknown. The present study compared the magnitude of additive genetic, shared environmental, and nonshared environmental influences on 2 commonly used emotion regulation strategies: cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression. In 743 twin pairs (1,486 twins), we replicated previous estimates of heritability of neuroticism (a2 = .41). Furthermore, cognitive reappraisal was significantly less heritable and more influenced by nonshared environment (a2 = .20; e2 = .80) than either neuroticism or suppression (a2 = .35; e2 = .65), another emotion regulation strategy. Finally, Cholesky decomposition modeling suggested that while there were common genetic and environmental influences on neuroticism, reappraisal and suppression, there were also significant nonshared environmental influences common between reappraisal and adaptive emotional functioning after controlling for neuroticism and suppression. These findings highlight that different aspects of emotional processing, even the use of different emotion regulation strategies, are differentially heritable. The importance of the nonshared environmental influences specific to reappraisal and adaptive emotional functioning speaks to the potential impact of social context, social partners, and psychosocial interventions on reappraisal habits. (PsycINFO Database Record

  View details for PubMedID 28406678

• Out of Sight, Out of Mind? Accuracy and Bias in Emotion Regulation Trait Judgments JOURNAL OF PERSONALITY Eldesouky, L., English, T., Gross, J. J. 2017; 85 (4): 543–52

  Abstract

  The current study examined accuracy and bias in judging trait-level emotion regulation strategy use in romantic relationships and tested emotion-related and global predictors of these judgments.Both members of 120 heterosexual couples (Mage  = 20.39 years; 56.3% Caucasian) completed measures of emotion regulation (self-reported and perceived partner use of suppression and reappraisal), emotionality, emotional expressivity, and relationship quality.Romantic partners were relatively accurate in judging suppression and reappraisal, although they had a tendency to underestimate use of both strategies. Reappraisal use was overestimated more among targets higher in positive expressivity, whereas suppression use was underestimated among targets higher in emotionality. In addition, women overestimated their partner's reappraisal use more than did men, and higher relationship quality predicted more positive biases in judging emotion regulation patterns.These findings suggest that romantic partners can judge each other's emotion regulation patterns with some degree of accuracy, but certain biases exist for specific strategies. The amount of accuracy and bias in emotion regulation judgments within romantic relationships may be influenced by both specific emotion-related characteristics of targets and global characteristics that broadly affect personality judgments.

  View details for PubMedID 27152655

• Treating Social Anxiety Disorder with CBT: Impact on Emotion Regulation and Satisfaction with Life COGNITIVE THERAPY AND RESEARCH Jazaieri, H., Goldin, P. R., Gross, J. J. 2017; 41 (3): 406-416

  View details for DOI 10.1007/s10608-016-9762-4

  View details for Web of Science ID 000400443500008

• In God we trust? Neural measures reveal lower social conformity among non-religious individuals SOCIAL COGNITIVE AND AFFECTIVE NEUROSCIENCE Thiruchselvam, R., Gopi, Y., Kilekwang, L., Harper, J., Gross, J. J. 2017; 12 (6): 956–64

  Abstract

  Even in predominantly religious societies, there are substantial individual differences in religious commitment. Why is this? One possibility is that differences in social conformity (i.e. the tendency to think and behave as others do) underlie inclination towards religiosity. However, the link between religiosity and conformity has not yet been directly examined. In this study, we tested the notion that non-religious individuals show dampened social conformity, using both self-reported and neural (EEG-based ERPs) measures of sensitivity to others' influence. Non-religious vs religious undergraduate subjects completed an experimental task that assessed levels of conformity in a domain unrelated to religion (i.e. in judgments of facial attractiveness). Findings showed that, although both groups yielded to conformity pressures at the self-report level, non-religious individuals did not yield to such pressures in their neural responses. These findings highlight a novel link between religiosity and social conformity, and hold implications for prominent theories about the psychological functions of religion.

  View details for PubMedID 28338784

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC5472117

• Understanding mixed emotions: paradigms and measures CURRENT OPINION IN BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES Kreibig, S. D., Gross, J. J. 2017; 15: 62–71

  Abstract

  In this review, we examine the paradigms and measures available for experimentally studying mixed emotions in the laboratory. For eliciting mixed emotions, we describe a mixed emotions film library that allows for the repeated elicitation of a specific homogeneous mixed emotional state and appropriately matched pure positive, pure negative, and neutral emotional states. For assessing mixed emotions, we consider subjective and objective measures that fall into univariate, bivariate, and multivariate measurement categories. As paradigms and measures for objectively studying mixed emotions are still in their early stages, we conclude by outlining future directions that focus on the reliability, temporal dynamics, and response coherence of mixed emotions paradigms and measures. This research will build a strong foundation for future studies and significantly advance our understanding of mixed emotions.

  View details for PubMedID 28804752

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC5548140

• Socioeconomic Status as a Predictor of Mortality in Patients Admitted With Atrial Fibrillation AMERICAN JOURNAL OF CARDIOLOGY Kargoli, F., Shulman, E., Aagaard, P., Briceno, D. F., Hoch, E., Di Biase, L., Fisher, J. D., Gross, J., Kim, S. G., Krumerman, A., Ferrick, K. J. 2017; 119 (9): 1378-1381

  Abstract

  Lower socioeconomic status (SES) is associated with a higher risk of cardiovascular disease. However, the association between SES and mortality in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) is not clear. We examined whether SES predicts all-cause mortality in patients hospitalized with AF. This is a retrospective study of patients aged >18 years, admitted with a primary diagnosis of AF to Montefiore Medical Center between 2000 and 2010. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to determine predictors of survival adjusted for age, gender, heart failure, diabetes mellitus, chronic kidney disease, previous myocardial infraction, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, hypertension, peripheral vascular disease, and SES. SES was determined using the New York City Department of Health Standardized Score (a log composite score of household income, value of housing units, net rental income, household occupations, and educational level). The cohort was divided into quartiles based on SES score, with Q4 the highest and Q1 the lowest SES score. There were 4,503 patients identified with a mean follow up of 4.5 years in the following SES quartiles: Q1 (n = 1,132), Q2 (n = 1,119), Q3 (n = 1,126), and Q4 (n = 1,126). The unadjusted mortality varied across quartiles (Q1 to Q4), 54%, 58%, 56%, and 59%, respectively (p = 0.004). After controlling for other variables in the multivariable analysis, patients with the lowest SES (Q1) had a significantly higher mortality than patients in the quartile with the highest (Q4) SES (odds ratio 1.3, CI 1.1 to 1.5). In conclusion, patients admitted to the hospital with AF have varying mortality based on their SES. After controlling for co-morbidities, patients with AF and lower SES scores had higher mortality. Further research studies are warranted to study this risk of increased mortality in AF population.

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.amjcard.2017.01.041

  View details for PubMedID 28400027

• Reducing behavioural risk factors for cancer: An affect regulation perspective. Psychology & health O'Leary, D., Suri, G., Gross, J. J. 2017: 1-23

  Abstract

  Nearly half of all cancer deaths are attributable to preventable causes, primarily unhealthy behaviours such as tobacco use, alcohol use and overeating. In this review, we argue that people engage in these behaviours, at least in part, as a means of regulating their affective states. To better understand why people engage in these behaviours and how researchers might design interventions to promote the selection of healthier methods for regulating affect, we propose a conceptual model of affect regulation. We synthesise research from both the stress and coping tradition as well as the emotion and emotion regulation tradition, two literatures that are not typically integrated. In so doing, we indicate where researchers have made headway in understanding these behaviours as affect regulation and note how our model could be used to structure future work in a way that would be particularly advantageous to cancer control efforts.

  View details for DOI 10.1080/08870446.2017.1314480

  View details for PubMedID 28402140

• Emotion regulation strategy selection in daily life: The role of social context and goals MOTIVATION AND EMOTION English, T., Lee, I. A., John, O. P., Gross, J. J. 2017; 41 (2): 230-242

  Abstract

  Recent studies have begun to document the diversity of ways people regulate their emotions. However, one unanswered question is why people regulate their emotions as they do in everyday life. In the present research, we examined how social context and goals influence strategy selection in daily high points and low points. As expected, suppression was particularly tied to social features of context: it was used more when others were present, especially non-close partners, and when people had instrumental goals, especially more interpersonal ones (e.g., avoid conflict). Distraction and reappraisal were used more when regulating for hedonic reasons (e.g., to feel better), but these strategies were also linked to certain instrumental goals (e.g., getting work done). When contra-hedonic regulation occurred, it primarily took the form of dampening positive emotion during high points. Suppression was more likely to be used for contra-hedonic regulation, whereas reappraisal and distraction were used more for pro-hedonic regulation. Overall, these findings highlight the social nature of emotion regulation and underscore the importance of examining regulation in both positive and negative contexts.

  View details for DOI 10.1007/s11031-016-9597-z

  View details for Web of Science ID 000397476200007

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC5482525

• Emotional compensation in parents JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY Goldenberg, A., Enav, Y., Halperin, E., Saguy, T., Gross, J. J. 2017; 69: 150-155

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.jesp.2016.10.008

  View details for Web of Science ID 000392774500016

• Why are Extraverts more Satisfied? Personality, Social Experiences, and Subjective Well-being in College EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF PERSONALITY Harris, K., English, T., Harms, P. D., Gross, J. J., Jackson, J. J. 2017; 31 (2): 170-186

  View details for DOI 10.1002/per.2101

  View details for Web of Science ID 000399652000003

• Homesickness and Adjustment Across the First Year of College: A Longitudinal Study EMOTION English, T., Davis, J., Wei, M., Gross, J. J. 2017; 17 (1): 1-5

  Abstract

  Homesickness can put individuals at risk for a host of adjustment difficulties. The millions of students that leave home for college each year may be particularly susceptible to experiencing homesickness. There is little work, however, examining individual variation in homesickness over time and how these changes predict different outcomes in college. The present study examines weekly levels of homesickness during the first term of college and tests the associations between homesickness and various aspects of adjustment. Results showed that, on average, homesickness decreased slightly across the first semester of college, but there were individual differences in homesickness trajectories. Freshmen who reported higher levels of homesickness showed worse overall adjustment to college, even when controlling for negative emotional experience and prior adjustment. Homesickness was associated with poorer social outcomes, but these social difficulties were limited to interactions with others in the college environment. Academic outcomes were not adversely impacted by homesickness. Findings suggest that homesickness is a common experience for freshmen, and, despite its relatively transient nature, homesickness has important implications for college adjustment. (PsycINFO Database Record

  View details for DOI 10.1037/emo0000235

  View details for Web of Science ID 000394995500001

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC5280212

• Homesickness and adjustment across the first year of college: A longitudinal study. Emotion (Washington, D.C.) English, T., Davis, J., Wei, M., Gross, J. J. 2017; 17 (1): 1-5

  Abstract

  Homesickness can put individuals at risk for a host of adjustment difficulties. The millions of students that leave home for college each year may be particularly susceptible to experiencing homesickness. There is little work, however, examining individual variation in homesickness over time and how these changes predict different outcomes in college. The present study examines weekly levels of homesickness during the first term of college and tests the associations between homesickness and various aspects of adjustment. Results showed that, on average, homesickness decreased slightly across the first semester of college, but there were individual differences in homesickness trajectories. Freshmen who reported higher levels of homesickness showed worse overall adjustment to college, even when controlling for negative emotional experience and prior adjustment. Homesickness was associated with poorer social outcomes, but these social difficulties were limited to interactions with others in the college environment. Academic outcomes were not adversely impacted by homesickness. Findings suggest that homesickness is a common experience for freshmen, and, despite its relatively transient nature, homesickness has important implications for college adjustment. (PsycINFO Database Record

  View details for DOI 10.1037/emo0000235

  View details for PubMedID 27775406

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC5280212

• Emotion regulation related neural predictors of cognitive behavioral therapy response in social anxiety disorder. Progress in neuro-psychopharmacology & biological psychiatry Klumpp, H., Roberts, J., Kennedy, A. E., Shankman, S. A., Langenecker, S. A., Gross, J. J., Phan, K. L. 2017; 75: 106-112

  Abstract

  Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is characterized by aberrant prefrontal activity during reappraisal, an adaptive cognitive approach aimed at downregulating the automatic response evoked by a negative event. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is first-line psychotherapy for SAD, however, many remain symptomatic after treatment indicating baseline individual differences in neurofunctional activity may factor into CBT outcome. An emotion regulation strategy practiced in CBT is cognitive restructuring, a proxy for reappraisal. Therefore, neural response during reappraisal may serve as a brain-based predictor of CBT success. Prior to 12weeks of individual CBT, 34 patients with SAD completed a validated emotion regulation task during fMRI. Task instructions included 'Reappraise,' that is, use a cognitive approach to reduce affective state to a negative image, which was contrasted with looking at a negative image ('Look'). Regression results for Reappraise (vs. Look) revealed greater reduction in symptom severity was predicted by less pre-CBT activation in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). Regarding predictive validity, DLPFC significantly classified responder status. Post-hoc analysis revealed DLPFC activity, but not demographic data, baseline clinical measures, or reappraisal-related affective state during fMRI, significantly accounted for the variance in symptom reduction. Findings indicate patients with SAD are more likely to benefit from CBT if there is less pre-treatment DLPFC recruitment, a region strongly implicated in emotion regulation. Patients with reduced baseline frontal activation when reappraising negative stimuli may be especially helped by explicit cognitive interventions. Further research is necessary to establish DLPFC as a stable brain-based marker of treatment outcome.

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2017.01.010

  View details for PubMedID 28126372

• Negative Emotions and Suicidal Ideation during Psychosocial Treatments in Older Adults with Major Depression and Cognitive Impairment. The American journal of geriatric psychiatry : official journal of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry Kiosses, D. N., Gross, J. J., Banerjee, S., Duberstein, P. R., Putrino, D., Alexopoulos, G. S. 2017

  Abstract

  To examine the relationship of negative emotions with suicidal ideation during 12 weeks of Problem Adaptation Therapy (PATH) versus Supportive Therapy of Cognitively Impaired Older Adults (ST-CI), hypothesizing that improved negative emotions are associated with reduced suicidal ideation, PATH improves negative emotions more than ST-CI, and improved negative emotions, rather than other depression symptoms, predict reduction in suicidal ideation.In a randomized controlled trial of two home-delivered psychosocial interventions, 74 older participants (65-95 years old) with major depressive disorder and cognitive impairment were recruited in collaboration with community agencies. The sample reported less intense feelings than suicidal intention. Interventions and assessments were conducted in participants' homes. PATH focuses on improving emotion regulation, whereas ST-CI focuses on nonspecific therapeutic factors, such as understanding and empathy. Improved negative emotions were measured as improvement in Montgomery Asberg's Depression Rating Scales' (MADRS) observer ratings of sadness, anxiety, guilt, hopelessness, and anhedonia. Suicidal ideation was assessed with the MADRS Suicide Item.MADRS Negative Emotions scores were significantly associated with suicidal ideation during the course of treatment (F[1,165] = 12.73, p = 0.0005). PATH participants had significantly greater improvement in MADRS emotions than ST-CI participants (treatment group by time: F[1,63.2] = 7.02, p = 0.0102). Finally, improved negative emotions, between lagged and follow-up interview, significantly predicted reduction in suicidal ideation at follow-up interview (F[1, 96] = 9.95, p = 0.0022).Findings thatimprovement in negative emotions mediates reduction in suicidal ideation may guide the development of psychosocial interventions for reduction of suicidal ideation (clinicaltrials.gov; NCT00368940).

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.jagp.2017.01.011

  View details for PubMedID 28223082

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC5429870

• Self-views in social anxiety disorder: The impact of CBT versus MBSR. Journal of anxiety disorders Thurston, M. D., Goldin, P., Heimberg, R., Gross, J. J. 2017

  Abstract

  This study examines the impact of Cognitive-Behavioral Group Therapy (CBGT) versus Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) versus Waitlist (WL) on self-views in patients with social anxiety disorder (SAD). One hundred eight unmedicated patients with SAD were randomly assigned to 12 weeks of CBGT, MBSR, or WL, and completed a self-referential encoding task (SRET) that assessed self-endorsement of positive and negative self-views pre- and post-treatment. At baseline, 40 healthy controls (HCs) also completed the SRET. At baseline, patients with SAD endorsed greater negative and lesser positive self-views than HCs. Compared to baseline, patients in both CBGT and MBSR decreased negative self-views and increased positive self-views. Improvement in self-views, specifically increases in positive (but not decreases in negative) self-views, predicted CBGT- and MBSR-related decreases in social anxiety symptoms. Enhancement of positive self-views may be a shared therapeutic process for both CBGT and MBSR for SAD.

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.janxdis.2017.01.001

  View details for PubMedID 28108059

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC5376221

• Making Intergroup Contact More Fruitful: Enhancing Cooperation Between Palestinian and Jewish-Israeli Adolescents by Fostering Beliefs About Group Malleability SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGICAL AND PERSONALITY SCIENCE Goldenberg, A., Endevelt, K., Ran, S., Dweck, C. S., Gross, J. J., Halperin, E. 2017; 8 (1): 3-10

  View details for DOI 10.1177/1948550616672851

  View details for Web of Science ID 000392867300001

• Why Do People Believe What They Do? A Functionalist Perspective REVIEW OF GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY Boden, M. T., Berenbaum, H., Gross, J. J. 2016; 20 (4): 399-411

  View details for DOI 10.1037/gpr0000085

  View details for Web of Science ID 000393206200004

• Yes I can: Expected success promotes actual success in emotion regulation. Cognition & emotion Bigman, Y. E., Mauss, I. B., Gross, J. J., Tamir, M. 2016; 30 (7): 1380-1387

  Abstract

  People who expect to be successful in regulating their emotions tend to experience less frequent negative emotions and are less likely to suffer from depression. It is not clear, however, whether beliefs about the likelihood of success in emotion regulation can shape actual emotion regulation success. To test this possibility, we manipulated participants' beliefs about the likelihood of success in emotion regulation and assessed their subsequent ability to regulate their emotions during a negative emotion induction. We found that participants who were led to expect emotion regulation to be more successful were subsequently more successful in regulating their emotional responses, compared to participants in the control condition. Our findings demonstrate that expected success can contribute to actual success in emotion regulation.

  View details for DOI 10.1080/02699931.2015.1067188

  View details for PubMedID 26219200

• Empathy for positive and negative emotions in social anxiety disorder. Behaviour research and therapy Morrison, A. S., Mateen, M. A., Brozovich, F. A., Zaki, J., Goldin, P. R., Heimberg, R. G., Gross, J. J. 2016; 87: 232-242

  Abstract

  Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is associated with elevated negative and diminished positive affective experience. However, little is known about the way in which individuals with SAD perceive and respond emotionally to the naturally-unfolding negative and positive emotions of others, that is, cognitive empathy and affective empathy, respectively. In the present study, participants with generalized SAD (n = 32) and demographically-matched healthy controls (HCs; n = 32) completed a behavioral empathy task. Cognitive empathy was indexed by the correlation between targets' and participants' continuous ratings of targets' emotions, whereas affective empathy was indexed by the correlation between targets' and participants' continuous self-ratings of emotion. Individuals with SAD differed from HCs only in positive affective empathy: they were less able to vicariously share others' positive emotions. Mediation analyses revealed that poor emotional clarity and negative interpersonal perceptions among those with SAD might account for this finding. Future research using experimental methodology is needed to examine whether this finding represents an inability or unwillingness to share positive affect.

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.brat.2016.10.005

  View details for PubMedID 27816799

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC5142818

• White matter structure in the uncinate fasciculus: Implications for socio-affective deficits in Autism Spectrum Disorder. Psychiatry research Samson, A. C., Dougherty, R. F., Lee, I. A., Phillips, J. M., Gross, J. J., Hardan, A. Y. 2016; 255: 66-74

  Abstract

  Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) have social and communication deficits and difficulties regulating emotions. The brain bases of these socio-affective deficits are not yet clear, but one candidate is structural connectivity in the left uncinate fasciculus, which connects limbic temporal and frontal areas thought to be involved in socio-affective processing. In this study, we assessed white matter structure in the left and right uncinate fasciculus in 18 high-functioning individuals with ASD and 18 group-matched typically developing (TD) controls using Diffusion Tensor Imaging. To test specificity of the associations, we also examined the association between both uncinate fasciculi and restricted and repetitive behaviors. Compared to TD individuals, individuals with ASD had significantly lower fractional anisotropy (FA) in the left and right uncinate. Group status significantly moderated the association between left uncinate and socio-affective deficits, indicating that within the ASD group, FA was associated with socio-affective deficits: Individuals with ASD with lower FA in the left uncinate had significantly more social and emotion regulation deficits. There was no association with restricted and repetitive behaviors. This study provides evidence that the left uncinate may play a critical role in socio-affective skills in individuals with ASD.

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.pscychresns.2016.08.004

  View details for PubMedID 27552717

• Neural processing of emotional-intensity predicts emotion regulation choice. Social cognitive and affective neuroscience Shafir, R., Thiruchselvam, R., Suri, G., Gross, J. J., Sheppes, G. 2016

  Abstract

  Emotional-intensity is a core characteristic of affective events that strongly determines how individuals choose to regulate their emotions. Our conceptual framework suggests that in high emotional-intensity situations, individuals prefer to disengage attention using distraction, which can more effectively block highly potent emotional information, as compared with engagement reappraisal, which is preferred in low emotional-intensity. However, existing supporting evidence remains indirect because prior intensity categorization of emotional stimuli was based on subjective measures that are potentially biased and only represent the endpoint of emotional-intensity processing. Accordingly, this study provides the first direct evidence for the role of online emotional-intensity processing in predicting behavioral regulatory-choices. Utilizing the high temporal resolution of event-related potentials, we evaluated online neural processing of stimuli's emotional-intensity (late positive potential, LPP) prior to regulatory-choices between distraction and reappraisal. Results showed that enhanced neural processing of intensity (enhanced LPP amplitudes) uniquely predicted (above subjective measures of intensity) increased tendency to subsequently choose distraction over reappraisal. Additionally, regulatory-choices led to adaptive consequences, demonstrated in finding that actual implementation of distraction relative to reappraisal-choice resulted in stronger attenuation of LPPs and self-reported arousal.

  View details for PubMedID 27522091

• Emotion regulation involves both model-based and model-free processes. Nature reviews. Neuroscience Etkin, A., Büchel, C., Gross, J. J. 2016; 17 (8): 532-?

  View details for DOI 10.1038/nrn.2016.79

  View details for PubMedID 27277866

• Emotion Regulation: A Transdiagnostic Perspective on a New RDoC Domain COGNITIVE THERAPY AND RESEARCH Fernandez, K. C., Jazaieri, H., Gross, J. J. 2016; 40 (3): 426-440

  Abstract

  It is widely agreed that emotion regulation plays an important role in many psychological disorders. We make the case that emotion regulation is in fact a key transdiagnostic factor, using the Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) as an organizing framework. In particular, we first consider how transdiagnostic and RDoC approaches have extended categorical views. Next, we examine links among emotion generation, emotion regulation, and psychopathology, with particular attention to key emotion regulation stages including identification, strategy selection, implementation, and monitoring. We then propose that emotion regulation be viewed as a sixth domain in the RDoC matrix, and provide a brief overview of how the literature has used the RDoC units of analyses to study emotion regulation. Finally, we highlight opportunities for future research and make recommendations for assessing and treating psychopathology.

  View details for DOI 10.1007/s10608-016-9772-2

  View details for Web of Science ID 000374853300014

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC4979607

• The Interaction of Testosterone and Cortisol Is Associated With Attained Status in Male Executives JOURNAL OF PERSONALITY AND SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY Sherman, G. D., Lerner, J. S., Josephs, R. A., Renshon, J., Gross, J. J. 2016; 110 (6): 921-929

  Abstract

  Are hormone levels associated with the attainment of social status? Although endogenous testosterone predicts status-seeking social behaviors, research suggests that the stress hormone cortisol may inhibit testosterone's effects. Thus, individuals with both high testosterone and low cortisol may be especially likely to occupy high-status positions in social hierarchies while individuals with high testosterone and high cortisol may not. We tested this hypothesis by recruiting a sample of real executives and examining testosterone, cortisol, and a concrete indicator of attained status: the number of subordinates over which the executive has authority. Despite the myriad nonhormonal factors that determine organizational promotion, the executives' endogenous testosterone and cortisol interacted to significantly predict hierarchical position: Testosterone positively predicted executives' number of subordinates, but only among low-cortisol executives. The results imply that reducing cortisol levels via stress reduction may be a critical goal not only because doing so will improve health but also because doing so may enhance leadership potential. (PsycINFO Database Record

  View details for DOI 10.1037/pspp0000063

  View details for Web of Science ID 000378233700009

  View details for PubMedID 26302434

• Pre-treatment social anxiety severity moderates the impact of mindfulness-based stress reduction and aerobic exercise. Psychology and psychotherapy Jazaieri, H., Lee, I. A., Goldin, P. R., Gross, J. J. 2016; 89 (2): 229-234

  Abstract

  We examined whether social anxiety severity at pre-treatment would moderate the impact of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) or aerobic exercise (AE) for generalized social anxiety disorder. MBSR and AE produced equivalent reductions in weekly social anxiety symptoms. Improvements were moderated by pre-treatment social anxiety severity.Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) and aerobic exercise (AE) are effective in reducing symptoms of social anxiety. Pre-treatment social anxiety severity can be used to inform treatment recommendations. Both MBSR and AE produced equivalent reductions in weekly levels of social anxiety symptoms. MBSR appears to be most effective for patients with lower pre-treatment social anxiety symptom severity. AE appears to be most effective for patients with higher pre-treatment social anxiety symptom severity.

  View details for DOI 10.1111/papt.12060

  View details for PubMedID 25684277

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC4537407

• The Process Model of Group-Based Emotion: Integrating Intergroup Emotion and Emotion Regulation Perspectives. Personality and social psychology review Goldenberg, A., Halperin, E., van Zomeren, M., Gross, J. J. 2016; 20 (2): 118-141

  Abstract

  Scholars interested in emotion regulation have documented the different goals and strategies individuals have for regulating their emotions. However, little attention has been paid to the regulation of group-based emotions, which are based on individuals' self-categorization as a group member and occur in response to situations perceived as relevant for that group. We propose a model for examininggroup-based emotion regulationthat integrates intergroup emotions theory and the process model of emotion regulation. This synergy expands intergroup emotion theory by facilitating further investigation of different goals (i.e., hedonic or instrumental) and strategies (e.g., situation selection and modification strategies) used to regulate group-based emotions. It also expands emotion regulation research by emphasizing the role of self-categorization (e.g., as an individual or a group member) in the emotional process. Finally, we discuss the promise of this theoretical synergy and suggest several directions for future research on group-based emotion regulation.

  View details for DOI 10.1177/1088868315581263

  View details for PubMedID 25870386

• Group CBT Versus MBSR for Social Anxiety Disorder: A Randomized Controlled Trial JOURNAL OF CONSULTING AND CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY Goldin, P. R., Morrison, A., Jazaieri, H., Brozovich, F., Heimberg, R., Gross, J. J. 2016; 84 (5): 427-437

  Abstract

  The goal of this study was to investigate treatment outcome and mediators of cognitive-behavioral group therapy (CBGT) versus mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) versus waitlist (WL) in patients with generalized social anxiety disorder (SAD).One hundred eight unmedicated patients (55.6% female; mean age = 32.7 years, SD = 8.0; 43.5% Caucasian, 39% Asian, 9.3% Hispanic, 8.3% other) were randomized to CBGT versus MBSR versus WL and completed assessments at baseline, posttreatment/WL, and at 1-year follow-up, including the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale-Self-Report (primary outcome; Liebowitz, 1987) as well as measures of treatment-related processes.Linear mixed model analysis showed that CBGT and MBSR both produced greater improvements on most measures compared with WL. Both treatments yielded similar improvements in social anxiety symptoms, cognitive reappraisal frequency and self-efficacy, cognitive distortions, mindfulness skills, attention focusing, and rumination. There were greater decreases in subtle avoidance behaviors following CBGT than MBSR. Mediation analyses revealed that increases in reappraisal frequency, mindfulness skills, attention focusing, and attention shifting, and decreases in subtle avoidance behaviors and cognitive distortions, mediated the impact of both CBGT and MBSR on social anxiety symptoms. However, increases in reappraisal self-efficacy and decreases in avoidance behaviors mediated the impact of CBGT (vs. MBSR) on social anxiety symptoms.CBGT and MBSR both appear to be efficacious for SAD. However, their effects may be a result of both shared and unique changes in underlying psychological processes.

  View details for DOI 10.1037/ccp0000092

  View details for Web of Science ID 000374765200005

  View details for PubMedID 26950097

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC4837056

• X Emotional suppression in early marriage: Actor, partner, and similarity effects on marital quality JOURNAL OF SOCIAL AND PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS Velotti, P., Balzarotti, S., Tagliabue, S., English, T., Zavattini, G. C., Gross, J. J. 2016; 33 (3): 277-302

  View details for DOI 10.1177/0265407515574466

  View details for Web of Science ID 000373921100001

• Age Differences in Emotion Regulation Choice: Older Adults Use Distraction Less Than Younger Adults in High-Intensity Positive Contexts. journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences Martins, B., Sheppes, G., Gross, J. J., Mather, M. 2016

  Abstract

  Previous research demonstrates that younger and older adults prefer distraction over engagement (reappraisal) when regulating high-intensity negative emotion. Older adults also demonstrate a greater bias for positive over negative information in attention and memory compared with younger adults. In this study, we investigated whether emotion regulation choice preferences may differ as a function of stimulus valence with age.The effect of stimulus intensity on negative and positive emotion regulation strategy preferences was investigated in younger and older men. Participants indicated whether they favored distraction or reappraisal to attenuate emotional reactions to negative and positive images that varied in intensity.Men in both age-groups preferred distraction over reappraisal when regulating high-intensity emotion. As no age-related strategic differences were found in negative emotion regulation preferences, older men chose to distract less from high-intensity positive images than did younger men.Older men demonstrated greater engagement with highly positive emotional contexts than did younger men. Thus, age differences in emotion regulation goals when faced with intense emotional stimuli depend on the valence of the emotional stimuli.

  View details for PubMedID 27013535

• Anxiety trajectories in response to a speech task in social anxiety disorder: Evidence from a randomized controlled trial of CBT. Journal of anxiety disorders Morrison, A. S., Brozovich, F. A., Lee, I. A., Jazaieri, H., Goldin, P. R., Heimberg, R. G., Gross, J. J. 2016; 38: 21-30

  Abstract

  The subjective experience of anxiety plays a central role in cognitive behavioral models of social anxiety disorder (SAD). However, much remains to be learned about the temporal dynamics of anxiety elicited by feared social situations. The aims of the current study were: (1) to compare anxiety trajectories during a speech task in individuals with SAD (n=135) versus healthy controls (HCs; n=47), and (2) to compare the effects of CBT on anxiety trajectories with a waitlist control condition. SAD was associated with higher levels of anxiety and greater increases in anticipatory anxiety compared to HCs, but not differential change in anxiety from pre- to post-speech. CBT was associated with decreases in anxiety from pre- to post-speech but not with changes in absolute levels of anticipatory anxiety or rates of change in anxiety during anticipation. The findings suggest that anticipatory experiences should be further incorporated into exposures.

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.janxdis.2015.12.006

  View details for PubMedID 26760456

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC4764396

• Attentional blink impairment in social anxiety disorder: Depression comorbidity matters JOURNAL OF BEHAVIOR THERAPY AND EXPERIMENTAL PSYCHIATRY Morrison, A. S., Brozovich, F. A., Lakhan-Pal, S., Jazaieri, H., Goldin, P. R., Heimberg, R. G., Gross, J. J. 2016; 50: 209-214

  Abstract

  Difficulties with attentional control have long been thought to play a key role in anxiety and depressive disorders. However, the nature and extent of attentional control difficulties in social anxiety disorder (SAD) are not yet well understood. The current study was designed to assess whether attentional control for non-emotional information is impaired in SAD when taking comorbid depression into account..Individuals with SAD and healthy controls (HCs) were administered an attentional blink (AB) task in which they identified number targets in a rapid serial visual presentation stream of letters.Individuals with SAD and current comorbid depression exhibited reduced accuracy to identify a target that fell within the AB window after the presentation of a first target compared to individuals with SAD without current comorbid depression, as well as to HCs. The latter two groups did not differ from each other, and the three groups did not differ in accuracy for the second target when it was presented after the AB window.Although we included two clinical groups and the sample size for the non-comorbid SAD group was large, the comorbid SAD group was relatively small.These results suggest that impaired attentional control among individuals with SAD may be limited to those suffering from current comorbid depression..

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.jbtep.2015.08.006

  View details for Web of Science ID 000367213200028

  View details for PubMedID 26370394

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC4679612

• A wandering mind is a less caring mind: Daily experience sampling during compassion meditation training JOURNAL OF POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY Jazaieri, H., Lee, I. A., McGonigal, K., Jinpa, T., Doty, J. R., Gross, J. J., Goldin, P. R. 2016; 11 (1): 37-50

  View details for DOI 10.1080/17439760.2015.1025418

  View details for Web of Science ID 000364555300004

• Social-Psychological Interventions for Intergroup Reconciliation: An Emotion Regulation Perspective PSYCHOLOGICAL INQUIRY Cehajic-Clancy, S., Goldenberg, A., Gross, J. J., Halperin, E. 2016; 27 (2): 73-88

  View details for DOI 10.1080/1047840X.2016.1153945

  View details for Web of Science ID 000375293200001

• Situational Strategies for Self-Control PERSPECTIVES ON PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE Duckworth, A. L., Gendler, T., Gross, J. J. 2016; 11 (1): 35–55

  Abstract

  Exercising self-control is often difficult, whether declining a drink in order to drive home safely, passing on the chocolate cake to stay on a diet, or ignoring text messages to finish reading an important paper. But enacting self-control is not always difficult, particularly when it takes the form of proactively choosing or changing situations in ways that weaken undesirable impulses or potentiate desirable ones. Examples of situational self-control include the partygoer who chooses a seat far from where drinks are being poured, the dieter who asks the waiter not to bring around the dessert cart, and the student who goes to the library without a cell phone. Using the process model of self-control, we argue that the full range of self-control strategies can be organized by considering the timeline of the developing tempting impulse. Because impulses tend to grow stronger over time, situational self-control strategies-which can nip a tempting impulse in the bud-may be especially effective in preventing undesirable action. Ironically, we may underappreciate situational self-control for the same reason it is so effective-namely, that by manipulating our circumstances to advantage, we are often able to minimize the in-the-moment experience of intrapsychic struggle typically associated with exercising self-control.

  View details for PubMedID 26817725

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC4736542

• Eliciting positive, negative and mixed emotional states: A film library for affective scientists COGNITION & EMOTION Samson, A. C., Kreibig, S. D., Soderstrom, B., Wade, A. A., Gross, J. J. 2016; 30 (5): 827-856

  Abstract

  We describe the creation of a film library designed for researchers interested in positive (amusing), negative (repulsive), mixed (amusing and repulsive) and neutral emotional states. Three hundred 20- to 33-second film clips videotaped by amateurs were selected from video-hosting websites and screened in laboratory studies by 75 female participants on self-reported amusement and repulsion (Experiments 1 and 2). On the basis of pre-defined cut-off values, 51 positive, 39 negative, 59 mixed and 50 neutral film clips were selected. These film clips were then presented to 411 male and female participants in a large online study to identify film clips that reliably induced the target emotions (Experiment 3). Depending on the goal of the study, researchers may choose positive, negative, mixed or neutral emotional film clips on the basis of Experiments 1 and 2 or Experiment 3 ratings.

  View details for DOI 10.1080/02699931.2015.1031089

  View details for Web of Science ID 000375942100001

  View details for PubMedID 25929696

• Emotion Regulation in Alcohol Dependence ALCOHOLISM-CLINICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH Petit, G., Luminet, O., Maurage, F., Tecco, J., Lechantre, S., Ferauge, M., Gross, J. J., de Timary, P. 2015; 39 (12): 2471-2479

  Abstract

  The main aim of this study was to investigate, in alcohol-dependent (AD) patients, the use of the 5 emotion regulation strategies specified in Gross's (1998, Rev Gen Psychol, 2, 271) process model of emotion regulation with the use of a semi-structured interview allowing a detailed and high-quality assessment of emotion regulation strategies. A secondary aim was to examine the possible influence of protracted abstinence and detoxification on emotion dysregulation. Finally, the association between the level of craving and the types of regulation strategies was investigated.Forty-four treatment-seeking AD patients with varying time spent in rehabilitation, and 26 healthy controls were interviewed using a version of the Emotion Regulation Interview (Werner et al., 2011, J Psychopathol Behav Assess, 33, 346) adapted to alcohol dependence.Compared to controls, AD patients reported significantly greater use of response modulation and attentional deployment, but lesser use of cognitive change. Among patients, (1) rehabilitation duration was positively correlated with the use of cognitive change and (2) the use of response modulation was positively associated with the level of craving.These findings clarify the specific pattern of emotion dysregulation associated with alcohol dependence. They also suggest that (1) abstinence is associated with a shift toward more adaptive emotion regulation patterns and that (2) inefficient regulation strategies may lead to craving and the maintenance of alcohol use. If these findings are confirmed through longitudinal and mediation designs, they will have important clinical implications.

  View details for DOI 10.1111/acer.12914

  View details for Web of Science ID 000368140200023

• Emotion Regulation in Alcohol Dependence. Alcoholism, clinical and experimental research Petit, G., Luminet, O., Maurage, F., Tecco, J., Lechantre, S., Ferauge, M., Gross, J. J., de Timary, P. 2015; 39 (12): 2471-9

  Abstract

  The main aim of this study was to investigate, in alcohol-dependent (AD) patients, the use of the 5 emotion regulation strategies specified in Gross's (1998, Rev Gen Psychol, 2, 271) process model of emotion regulation with the use of a semi-structured interview allowing a detailed and high-quality assessment of emotion regulation strategies. A secondary aim was to examine the possible influence of protracted abstinence and detoxification on emotion dysregulation. Finally, the association between the level of craving and the types of regulation strategies was investigated.Forty-four treatment-seeking AD patients with varying time spent in rehabilitation, and 26 healthy controls were interviewed using a version of the Emotion Regulation Interview (Werner et al., 2011, J Psychopathol Behav Assess, 33, 346) adapted to alcohol dependence.Compared to controls, AD patients reported significantly greater use of response modulation and attentional deployment, but lesser use of cognitive change. Among patients, (1) rehabilitation duration was positively correlated with the use of cognitive change and (2) the use of response modulation was positively associated with the level of craving.These findings clarify the specific pattern of emotion dysregulation associated with alcohol dependence. They also suggest that (1) abstinence is associated with a shift toward more adaptive emotion regulation patterns and that (2) inefficient regulation strategies may lead to craving and the maintenance of alcohol use. If these findings are confirmed through longitudinal and mediation designs, they will have important clinical implications.

  View details for DOI 10.1111/acer.12914

  View details for PubMedID 26613633

• The Role of Action Readiness in Motivated Behavior JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY-GENERAL Suri, G., Sheppes, G., Gross, J. J. 2015; 144 (6): 1105-1113

  Abstract

  According to many theories of motivation and decision making, the principal driver of human behavior is the valuation of actions. Action value is computed as the difference between stimulus value (the benefits and costs inherent in the stimulus that is the target of the action) and action costs (the effort required to perform the action). In the present work, we propose that action costs are crucially influenced by the readiness to perform a given action. We define action readiness as the ease with which an action may be initiated given the preaction launch state of the individual. An action that has been frequently or recently performed or rehearsed has a high level of action readiness, whereas an action that has not been frequently or recently performed or rehearsed has a low level of action readiness. By our account, if action readiness levels are high for a given action, decreased action costs may result in action even when the stimulus value is relatively low. Conversely, if action readiness levels are low for a given action, even action costs that appear negligible can dominate positive stimulus values, resulting in seemingly puzzling instances of inaction. We develop and test these ideas in 3 studies across 233 participants using an image-viewing decision context and a logistic prediction model.

  View details for DOI 10.1037/xge0000114

  View details for Web of Science ID 000365615200012

  View details for PubMedID 26436428

• Maladaptive Behavior in Autism Spectrum Disorder: The Role of Emotion Experience and Emotion Regulation. Journal of autism and developmental disorders Samson, A. C., Hardan, A. Y., Lee, I. A., Phillips, J. M., Gross, J. J. 2015; 45 (11): 3424-3432

  Abstract

  Maladaptive behavior is common in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). However, the factors that give rise to maladaptive behavior in this context are not well understood. The present study examined the role of emotion experience and emotion regulation in maladaptive behavior in individuals with ASD and typically developing (TD) participants. Thirty-one individuals with ASD and 28 TD participants and their parents completed questionnaires assessing emotion experience, regulation, and maladaptive behavior. Compared to TD participants, individuals with ASD used cognitive reappraisal less frequently, which was associated with increased negative emotion experience, which in turn was related to greater levels of maladaptive behavior. By decreasing negative emotions, treatments targeting adaptive emotion regulation may therefore reduce maladaptive behaviors in individuals with ASD.

  View details for DOI 10.1007/s10803-015-2388-7

  View details for PubMedID 25711546

• The neural bases of emotion regulation NATURE REVIEWS NEUROSCIENCE Etkin, A., Buechel, C., Gross, J. J. 2015; 16 (11): 693-?

  Abstract

  Emotions are powerful determinants of behaviour, thought and experience, and they may be regulated in various ways. Neuroimaging studies have implicated several brain regions in emotion regulation, including the ventral anterior cingulate and ventromedial prefrontal cortices, as well as the lateral prefrontal and parietal cortices. Drawing on computational approaches to value-based decision-making and reinforcement learning, we propose a unifying conceptual framework for understanding the neural bases of diverse forms of emotion regulation.

  View details for DOI 10.1038/nrn4044

  View details for Web of Science ID 000363273000010

• The neural bases of emotion regulation. Nature reviews. Neuroscience Etkin, A., Büchel, C., Gross, J. J. 2015; 16 (11): 693-700

  Abstract

  Emotions are powerful determinants of behaviour, thought and experience, and they may be regulated in various ways. Neuroimaging studies have implicated several brain regions in emotion regulation, including the ventral anterior cingulate and ventromedial prefrontal cortices, as well as the lateral prefrontal and parietal cortices. Drawing on computational approaches to value-based decision-making and reinforcement learning, we propose a unifying conceptual framework for understanding the neural bases of diverse forms of emotion regulation.

  View details for DOI 10.1038/nrn4044

  View details for PubMedID 26481098

• Relapse Prevention in Major Depressive Disorder: Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy Versus an Active Control Condition JOURNAL OF CONSULTING AND CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY Shallcross, A. J., Gross, J. J., Visvanathan, P. D., Kumar, N., Palfrey, A., Ford, B. Q., Dimidjian, S., Shirk, S., Holm-Denoma, J., Goode, K. M., Cox, E., Chaplin, W., Mauss, I. B. 2015; 83 (5): 964-975

  Abstract

  We evaluated the comparative effectiveness of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) versus an active control condition (ACC) for depression relapse prevention, depressive symptom reduction, and improvement in life satisfaction.Ninety-two participants in remission from major depressive disorder with residual depressive symptoms were randomized to either an 8-week MBCT or a validated ACC that is structurally equivalent to MBCT and controls for nonspecific effects (e.g., interaction with a facilitator, perceived social support, treatment outcome expectations). Both interventions were delivered according to their published manuals.Intention-to-treat analyses indicated no differences between MBCT and ACC in depression relapse rates or time to relapse over a 60-week follow-up. Both groups experienced significant and equal reductions in depressive symptoms and improvements in life satisfaction. A significant quadratic interaction (Group × Time) indicated that the pattern of depressive symptom reduction differed between groups. The ACC experienced immediate symptom reduction postintervention and then a gradual increase over the 60-week follow-up. The MBCT group experienced a gradual linear symptom reduction. The pattern for life satisfaction was identical but only marginally significant.MBCT did not differ from an ACC on rates of depression relapse, symptom reduction, or life satisfaction, suggesting that MBCT is no more effective for preventing depression relapse and reducing depressive symptoms than the active components of the ACC. Differences in trajectory of depressive symptom improvement suggest that the intervention-specific skills acquired may be associated with differential rates of therapeutic benefit. This study demonstrates the importance of comparing psychotherapeutic interventions to active control conditions.

  View details for DOI 10.1037/ccp0000050

  View details for Web of Science ID 000361226400011

  View details for PubMedID 26371618

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC4571290

• Adolescent Defense Style as Correlate of Problem Behavior. Zeitschrift fu¨r Kinder- und Jugendpsychiatrie und Psychotherapie Huemer, J., Shaw, R. J., Prunas, A., Hall, R., Gross, J., Steiner, H. 2015; 43 (5): 345-350

  Abstract

  Adolescent problem behaviors are often the visible results of intrapsychic distress. Defensive reactions are the unconscious means of managing intrapsychic distress. This cross-sectional study examines the strength of defensive style as measured by self-report on the Response Evaluation Measure (REM-71) relative to age, sex, and SES, as a correlate of internalizing and externalizing problem behaviors, as assessed by the Youth Self Report (YSR).A sample of 1,487 students from two suburban high schools completed self-report measures of defense style, self-esteem, and internalizing and externalizing problem behaviors. Demographic variables (age, sex, and SES) were included as covariates.Mature and immature defense style correlated as expected with problem behaviors. Demographic variables contributed minimally to the variance in the outcome variable.Defense style, as assessed by the REM-71, is a significant correlate of clinically elevated internalizing and externalizing problem behaviors in youth as in adults. This study adds to the convergent validity of the REM-71.

  View details for DOI 10.1024/1422-4917/a000368

  View details for PubMedID 26373385

• Emotion regulation in autism spectrum disorder: evidence from parent interviews and children's daily diaries. Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines Samson, A. C., Wells, W. M., Phillips, J. M., Hardan, A. Y., Gross, J. J. 2015; 56 (8): 903-913

  Abstract

  Although emotion dysregulation is not a defining feature of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), there is a growing consensus that emotional problems play a prominent role in this disorder.The present study examined a wide range of emotion regulation (ER) strategies in 32 individuals with ASD compared to 31 group-matched typically developing (TD) participants in three emotional domains (anger, anxiety, and amusement). Parents of individuals with ASD and TD individuals were interviewed about their child's emotional experience and the use and efficacy of 10 ER strategies. In addition, participants filled out daily diaries on experience and regulation in the same emotional domains.Compared to TD individuals, parents reported that individuals with ASD experienced more anger and anxiety and less amusement, made less frequent use of a variety of adaptive ER strategies (e.g. problem solving, cognitive reappraisal), and made more frequent use of maladaptive strategies (e.g. repetitive behavior). Moreover, individuals with ASD were less effective at utilizing adaptive ER strategies. Self-reports showed differences in experience of amusement and in ER strategies for anger and anxiety, but not in experience of anger and anxiety.This study provides evidence that individuals with ASD less frequently use adaptive - but more frequently use maladaptive - ER strategies. Implications for ASD treatments that focus on increasing the use of adaptive strategies are discussed.

  View details for DOI 10.1111/jcpp.12370

  View details for PubMedID 25442191

• The Role of Attention in Motivated Behavior JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY-GENERAL Suri, G., Gross, J. J. 2015; 144 (4): 864-872

  Abstract

  All too frequently, people fail to take actions that are in their best interest (e.g., not taking necessary medications). Researchers have attempted to explain such behaviors by identifying subtle motivational forces that foster an avoidance of attractive outcomes. However, in many cases, such motivational forces have been difficult to identify. We propose that failures such as these to act in valued ways are in some cases caused by insufficient levels of orienting attention. To test this hypothesis, we first created a laboratory analog of real-world failures to act in valued ways, 1 in which participants persisted in viewing lower-valenced images even though they could have, at no cost, viewed a higher-valenced image. When we experimentally increased their orienting attention toward a caption stating they had the option to switch, participants more frequently elected to view the higher valenced image (Studies 1a-c). In real-world behavioral contexts, increasing attention, without an apparent change in valuation, also led to increased levels of approach motivation in behavioral contexts involving purchasing apples (Study 2) and electing to take the stairs instead of the escalator (Studies 3a-c). In light of these findings, we consider the role of orienting attention in motivated behavior.

  View details for DOI 10.1037/xge0000088

  View details for Web of Science ID 000358693000017

• Nature experience reduces rumination and subgenual prefrontal cortex activation. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America Bratman, G. N., Hamilton, J. P., Hahn, K. S., Daily, G. C., Gross, J. J. 2015; 112 (28): 8567-8572

  Abstract

  Urbanization has many benefits, but it also is associated with increased levels of mental illness, including depression. It has been suggested that decreased nature experience may help to explain the link between urbanization and mental illness. This suggestion is supported by a growing body of correlational and experimental evidence, which raises a further question: what mechanism(s) link decreased nature experience to the development of mental illness? One such mechanism might be the impact of nature exposure on rumination, a maladaptive pattern of self-referential thought that is associated with heightened risk for depression and other mental illnesses. We show in healthy participants that a brief nature experience, a 90-min walk in a natural setting, decreases both self-reported rumination and neural activity in the subgenual prefrontal cortex (sgPFC), whereas a 90-min walk in an urban setting has no such effects on self-reported rumination or neural activity. In other studies, the sgPFC has been associated with a self-focused behavioral withdrawal linked to rumination in both depressed and healthy individuals. This study reveals a pathway by which nature experience may improve mental well-being and suggests that accessible natural areas within urban contexts may be a critical resource for mental health in our rapidly urbanizing world.

  View details for DOI 10.1073/pnas.1510459112

  View details for PubMedID 26124129

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC4507237

• The psychophysiology of mixed emotional states: Internal and external replicability analysis of a direct replication study PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGY Kreibig, S. D., Samson, A. C., Gross, J. J. 2015; 52 (7): 873-886

  Abstract

  The replicability of emotion-related physiological changes constitutes a fundamental issue in affective science. We undertook a direct replication of the physiological differentiation of amusement, disgust, and a mixed emotional state as previously reported (Kreibig, Samson, & Gross, 2013). In the current study, 48 women watched 54 amusing, disgusting, and mixed emotional film clips while cardiovascular, electrodermal, and respiratory measures were obtained. Primary analyses indicated physiological differentiation of the mixed emotional state from amusement and disgust. We evaluated (a) the probability that future replications of the current study would yield similar results using bootstrapped confidence intervals of effect sizes, and (b) the stability of results of physiological reactivity between actual replications using correlation and regression analyses. Findings suggest replicable differentiation of amusement, disgust, and a mixed emotional state.

  View details for DOI 10.1111/psyp.12425

  View details for Web of Science ID 000356069700002

  View details for PubMedID 25959633

• The benefits of nature experience: Improved affect and cognition LANDSCAPE AND URBAN PLANNING Bratman, G. N., Daily, G. C., Levy, B. J., Gross, J. J. 2015; 138: 41-50

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.landurbplan.2015.02.005

  View details for Web of Science ID 000355023000005

• Emotion Regulation Flexibility COGNITIVE THERAPY AND RESEARCH Aldao, A., Sheppes, G., Gross, J. J. 2015; 39 (3): 263-278

  View details for DOI 10.1007/s10608-014-9662-4

  View details for Web of Science ID 000354200800001

• Seated movement indexes emotion and its regulation in posttraumatic stress disorder. Psychophysiology Woodward, S. H., Shurick, A. A., Alvarez, J., Kuo, J., Nonyieva, Y., Blechert, J., McRae, K., Gross, J. J. 2015; 52 (5): 679-686

  Abstract

  This paper reports the results of a study that administered an emotion regulation task to Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom veterans diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder (27) and to healthy controls (23). Seated movement and postural responses were transduced with a sensitive accelerometer attached to the underside of a low-mass cantilevered chair. Consistent with prior studies in which subjects stood on force plates, aversive photographs induced attenuation of nondirectional movement in patients and controls. Regarding seated postural responses, controls leaned towards neutral photographs and away from aversive ones, while participants with PTSD did the opposite. Regulation had no impact on seated movement but was associated with a seated postural withdrawal from the computer screen.

  View details for DOI 10.1111/psyp.12386

  View details for PubMedID 25440497

• Positive Interventions: An Emotion Regulation Perspective PSYCHOLOGICAL BULLETIN Quoidbach, J., Mikolajczak, M., Gross, J. J. 2015; 141 (3): 655-693

  Abstract

  The rapid growth of the literature on positive interventions to increase "happiness" has suggested the need for an overarching conceptual framework to integrate the many and apparently disparate findings. In this review, we used the process model of emotion regulation (Gross, 1998) to organize the existing literature on positive interventions and to advance theory by clarifying the mechanisms underlying their effectiveness. We have proposed that positive emotions can be increased both in the short- and longer-term through 5 families of emotion regulation strategies (i.e., situation selection, situation modification, attentional deployment, cognitive change, and response modulation), showing how these emotion regulation strategies can be applied before, during, and after positive emotional events. Regarding short-term increases in positive emotions, our review found that attentional deployment, cognitive change, and response modulation strategies have received the most empirical support, whereas more work is needed to establish the effectiveness of situation selection and situation modification strategies. Regarding longer-term increases in positive emotions, strategies such as situation selection during an event and attentional deployment before, during, and after an event have received strong empirical support and are at the center of many positive interventions. However, more work is needed to establish the specific benefits of the other strategies, especially situation modification. We argue that our emotion regulation framework clarifies existing interventions and points the way for new interventions that might be used to increase positive emotions in both nonclinical and clinical populations.

  View details for DOI 10.1037/a0038648

  View details for Web of Science ID 000353725000006

  View details for PubMedID 25621978

• The temporal dynamics of emotional acceptance: Experience, expression, and physiology BIOLOGICAL PSYCHOLOGY Dan-Glauser, E. S., Gross, J. J. 2015; 108: 1-12

  Abstract

  Emotional acceptance has begun to attract considerable attention from researchers and clinicians alike. It is not yet clear, however, what effects emotional acceptance has on early emotion response dynamics. To address this question, participants (N = 37) were shown emotional pictures and cued either to simply attend to them, or to accept or suppress their emotional responses. Continuous measures of emotion experience, expressive behavior, and autonomic responses were obtained. Results indicated that, compared to no regulation, acceptance led to more positive emotions, transiently enhanced expressivity, and lowered respiratory rate. Compared to suppression, acceptance led to more positive emotions, stronger expressivity, and smaller changes in heart rate, blood pressure, and pulse amplitude, as well as greater oxygenation. Acceptance and suppression thus have opposite effects on emotional response dynamics. Because acceptance enhances positive emotion experience and expression, this strategy may be particularly useful in facilitating social interactions.

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2015.03.005

  View details for Web of Science ID 000353996100001

  View details for PubMedID 25782407

• A psychophysiological investigation of emotion regulation in chronic severe posttraumatic stress disorder. Psychophysiology Woodward, S. H., Shurick, A. A., Alvarez, J., Kuo, J., Nonyieva, Y., Blechert, J., McRae, K., Gross, J. J. 2015; 52 (5): 667-678

  Abstract

  There have been few direct examinations of the volitional control of emotional responses to provocative stimuli in PTSD. To address this gap, an emotion regulation task was administered to 27 Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom combat veterans and 23 healthy controls. Neutral and aversive photographs were presented to participants who did or did not employ emotion regulation strategies. Objective indices included corrugator electromyogram, the late positive potential, and the electrocardiogram. On uninstructed trials, participants with PTSD exhibited blunted cardiac reactivity rather than the exaggerated cardioacceleratory responses seen in trauma cue reactivity studies. On interleaved regulation trials, no measure evidenced group differences in voluntary emotion regulation. Persons with PTSD may not differ from normals in their capacity to voluntarily regulate normative emotional responses to provocative stimuli in the laboratory, though they may nevertheless respond differentially on uninstructed trials and endorse symptoms of dyscontrol pathognomonic of the disorder outside of the laboratory.

  View details for DOI 10.1111/psyp.12392

  View details for PubMedID 25516381

• Choosing How to Feel: Emotion Regulation Choice in Bipolar Disorder EMOTION Hay, A. C., Sheppes, G., Gross, J. J., Gruber, J. 2015; 15 (2): 139-145

  Abstract

  Individuals with bipolar disorder experience emotion regulation difficulties, even during remission, but are able to effectively employ emotion regulation strategies when instructed. We hypothesized that this puzzling discrepancy might be due to their maladaptive emotion regulation choices. To test this hypothesis, we used a previously validated paradigm (Sheppes, Scheibe, Suri, & Gross, 2011; Sheppes et al., 2014), and asked remitted individuals with bipolar I disorder (n = 25) and healthy individuals (n = 26) to view standardized positive and negative images of high and low intensity, and choose reappraisal or distraction to decrease their emotion intensity. Replicating and extending prior results, participants across both groups showed a pattern of choosing distraction more for high versus low intensity positive and negative images, but no between-groups differences were evident. These results suggest that emotion regulation choice patterns may be robust across samples, and add to growing evidence that several basic emotion regulation elements may remain intact in bipolar disorder. (PsycINFO Database Record

  View details for DOI 10.1037/emo0000024

  View details for Web of Science ID 000351948200003

  View details for PubMedID 25313669

• EVpedia: a community web portal for extracellular vesicles research BIOINFORMATICS Kim, D., Lee, J., Kim, S. R., Choi, D., Yoon, Y. J., Kim, J. H., Go, G., Nhung, D., Hong, K., Jang, S. C., Kim, S., Park, K., Kim, O. Y., Park, H. T., Seo, J. H., Aikawa, E., Baj-Krzyworzeka, M., van Balkom, B. W., Belting, M., Blanc, L., Bond, V., Bongiovanni, A., Borras, F. E., Buee, L., Buzas, E. I., Cheng, L., Clayton, A., Cocucci, E., Dela Cruz, C. S., Desiderio, D. M., Di Vizio, D., Ekstrom, K., Falcon-Perez, J. M., Gardiner, C., Giebel, B., Greening, D. W., Gross, J. C., Gupta, D., Hendrix, A., Hill, A. F., Hill, M. M., 't Hoen, E. N., Hwang, D. W., Inal, J., Jagannadham, M. V., Jayachandran, M., Jee, Y., Jorgensen, M., Kim, K. P., Kim, Y., Kislinger, T., Lasser, C., Lee, D. S., Lee, H., Van Leeuwen, J., Lener, T., Liu, M., Lotvall, J., Marcilla, A., Mathivanan, S., Moeller, A., Morhayim, J., Mullier, F., Nazarenko, I., Nieuwland, R., Nunes, D. N., Pang, K., Park, J., Patel, T., Pocsfalvi, G., del Portillo, H., Putz, U., Ramirez, M. I., Rodrigues, M. L., Roh, T., Royo, F., Sahoo, S., Schiffelers, R., Sharma, S., Siljander, P., Simpson, R. J., Soekmadji, C., Stahl, P., Stensballe, A., Stepien, E., Tahara, H., Trummer, A., Valadi, H., Vella, L. J., Wai, S. N., Witwer, K., Yanez-Mo, M., Youn, H., Zeidler, R., Gho, Y. S. 2015; 31 (6): 933-939

  Abstract

  Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are spherical bilayered proteolipids, harboring various bioactive molecules. Due to the complexity of the vesicular nomenclatures and components, online searches for EV-related publications and vesicular components are currently challenging.We present an improved version of EVpedia, a public database for EVs research. This community web portal contains a database of publications and vesicular components, identification of orthologous vesicular components, bioinformatic tools and a personalized function. EVpedia includes 6879 publications, 172 080 vesicular components from 263 high-throughput datasets, and has been accessed more than 65 000 times from more than 750 cities. In addition, about 350 members from 73 international research groups have participated in developing EVpedia. This free web-based database might serve as a useful resource to stimulate the emerging field of EV research.The web site was implemented in PHP, Java, MySQL and Apache, and is freely available at http://evpedia.info.

  View details for DOI 10.1093/bioinformatics/btu741

  View details for Web of Science ID 000352268900018

  View details for PubMedID 25388151

• Emotion beliefs and cognitive behavioural therapy for social anxiety disorder. Cognitive behaviour therapy De Castella, K., Goldin, P., Jazaieri, H., Heimberg, R. G., Dweck, C. S., Gross, J. J. 2015; 44 (2): 128-141

  Abstract

  Despite strong support for the efficacy of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) for social anxiety disorder (SAD), little is known about mechanisms of change in treatment. Within the context of a randomized controlled trial of CBT, this study examined patients' beliefs about the fixed versus malleable nature of anxiety-their 'implicit theories'-as a key variable in CBT for SAD. Compared to waitlist (n = 29; 58% female), CBT (n = 24; 52% female) led to significantly lower levels of fixed beliefs about anxiety (Mbaseline = 11.70 vs. MPost = 7.08, d = 1.27). These implicit beliefs indirectly explained CBT-related changes in social anxiety symptoms (κ(2) = .28, [95% CI = 0.12, 0.46]). Implicit beliefs also uniquely predicted treatment outcomes when controlling for baseline social anxiety and other kinds of maladaptive beliefs (perceived social costs, perceived social self-efficacy, and maladaptive interpersonal beliefs). Finally, implicit beliefs continued to predict social anxiety symptoms at 12 months post-treatment. These findings suggest that changes in patients' beliefs about their emotions may play an important role in CBT for SAD.

  View details for DOI 10.1080/16506073.2014.974665

  View details for PubMedID 25380179

• The Effect of Rumination and Reappraisal on Social Anxiety Symptoms During Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Social Anxiety Disorder JOURNAL OF CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY Brozovich, F. A., Goldin, P., Lee, I., Jazaieri, H., Heimberg, R. G., Gross, J. J. 2015; 71 (3): 208-218

  Abstract

  There is growing interest in the role of transdiagnostic processes in the onset, maintenance, and treatment of mental disorders (Nolen-Hoeksema & Watkins, 2011). Two such transdiagnostic processes-rumination and reappraisal-are the focus of the present study. The main objective was to examine the roles of rumination (thought to be harmful) and reappraisal (thought to be helpful) in adults with social anxiety disorder (SAD).We conducted a randomized controlled trial of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) with 75 adults with SAD and examined pre- to post-CBT changes as well as weekly fluctuations in rumination, reappraisal, and social anxiety symptoms.Socially anxious individuals' baseline rumination (brooding) scores predicted weekly levels of social anxiety, rumination, and reappraisal, whereas baseline reappraisal scores did not. Greater weekly rumination was associated with greater weekly social anxiety, but reappraisal was not related to social anxiety.These findings suggest that rumination may have a more significant role than reappraisal in understanding fluctuations in social anxiety during CBT for SAD.

  View details for DOI 10.1002/jclp.22132

  View details for Web of Science ID 000349780200002

  View details for PubMedID 25311952

• Reappraisal facilitates extinction in healthy and socially anxious individuals JOURNAL OF BEHAVIOR THERAPY AND EXPERIMENTAL PSYCHIATRY Blechert, J., Wilhelm, F. H., Williams, H., Braams, B. R., Jou, J., Gross, J. J. 2015; 46: 141-150

  Abstract

  Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) combines cognitive restructuring with exposure to feared stimuli in the treatment of anxiety disorders. Due to the complexities of cognition–emotion interactions during ongoing CBT, the underlying mechanisms remain unclear, which hinders treatment optimization.We created a laboratory analogue by combining reappraisal, a key ingredient of cognitive restructuring, with Pavlovian conditioning, a key ingredient in behavioral treatments. The novel differential Pavlovian acquisition and extinction task featured social stimuli as conditioned and unconditioned stimuli under unregulated and reappraisal instructions.Findings indicated that reappraising the conditioned stimuli attenuated acquisition (Study 1) and facilitated extinction (Study 2) of conditioned negative valence. In Study 3, highly socially anxious individuals showed deficient extinction learning relative to low socially anxious individuals but compensated for this by using reappraisal.Diagnostic status of participants was not assessed in structured clinical interviews.Reappraisal of feared stimuli could be useful in prevention and treatment of social anxiety.

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.jbtep.2014.10.001

  View details for Web of Science ID 000346625200021

  View details for PubMedID 25460260

• Reappraisal facilitates extinction in healthy and socially anxious individuals JOURNAL OF BEHAVIOR THERAPY AND EXPERIMENTAL PSYCHIATRY Blechert, J., Wilhelm, F. H., Williams, H., Braams, B. R., Jou, J., Gross, J. J. 2015; 46: 141-150

  Abstract

  Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) combines cognitive restructuring with exposure to feared stimuli in the treatment of anxiety disorders. Due to the complexities of cognition–emotion interactions during ongoing CBT, the underlying mechanisms remain unclear, which hinders treatment optimization.We created a laboratory analogue by combining reappraisal, a key ingredient of cognitive restructuring, with Pavlovian conditioning, a key ingredient in behavioral treatments. The novel differential Pavlovian acquisition and extinction task featured social stimuli as conditioned and unconditioned stimuli under unregulated and reappraisal instructions.Findings indicated that reappraising the conditioned stimuli attenuated acquisition (Study 1) and facilitated extinction (Study 2) of conditioned negative valence. In Study 3, highly socially anxious individuals showed deficient extinction learning relative to low socially anxious individuals but compensated for this by using reappraisal.Diagnostic status of participants was not assessed in structured clinical interviews.Reappraisal of feared stimuli could be useful in prevention and treatment of social anxiety.

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.jbtep.2014.10.001

  View details for Web of Science ID 000346625200021

  View details for PubMedID 25460260

• Integrating emotion regulation and emotional intelligence traditions: a meta-analysis FRONTIERS IN PSYCHOLOGY Pena-Sarrionandia, A., Mikolajczak, M., Gross, J. J. 2015; 6

  Abstract

  Two relatively independent research traditions have developed that address emotion management. The first is the emotion regulation (ER) tradition, which focuses on the processes which permit individuals to influence which emotions they have, when they have them, and how they experience and express these emotions. The second is the emotional intelligence (EI) tradition, which focuses-among other things-on individual differences in ER. To integrate these two traditions, we employed the process model of ER (Gross, 1998b) to review the literature on EI. Two key findings emerged. First, high EI individuals shape their emotions from the earliest possible point in the emotion trajectory and have many strategies at their disposal. Second, high EI individuals regulate their emotions successfully when necessary but they do so flexibly, thereby leaving room for emotions to emerge. We argue that ER and EI traditions stand to benefit substantially from greater integration.

  View details for DOI 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00160

  View details for Web of Science ID 000349838100001

  View details for PubMedID 25759676

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC4338658

• Emotion regulation in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder. Autism research Samson, A. C., Hardan, A. Y., Podell, R. W., Phillips, J. M., Gross, J. J. 2015; 8 (1): 9-18

  Abstract

  Emotion dysregulation is not a formal criterion for the diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, parents and clinicians have long noted the importance of emotional problems in individuals with ASD (e.g. tantrums and "meltdowns"). In this study, 21 high-functioning children and adolescents with ASD and 22 age and gender group-matched typically developing (TD) controls completed a Reactivity and Regulation Situation Task. This task assesses emotional reactivity and spontaneous use of emotion regulation strategies (problem solving, cognitive reappraisal, avoidance, distraction, venting, suppression, and relaxation) in the context of age-appropriate ambiguous and potentially threatening negative scenarios. After the concept of cognitive reappraisal was explained, the scenarios were presented again to participants, and they were prompted to use this strategy. Results indicated that individuals with ASD exhibited the same level of reactivity to negative stimuli as TD participants. Furthermore, youth with ASD had a different emotion regulation profile than TD individuals, characterized by a less frequent use of cognitive reappraisal and more frequent use of suppression. When prompted to use cognitive reappraisal, participants with ASD were less able to implement reappraisal, but benefitted from this strategy when they were able to generate a reappraisal. Findings from this study suggest that cognitive reappraisal strategies may be useful to children and adolescents with ASD. Therefore, the development of treatment programs that focus on enhancing the use of adaptive forms of emotion regulation might decrease emotional problems and optimize long-term outcomes in youth with ASD. Autism Res 2014, ●●: ●●-●●. © 2014 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  View details for DOI 10.1002/aur.1387

  View details for PubMedID 24863869

• Emotion Regulation in Children and Adolescents With Autism Spectrum Disorder AUTISM RESEARCH Samson, A. C., Hardan, A. Y., Podell, R. W., Phillips, J. M., Gross, J. J. 2015; 8 (1): 9-18

  Abstract

  Emotion dysregulation is not a formal criterion for the diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, parents and clinicians have long noted the importance of emotional problems in individuals with ASD (e.g. tantrums and "meltdowns"). In this study, 21 high-functioning children and adolescents with ASD and 22 age and gender group-matched typically developing (TD) controls completed a Reactivity and Regulation Situation Task. This task assesses emotional reactivity and spontaneous use of emotion regulation strategies (problem solving, cognitive reappraisal, avoidance, distraction, venting, suppression, and relaxation) in the context of age-appropriate ambiguous and potentially threatening negative scenarios. After the concept of cognitive reappraisal was explained, the scenarios were presented again to participants, and they were prompted to use this strategy. Results indicated that individuals with ASD exhibited the same level of reactivity to negative stimuli as TD participants. Furthermore, youth with ASD had a different emotion regulation profile than TD individuals, characterized by a less frequent use of cognitive reappraisal and more frequent use of suppression. When prompted to use cognitive reappraisal, participants with ASD were less able to implement reappraisal, but benefitted from this strategy when they were able to generate a reappraisal. Findings from this study suggest that cognitive reappraisal strategies may be useful to children and adolescents with ASD. Therefore, the development of treatment programs that focus on enhancing the use of adaptive forms of emotion regulation might decrease emotional problems and optimize long-term outcomes in youth with ASD. Autism Res 2014, ●●: ●●-●●. © 2014 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  View details for DOI 10.1002/aur.1387

  View details for Web of Science ID 000350458000002

  View details for PubMedID 24863869

• Launching Reappraisal: It's Less Common Than You Might Think EMOTION Suri, G., Whittaker, K., Gross, J. J. 2015; 15 (1): 73-77

  Abstract

  Cognitive reappraisal is thought to be ubiquitous. However, no studies have quantified how frequently people reappraise (vs. letting their emotional response go unregulated). To address this issue, the authors created a laboratory decision context in which participants watched a series of negatively valenced images, and in each case had the option of electing to reappraise to decrease negative affect. Given the many benefits and few costs associated with reappraisal, we expected that most images would be reappraised. However, to our surprise, participants implemented reappraisals for only 16% of images (Study 1). Regulatory rates remained low for both low- and high-intensity images, even when another regulatory option (i.e., distraction) was available (Study 2). The authors hypothesized that participants did not proactively reappraise because there were hidden costs associated with reappraisal. They considered 2 classes of costs: overcoming default bias and cognitive effort, and they measured the percentage of trials for which participants chose to reappraise using a fully crossed 2 × 2 design that examined the effects of removing defaults and of providing support in creating reappraisals. Removing defaults, but not providing reappraisal support, increased rates of reappraisal (Study 3). Everyday decision-making frequently involves default options. These results suggest that contextual variables (such as the presence of defaults) may play a large role in the decision to regulate emotions.

  View details for DOI 10.1037/emo0000011

  View details for Web of Science ID 000349612400008

  View details for PubMedID 24999912

• Emotion Reactivity and Regulation in Late-Life Generalized Anxiety Disorder: Functional Connectivity at Baseline and Post-Treatment AMERICAN JOURNAL OF GERIATRIC PSYCHIATRY Andreescu, C., Sheu, L. K., Tudorascu, D., Gross, J. J., Walker, S., Banihashemi, L., Aizenstein, H. 2015; 23 (2): 200-214

  Abstract

  Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is one of the most prevalent mental disorders in the elderly, but its functional neuroanatomy is not well understood. Given the role of emotion dysregulation in GAD, we sought to describe the neural bases of emotion regulation in late-life GAD by analyzing the functional connectivity (FC) in the Salience Network and the Executive Control Network during worry induction and worry reappraisal.The study included 28 elderly GAD and 31 non-anxious comparison participants. Twelve elderly GAD completed a 12-week pharmacotherapy trial. We used an in-scanner worry script that alternates blocks of worry induction and reappraisal. We assessed network FC, using the following seeds: anterior insula (AI), dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC), the bed nucleus of stria terminalis (BNST), and the paraventricular nucleus (PVN).GAD participants exhibited greater FC during worry induction between the left AI and the right orbitofrontal cortex, and between the BNST and the subgenual cingulate. During worry reappraisal, the non-anxious participants had greater FC between the left dlPFC and the medial PFC, as well as between the left AI and the medial PFC, and elderly GAD patients had greater FC between the PVN and the amygdala. Following 12 weeks of pharmacotherapy, GAD participants had greater connectivity between the dlPFC and several prefrontal regions during worry reappraisal.FC during worry induction and reappraisal points toward abnormalities in both worry generation and worry reappraisal. Following successful pharmacologic treatment, we observed greater connectivity in the prefrontal nodes of the Executive Control Network during reappraisal of worry.

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.jagp.2014.05.003

  View details for Web of Science ID 000347467700010

  View details for PubMedID 24996397

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC4234701

• Emotion Regulation: Current Status and Future Prospects PSYCHOLOGICAL INQUIRY Gross, J. J. 2015; 26 (1): 1-26

  View details for DOI 10.1080/1047840X.2014.940781

  View details for Web of Science ID 000350648700001

• The Extended Process Model of Emotion Regulation: Elaborations, Applications, and Future Directions REPLY PSYCHOLOGICAL INQUIRY Gross, J. J. 2015; 26 (1): 130-137

  View details for DOI 10.1080/1047840X.2015.989751

  View details for Web of Science ID 000350648700015

• The role of emotion and emotion regulation in social anxiety disorder. Current psychiatry reports Jazaieri, H., Morrison, A. S., Goldin, P. R., Gross, J. J. 2015; 17 (1): 531-?

  Abstract

  Many psychiatric disorders involve problematic patterns of emotional reactivity and regulation. In this review, we consider recent findings regarding emotion and emotion regulation in the context of social anxiety disorder (SAD). We first describe key features of SAD which suggest altered emotional and self-related processing difficulties. Next, we lay the conceptual foundation for a discussion of emotion and emotion regulation and present a common framework for understanding emotion regulation, the process model of emotion regulation. Using the process model, we evaluate the recent empirical literature spanning self-report, observational, behavioral, and physiological methods across five specific families of emotion regulation processes-situation selection, situation modification, attentional deployment, cognitive change, and response modulation. Next, we examine the empirical evidence behind two psychosocial interventions for SAD: cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR). Throughout, we present suggestions for future directions in the continued examination of emotion and emotion regulation in SAD.

  View details for DOI 10.1007/s11920-014-0531-3

  View details for PubMedID 25413637

• The Role of Emotion and Emotion Regulation in Social Anxiety Disorder CURRENT PSYCHIATRY REPORTS Jazaieri, H., Morrison, A. S., Goldin, P. R., Gross, J. J. 2015; 17 (1)

  Abstract

  Many psychiatric disorders involve problematic patterns of emotional reactivity and regulation. In this review, we consider recent findings regarding emotion and emotion regulation in the context of social anxiety disorder (SAD). We first describe key features of SAD which suggest altered emotional and self-related processing difficulties. Next, we lay the conceptual foundation for a discussion of emotion and emotion regulation and present a common framework for understanding emotion regulation, the process model of emotion regulation. Using the process model, we evaluate the recent empirical literature spanning self-report, observational, behavioral, and physiological methods across five specific families of emotion regulation processes-situation selection, situation modification, attentional deployment, cognitive change, and response modulation. Next, we examine the empirical evidence behind two psychosocial interventions for SAD: cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR). Throughout, we present suggestions for future directions in the continued examination of emotion and emotion regulation in SAD.

  View details for DOI 10.1007/s11920-014-0531-3

  View details for Web of Science ID 000350651900004

  View details for PubMedID 25413637

• Emotion Regulation and Psychopathology ANNUAL REVIEW OF CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY, VOL 11 Sheppes, G., Suri, G., Gross, J. J. 2015; 11: 379-405

  Abstract

  Emotional problems figure prominently in many clinical conditions. Recent efforts to explain and treat these conditions have emphasized the role of emotion dysregulation. However, emotional problems are not always the result of emotion dysregulation, and even when emotional problems do arise from emotion dysregulation, it is necessary to specify precisely what type of emotion dysregulation might be operative. In this review, we present an extended process model of emotion regulation, and we use this model to describe key points at which emotion-regulation difficulties can lead to various forms of psychopathology. These difficulties are associated with (a) identification of the need to regulate emotions, (b) selection among available regulatory options, (c) implementation of a selected regulatory tactic, and (d) monitoring of implemented emotion regulation across time. Implications and future directions for basic research, assessment, and intervention are discussed.

  View details for DOI 10.1146/annurev-clinpsy-032814-112739

  View details for Web of Science ID 000352014000016

  View details for PubMedID 25581242

• Stairs or Escalator? Using Theories of Persuasion and Motivation to Facilitate Healthy Decision Making JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY-APPLIED Suri, G., Sheppes, G., Leslie, S., Gross, J. J. 2014; 20 (4): 295-302

  Abstract

  To encourage an increase in daily activity, researchers have tried a variety of health-related communications, but with mixed results. In the present research-using the stair escalator choice context-we examined predictions derived from the Heuristic Systematic Model (HSM), Self Determination Theory (SDT), and related theories. Specifically, we tested whether (as predicted by HSM) signs that encourage heuristic processing ("Take the Stairs") would have greatest impact when placed at the stair/escalator point of choice (when processing time is limited), whereas signs that encourage systematic processing ("Will You Take the Stairs?") would have greatest impact when placed at some distance from the point of choice (when processing time is less limited). We also tested whether (as predicted by SDT) messages promoting autonomy would be more likely to result in sustained motivated behavior (i.e., stair taking at subsequent uncued choice points) than messages that use commands. A series of studies involving more than 9,000 pedestrians provided support for these predictions.

  View details for DOI 10.1037/xap0000026

  View details for Web of Science ID 000345705500001

  View details for PubMedID 25180946

• Impact of cognitive-behavioral therapy for social anxiety disorder on the neural bases of emotional reactivity to and regulation of social evaluation BEHAVIOUR RESEARCH AND THERAPY Goldin, P. R., Ziv, M., Jazaieri, H., Weeks, J., Heimberg, R. G., Gross, J. J. 2014; 62: 97-106

  Abstract

  We examined whether Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) for social anxiety disorder (SAD) would modify self-reported negative emotion and functional magnetic resonance imaging brain responses when reacting to and reappraising social evaluation, and tested whether changes would predict treatment outcome in 59 patients with SAD who completed CBT or waitlist groups. For reactivity, compared to waitlist, CBT resulted in (a) increased brain responses in right superior frontal gyrus (SFG), inferior parietal lobule (IPL), and middle occipital gyrus (MOG) when reacting to social praise, and (b) increases in right SFG and IPL and decreases in left posterior superior temporal gyrus (pSTG) when reacting to social criticism. For reappraisal, compared to waitlist, CBT resulted in greater (c) reductions in self-reported negative emotion, and (d) increases in brain responses in right SFG and MOG, and decreases in left pSTG. A linear regression found that after controlling for CBT-induced changes in reactivity and reappraisal negative emotion ratings and brain changes in reactivity to praise and criticism, reappraisal of criticism brain response changes predicted 24% of the unique variance in CBT-related reductions in social anxiety. Thus, one mechanism underlying CBT for SAD may be changes in reappraisal-related brain responses to social criticism.NCT00380731. http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00380731?term=social+anxiety+cognitive+behavioral+therapy+Stanford&rank=1.

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.brat.2014.08.005

  View details for Web of Science ID 000345471000010

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC4253719

• Impact of cognitive-behavioral therapy for social anxiety disorder on the neural bases of emotional reactivity to and regulation of social evaluation. Behaviour research and therapy Goldin, P. R., Ziv, M., Jazaieri, H., Weeks, J., Heimberg, R. G., Gross, J. J. 2014; 62: 97-106

  Abstract

  We examined whether Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) for social anxiety disorder (SAD) would modify self-reported negative emotion and functional magnetic resonance imaging brain responses when reacting to and reappraising social evaluation, and tested whether changes would predict treatment outcome in 59 patients with SAD who completed CBT or waitlist groups. For reactivity, compared to waitlist, CBT resulted in (a) increased brain responses in right superior frontal gyrus (SFG), inferior parietal lobule (IPL), and middle occipital gyrus (MOG) when reacting to social praise, and (b) increases in right SFG and IPL and decreases in left posterior superior temporal gyrus (pSTG) when reacting to social criticism. For reappraisal, compared to waitlist, CBT resulted in greater (c) reductions in self-reported negative emotion, and (d) increases in brain responses in right SFG and MOG, and decreases in left pSTG. A linear regression found that after controlling for CBT-induced changes in reactivity and reappraisal negative emotion ratings and brain changes in reactivity to praise and criticism, reappraisal of criticism brain response changes predicted 24% of the unique variance in CBT-related reductions in social anxiety. Thus, one mechanism underlying CBT for SAD may be changes in reappraisal-related brain responses to social criticism.NCT00380731. http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00380731?term=social+anxiety+cognitive+behavioral+therapy+Stanford&rank=1.

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.brat.2014.08.005

  View details for PubMedID 25193002

• The Eyes Have It: The Role of Attention in Cognitive Reappraisal of Social Stimuli EMOTION Manera, V., Samson, A. C., Pehrs, C., Lee, I. A., Gross, J. J. 2014; 14 (5): 833-839

  Abstract

  Cognitive reappraisal (CR) is a commonly used emotion-regulation strategy that has been shown to influence affective, cognitive, and social outcomes. Although progress has been made in elucidating the mechanisms underlying CR, the role of attention remains unclear. In the present study, we investigated the role of attention in CR by tracking participants' gazes during the presentation of videos depicting people in negative moods. Participants were asked to attend naturally or to use reappraisal to increase or decrease their emotions while viewing the videos. After each video, they rated their negative emotion experience. Results showed that participants spent more time looking at the emotional regions in the target's face (eyes and mouth) when asked to up-regulate their emotions, compared with when they simply attended to the videos. The reverse pattern was found for down-regulation of emotions. In addition, the effects of cognitive reappraisal on negative emotion experience were mediated by the time spent looking at the emotional regions, with a stronger effect for the down-regulation instruction. Finally, direct effects of regulation instruction on negative emotion were observed even when controlling for time spent viewing emotional regions, which suggests that attention and CR are distinct components that uniquely influence negative emotions. These results complement and extend previous findings on the role of attention in CR, and highlight the importance of taking attentional mechanisms into account when designing CR training.

  View details for DOI 10.1037/a0037350

  View details for Web of Science ID 000342502900001

• Social integration and mortality in patients with coronary heart disease: findings from the Heart and Soul Study. Psychosomatic medicine Kreibig, S. D., Whooley, M. A., Gross, J. J. 2014; 76 (8): 659-668

  Abstract

  To determine why lower social integration predicts higher mortality in patients with coronary heart disease (CHD).The association between social integration and mortality was examined prospectively in 1019 outpatients with stable CHD from the Heart and Soul Study. Baseline social integration was assessed with the Berkman Social Network Index. Cox proportional hazards models were used to determine the extent to which demographic and disease-relevant confounders and potential biological, behavioral, and psychological mediators explained the association between social integration and mortality.During a mean (standard deviation) follow-up period of 6.7 (2.3) years, the age-adjusted annual rate of mortality was 6.3% among socially isolated patients and 4.1% among nonisolated patients (age-adjusted hazard ratio [HR] = 1.61, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.26-2.05, p < .001). After adjustment for demographic and disease-relevant confounders, socially isolated patients had a 50% greater risk of death than did nonisolated patients (HR = 1.50, 95% CI = 1.07-2.10). Separate adjustment for potential biological (HR = 1.53, CI = 1.05-2.25) and psychological mediators (HR = 1.52, CI = 1.08-2.14) did not significantly attenuate this association, whereas adjustment for potential behavioral mediators did (HR = 1.30, CI = 0.91-1.86). C-reactive protein and hemoglobin A1c were identified as important biological and omega-3 fatty acids, smoking, and medication adherence as important behavioral potential mediators, with smoking making the largest contribution.In this sample of outpatients with baseline stable CHD, the association between social integration and mortality was largely explained by health-related behavioral pathways, particularly smoking.

  View details for DOI 10.1097/PSY.0000000000000100

  View details for PubMedID 25264970

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC4197069

• Self-Control and Grit: Related but Separable Determinants of Success CURRENT DIRECTIONS IN PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE Duckworth, A., Gross, J. J. 2014; 23 (5): 319-325

  Abstract

  Other than talent and opportunity, what makes some people more successful than others? One important determinant of success is self-control - the capacity to regulate attention, emotion, and behavior in the presence of temptation. A second important determinant of success is grit - the tenacious pursuit of a dominant superordinate goal despite setbacks. Self-control and grit are strongly correlated, but not perfectly so. This means that some people with high levels of self-control capably handle temptations but do not consistently pursue a dominant goal. Likewise, some exceptional achievers are prodigiously gritty but succumb to temptations in domains other than their chosen life passion. Understanding how goals are hierarchically organized clarifies how self-control and grit are related but distinct: Self-control entails aligning actions with any valued goal despite momentarily more-alluring alternatives; grit, in contrast, entails having and working assiduously toward a single challenging superordinate goal through thick and thin, on a timescale of years or even decades. Although both self-control and grit entail aligning actions with intentions, they operate in different ways and at different time scales. This hierarchical goal framework suggests novel directions for basic and applied research on success.

  View details for DOI 10.1177/0963721414541462

  View details for Web of Science ID 000343993700002

  View details for PubMedID 26855479

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC4737958

• Social Integration and Mortality in Patients With Coronary Heart Disease: Findings From the Heart and Soul Study PSYCHOSOMATIC MEDICINE Kreibig, S. D., Whooley, M. A., Gross, J. J. 2014; 76 (8): 659-668

  Abstract

  To determine why lower social integration predicts higher mortality in patients with coronary heart disease (CHD).The association between social integration and mortality was examined prospectively in 1019 outpatients with stable CHD from the Heart and Soul Study. Baseline social integration was assessed with the Berkman Social Network Index. Cox proportional hazards models were used to determine the extent to which demographic and disease-relevant confounders and potential biological, behavioral, and psychological mediators explained the association between social integration and mortality.During a mean (standard deviation) follow-up period of 6.7 (2.3) years, the age-adjusted annual rate of mortality was 6.3% among socially isolated patients and 4.1% among nonisolated patients (age-adjusted hazard ratio [HR] = 1.61, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.26-2.05, p < .001). After adjustment for demographic and disease-relevant confounders, socially isolated patients had a 50% greater risk of death than did nonisolated patients (HR = 1.50, 95% CI = 1.07-2.10). Separate adjustment for potential biological (HR = 1.53, CI = 1.05-2.25) and psychological mediators (HR = 1.52, CI = 1.08-2.14) did not significantly attenuate this association, whereas adjustment for potential behavioral mediators did (HR = 1.30, CI = 0.91-1.86). C-reactive protein and hemoglobin A1c were identified as important biological and omega-3 fatty acids, smoking, and medication adherence as important behavioral potential mediators, with smoking making the largest contribution.In this sample of outpatients with baseline stable CHD, the association between social integration and mortality was largely explained by health-related behavioral pathways, particularly smoking.

  View details for DOI 10.1097/PSY.0000000000000100

  View details for Web of Science ID 000343883900011

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC4197069

• Emotion Regulation and the Cultivation of Political Tolerance: Searching for a New Track for Intervention JOURNAL OF CONFLICT RESOLUTION Halperin, E., Pliskin, R., Saguy, T., Liberman, V., Gross, J. J. 2014; 58 (6): 1110-1138

  View details for DOI 10.1177/0022002713492636

  View details for Web of Science ID 000342576500008

• Implicit associations in social anxiety disorder: The effects of comorbid depression. Journal of anxiety disorders Wong, J., Morrison, A. S., Heimberg, R. G., Goldin, P. R., Gross, J. J. 2014; 28 (6): 537-546

  Abstract

  Implicit associations of the self to concepts like "calm" have been shown to be weaker in persons with social anxiety than in non-anxious healthy controls. However, other implicit self associations, such as those to acceptance or rejection, have been less studied in social anxiety, and none of this work has been conducted with clinical samples. Furthermore, the importance of depression in these relationships has not been well investigated. We addressed these issues by administering two Implicit Association Tests (IATs; Greenwald, McGhee, & Schwartz, 1998), one examining the implicit association of self/other to anxiety/calmness and the other examining the association of self/other to rejection/acceptance, to individuals with generalized social anxiety disorder (SAD, n=85), individuals with generalized SAD and a current or past diagnosis of major depressive disorder or current dysthymic disorder (n=47), and non-anxious, non-depressed healthy controls (n=44). The SAD and SAD-depression groups showed weaker implicit self-calmness associations than healthy controls, with the comorbid group showing the weakest self-calmness associations. The SAD-depression group showed the weakest implicit self-acceptance associations; no difference was found between non-depressed individuals with SAD and healthy controls. Post hoc analyses revealed that differences appeared to be driven by those with current depression. The SAD-only and SAD-depression groups did not differ in self-reported (explicit) social anxiety. The implications of these findings for the understanding of SAD-depression comorbidity and for the treatment of SAD are considered.

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.janxdis.2014.05.008

  View details for PubMedID 24983794

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC4134987

• Behavioral and neural correlates of increased self-control in the absence of increased willpower PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Magen, E., Kim, B., Dweck, C. S., Gross, J. J., McClure, S. M. 2014; 111 (27): 9786-9791

  Abstract

  People often exert willpower to choose a more valuable delayed reward over a less valuable immediate reward, but using willpower is taxing and frequently fails. In this research, we demonstrate the ability to enhance self-control (i.e., forgoing smaller immediate rewards in favor of larger delayed rewards) without exerting additional willpower. Using behavioral and neuroimaging data, we show that a reframing of rewards (i) reduced the subjective value of smaller immediate rewards relative to larger delayed rewards, (ii) increased the likelihood of choosing the larger delayed rewards when choosing between two real monetary rewards, (iii) reduced the brain reward responses to immediate rewards in the dorsal and ventral striatum, and (iv) reduced brain activity in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (a correlate of willpower) when participants chose the same larger later rewards across the two choice frames. We conclude that reframing can promote self-control while avoiding the need for additional willpower expenditure.

  View details for DOI 10.1073/pnas.1408991111

  View details for Web of Science ID 000338514800030

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC4103380

• Behavioral and neural correlates of increased self-control in the absence of increased willpower. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America Magen, E., Kim, B., Dweck, C. S., Gross, J. J., McClure, S. M. 2014; 111 (27): 9786-9791

  Abstract

  People often exert willpower to choose a more valuable delayed reward over a less valuable immediate reward, but using willpower is taxing and frequently fails. In this research, we demonstrate the ability to enhance self-control (i.e., forgoing smaller immediate rewards in favor of larger delayed rewards) without exerting additional willpower. Using behavioral and neuroimaging data, we show that a reframing of rewards (i) reduced the subjective value of smaller immediate rewards relative to larger delayed rewards, (ii) increased the likelihood of choosing the larger delayed rewards when choosing between two real monetary rewards, (iii) reduced the brain reward responses to immediate rewards in the dorsal and ventral striatum, and (iv) reduced brain activity in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (a correlate of willpower) when participants chose the same larger later rewards across the two choice frames. We conclude that reframing can promote self-control while avoiding the need for additional willpower expenditure.

  View details for DOI 10.1073/pnas.1408991111

  View details for PubMedID 24958892

• Emotion dysregulation and the core features of autism spectrum disorder. Journal of autism and developmental disorders Samson, A. C., Phillips, J. M., Parker, K. J., Shah, S., Gross, J. J., Hardan, A. Y. 2014; 44 (7): 1766-1772

  Abstract

  The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between emotion dysregulation and the core features of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), which include social/communication deficits, restricted/repetitive behaviors, and sensory abnormalities. An 18-item Emotion Dysregulation Index was developed on the basis of expert ratings of the Child Behavior Checklist. Compared to typically developing controls, children and adolescents with ASD showed more emotion dysregulation and had significantly greater symptom severity on all scales. Within ASD participants, emotion dysregulation was related to all core features of the disorder, but the strongest association was with repetitive behaviors. These findings may facilitate the development of more effective therapeutic strategies targeting emotion dysregulation in order to optimize long-term outcomes for individuals with ASD.

  View details for DOI 10.1007/s10803-013-2022-5

  View details for PubMedID 24362795

• Self-Control in School-Age Children EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGIST Duckworth, A. L., Gendler, T. S., Gross, J. J. 2014; 49 (3): 199-217

  View details for DOI 10.1080/00461520.2014.926225

  View details for Web of Science ID 000340119600003

• Fluid cognitive ability is a resource for successful emotion regulation in older and younger adults FRONTIERS IN PSYCHOLOGY Opitz, P. C., Lee, I. A., Gross, J. J., Urry, H. L. 2014; 5

  Abstract

  The Selection, Optimization, and Compensation with Emotion Regulation (SOC-ER) framework suggests that (1) emotion regulation (ER) strategies require resources and that (2) higher levels of relevant resources may increase ER success. In the current experiment, we tested the specific hypothesis that individual differences in one internal class of resources, namely cognitive ability, would contribute to greater success using cognitive reappraisal (CR), a form of ER in which one reinterprets the meaning of emotion-eliciting situations. To test this hypothesis, 60 participants (30 younger and 30 older adults) completed standardized neuropsychological tests that assess fluid and crystallized cognitive ability, as well as a CR task in which participants reinterpreted the meaning of sad pictures in order to alter (increase or decrease) their emotions. In a control condition, they viewed the pictures without trying to change how they felt. Throughout the task, we indexed subjective emotional experience (self-reported ratings of emotional intensity), expressive behavior (corrugator muscle activity), and autonomic physiology (heart rate and electrodermal activity) as measures of emotional responding. Multilevel models were constructed to explain within-subjects variation in emotional responding as a function of ER contrasts comparing increase or decrease conditions with the view control condition and between-subjects variation as a function of cognitive ability and/or age group (older, younger). As predicted, higher fluid cognitive ability-indexed by perceptual reasoning, processing speed, and working memory-was associated with greater success using reappraisal to alter emotional responding. Reappraisal success did not vary as a function of crystallized cognitive ability or age group. Collectively, our results provide support for a key tenet of the SOC-ER framework that higher levels of relevant resources may confer greater success at emotion regulation.

  View details for DOI 10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00609

  View details for Web of Science ID 000338675800002

  View details for PubMedID 24987387

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC4060296

• Emotion beliefs in social anxiety disorder: Associations with stress, anxiety, and well-being AUSTRALIAN JOURNAL OF PSYCHOLOGY De Castella, K., Goldin, P., Jazaieri, H., Ziv, M., Heimberg, R. G., Gross, J. J. 2014; 66 (2): 139-148

  View details for DOI 10.1111/ajpy.12053

  View details for Web of Science ID 000335402400009

• Adaptive and maladaptive emotion regulation strategies: Interactive effects during CBT for social anxiety disorder JOURNAL OF ANXIETY DISORDERS Aldao, A., Jazaieri, H., Goldin, P. R., Gross, J. J. 2014; 28 (4): 382-389

  Abstract

  There has been a increasing interest in understanding emotion regulation deficits in social anxiety disorder (SAD; e.g., Hofmann, Sawyer, Fang, & Asnaani, 2012). However, much remains to be understood about the patterns of associations among regulation strategies in the repertoire. Doing so is important in light of the growing recognition that people's ability to flexibly implement strategies is associated with better mental health (e.g., Kashdan et al., 2014). Based on previous work (Aldao & Nolen-Hoeksema, 2012), we examined whether putatively adaptive and maladaptive emotion regulation strategies interacted with each other in the prediction of social anxiety symptoms in a sample of 71 participants undergoing CBT for SAD. We found that strategies interacted with each other and that this interaction was qualified by a three-way interaction with a contextual factor, namely treatment study phase. Consequently, these findings underscore the importance of modeling contextual factors when seeking to understand emotion regulation deficits in SAD.

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.janxdis.2014.03.005

  View details for Web of Science ID 000337017300006

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC4089517

• An Inflammatory Pathway Links Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease Risk to Neural Activity Evoked by the Cognitive Regulation of Emotion BIOLOGICAL PSYCHIATRY Gianaros, P. J., Marsland, A. L., Kuan, D. C., Schirda, B. L., Jennings, J. R., Sheu, L. K., Hariri, A. R., Gross, J. J., Manuck, S. B. 2014; 75 (9): 738-745

  Abstract

  Cognitive reappraisal is a form of emotion regulation that alters emotional responding by changing the meaning of emotional stimuli. Reappraisal engages regions of the prefrontal cortex that support multiple functions, including visceral control functions implicated in regulating the immune system. Immune activity plays a role in the preclinical pathophysiology of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (CVD), an inflammatory condition that is highly comorbid with affective disorders characterized by problems with emotion regulation. Here, we tested whether prefrontal engagement by reappraisal would be associated with atherosclerotic CVD risk and whether this association would be mediated by inflammatory activity.Community volunteers (n = 157; 30-54 years of age; 80 women) without DSM-IV Axis-1 psychiatric diagnoses or cardiovascular or immune disorders performed a functional neuroimaging task involving the reappraisal of negative emotional stimuli. Carotid artery intima-media thickness and inter-adventitial diameter were measured by ultrasonography and used as markers of preclinical atherosclerosis. Also measured were circulating levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6), an inflammatory cytokine linked to CVD risk and prefrontal neural activity.Greater reappraisal-related engagement of the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex was associated with greater preclinical atherosclerosis and IL-6. Moreover, IL-6 mediated the association of dorsal anterior cingulate cortex engagement with preclinical atherosclerosis. These results were independent of age, sex, race, smoking status, and other known CVD risk factors.The cognitive regulation of emotion might relate to CVD risk through a pathway involving the functional interplay between the anterior cingulate region of the prefrontal cortex and inflammatory activity.

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.biopsych.2013.10.012

  View details for Web of Science ID 000334102400011

  View details for PubMedID 24267410

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC3989430

• Adaptive and maladaptive emotion regulation strategies: interactive effects during CBT for social anxiety disorder. Journal of anxiety disorders Aldao, A., Jazaieri, H., Goldin, P. R., Gross, J. J. 2014; 28 (4): 382-389

  Abstract

  There has been a increasing interest in understanding emotion regulation deficits in social anxiety disorder (SAD; e.g., Hofmann, Sawyer, Fang, & Asnaani, 2012). However, much remains to be understood about the patterns of associations among regulation strategies in the repertoire. Doing so is important in light of the growing recognition that people's ability to flexibly implement strategies is associated with better mental health (e.g., Kashdan et al., 2014). Based on previous work (Aldao & Nolen-Hoeksema, 2012), we examined whether putatively adaptive and maladaptive emotion regulation strategies interacted with each other in the prediction of social anxiety symptoms in a sample of 71 participants undergoing CBT for SAD. We found that strategies interacted with each other and that this interaction was qualified by a three-way interaction with a contextual factor, namely treatment study phase. Consequently, these findings underscore the importance of modeling contextual factors when seeking to understand emotion regulation deficits in SAD.

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.janxdis.2014.03.005

  View details for PubMedID 24742755

• Trajectories of change in emotion regulation and social anxiety during cognitive-behavioral therapy for social anxiety disorder BEHAVIOUR RESEARCH AND THERAPY Goldin, P. R., Lee, I., Ziv, M., Jazaieri, H., Heimberg, R. G., Gross, J. J. 2014; 56: 7-15

  Abstract

  Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) for social anxiety disorder (SAD) may decrease social anxiety by training emotion regulation skills. This randomized controlled trial of CBT for SAD examined changes in weekly frequency and success of cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression, as well as weekly intensity of social anxiety among patients receiving 16 weekly sessions of individual CBT. We expected these variables to (1) differ from pre-to-post-CBT vs. Waitlist, (2) have differential trajectories during CBT, and (3) covary during CBT. We also expected that weekly changes in emotion regulation would predict (4) subsequent weekly changes in social anxiety, and (5) changes in social anxiety both during and post-CBT. Compared to Waitlist, CBT increased cognitive reappraisal frequency and success, decreased social anxiety, but had no impact on expressive suppression. During CBT, weekly cognitive reappraisal frequency and success increased, whereas weekly expressive suppression frequency and social anxiety decreased. Weekly decreases in social anxiety were associated with concurrent increases in reappraisal success and decreases in suppression frequency. Granger causality analysis showed that only reappraisal success increases predicted decreases in subsequent social anxiety during CBT. Reappraisal success increases pre-to-post-CBT predicted reductions in social anxiety symptom severity post-CBT. The trajectory of weekly changes in emotion regulation strategies may help clinicians understand whether CBT is effective and predict decreases in social anxiety.NCT00380731; http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00380731?term=social+anxiety+cognitive+behavioral+therapy+Stanford&rank=1.

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.brat.2014.02.005

  View details for Web of Science ID 000337017400002

• Trajectories of change in emotion regulation and social anxiety during cognitive-behavioral therapy for social anxiety disorder. Behaviour research and therapy Goldin, P. R., Lee, I., Ziv, M., Jazaieri, H., Heimberg, R. G., Gross, J. J. 2014; 56: 7-15

  Abstract

  Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) for social anxiety disorder (SAD) may decrease social anxiety by training emotion regulation skills. This randomized controlled trial of CBT for SAD examined changes in weekly frequency and success of cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression, as well as weekly intensity of social anxiety among patients receiving 16 weekly sessions of individual CBT. We expected these variables to (1) differ from pre-to-post-CBT vs. Waitlist, (2) have differential trajectories during CBT, and (3) covary during CBT. We also expected that weekly changes in emotion regulation would predict (4) subsequent weekly changes in social anxiety, and (5) changes in social anxiety both during and post-CBT. Compared to Waitlist, CBT increased cognitive reappraisal frequency and success, decreased social anxiety, but had no impact on expressive suppression. During CBT, weekly cognitive reappraisal frequency and success increased, whereas weekly expressive suppression frequency and social anxiety decreased. Weekly decreases in social anxiety were associated with concurrent increases in reappraisal success and decreases in suppression frequency. Granger causality analysis showed that only reappraisal success increases predicted decreases in subsequent social anxiety during CBT. Reappraisal success increases pre-to-post-CBT predicted reductions in social anxiety symptom severity post-CBT. The trajectory of weekly changes in emotion regulation strategies may help clinicians understand whether CBT is effective and predict decreases in social anxiety.NCT00380731; http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00380731?term=social+anxiety+cognitive+behavioral+therapy+Stanford&rank=1.

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.brat.2014.02.005

  View details for PubMedID 24632110

• Effects of antidepressant medication on emotion regulation in depressed patients: An iSPOT-D report JOURNAL OF AFFECTIVE DISORDERS McRae, K., Rekshan, W., Williams, L. M., Cooper, N., Gross, J. J. 2014; 159: 127-132

  Abstract

  Antidepressant medication (ADM) is thought to reduce depressive symptoms by altering emotion-generative brain systems. However, it is unknown whether successful ADM treatment is associated with changes in psychobehavioral strategies used to regulate emotions. We examined depressive symptoms and emotion regulation strategies before and after ADM in the international Study to Predict Optimized Treatment in Depression (iSPOT-D).The study enrolled 1008 adult patients with MDD (18-65 years old) from 18 primary and psychiatric care sites worldwide. Patients were randomly assigned to an 8-week course of escitalopram, sertraline, or venlafaxine-extended-release. We examined whether ADM is associated with changes in suppression, usually associated with maladaptive outcomes, and reappraisal, usually associated with adaptive outcomes. We also tested whether changes in emotion regulation predict changes in depressive symptoms following ADM.We observed more adaptive emotion regulation (decreased use of suppression and increased use of reappraisal) following ADM. Furthermore, the largest improvements in emotion regulation were associated with the best treatment outcomes.Because we assessed acute outcomes, it is not yet known if the effects of ADM on emotion regulation would persist over time.ADMs are associated with acute, adaptive changes in the psychobehavioral strategies used to regulate emotions.

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.jad.2014.12.037

  View details for Web of Science ID 000333398400019

  View details for PubMedID 24679400

• Testing the effects of suppression and reappraisal on emotional concordance using a multivariate multilevel model BIOLOGICAL PSYCHOLOGY Butler, E. A., Gross, J. J., Barnard, K. 2014; 98: 6-18

  Abstract

  In theory, the essence of emotion is coordination across experiential, behavioral, and physiological systems in the service of functional responding to environmental demands. However, people often regulate emotions, which could either reduce or enhance cross-system concordance. The present study tested the effects of two forms of emotion regulation (expressive suppression, positive reappraisal) on concordance of subjective experience (positive-negative valence), expressive behavior (positive and negative), and physiology (inter-beat interval, skin conductance, blood pressure) during conversations between unacquainted young women. As predicted, participants asked to suppress showed reduced concordance for both positive and negative emotions. Reappraisal instructions also reduced concordance for negative emotions, but increased concordance for positive ones. Both regulation strategies had contagious interpersonal effects on average levels of responding. Suppression reduced overall expression for both regulating and uninstructed partners, while reappraisal reduced negative experience. Neither strategy influenced the uninstructed partners' concordance. These results suggest that emotion regulation impacts concordance by altering the temporal coupling of phasic subsystem responses, rather than by having divergent effects on subsystem tonic levels.

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2013.09.003

  View details for Web of Science ID 000335499900002

  View details for PubMedID 24055556

• Emotion response coherence: A dual-process perspective BIOLOGICAL PSYCHOLOGY Evers, C., Hopp, H., Gross, J. J., Fischer, A. H., Manstead, A. S., Mauss, I. B. 2014; 98: 43-49

  Abstract

  Emotions are widely thought to involve coordinated responses across multiple responses (e.g., experiential, behavioral, and physiological). However, empirical support for this general "response coherence" postulate is inconsistent. The present research takes a dual-process perspective, suggesting that response coherence might be conditional upon response system (i.e., automatic versus reflective). In particular, we tested the hypothesis that response coherence should be maximal within each system and minimal across the two systems. To test this prediction, 36 participants underwent an anger provocation while two relatively automatic (anger accessibility and physiology) and two relatively reflective (anger experience and instrumental behavior) responses were measured. As predicted, coherence was found within the automatic and reflective systems, but not across them. Implications for emotion response coherence, dual-process frameworks, and the functions of emotions are discussed.

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2013.11.003

  View details for Web of Science ID 000335499900005

  View details for PubMedID 24239595

• The Ideal of the Dispassionate Judge: An Emotion Regulation Perspective EMOTION REVIEW Maroney, T. A., Gross, J. J. 2014; 6 (2): 142-151

  View details for DOI 10.1177/1754073913491989

  View details for Web of Science ID 000333451200011

• Rethinking emotion: Cognitive reappraisal is an effective positive and negative emotion regulation strategy in bipolar disorder. Emotion Gruber, J., Hay, A. C., Gross, J. J. 2014; 14 (2): 388-396

  Abstract

  Bipolar disorder involves difficulties with emotion regulation, yet the precise nature of these emotion regulatory difficulties is unclear. The current study examined whether individuals with remitted bipolar I disorder (n = 23) and healthy controls (n = 23) differ in their ability to use one effective and common form of emotion regulation, cognitive reappraisal. Positive, negative, and neutral films were used to elicit emotion, and participants were cued to watch the film carefully (i.e., uninstructed condition) or reappraise while measures of affect, behavior, and psychophysiology were obtained. Results showed that reappraisal was associated with reductions in emotion reactivity across subjective (i.e., positive and negative affect), behavioral (i.e., positive facial displays), and physiological (i.e., skin conductance) response domains across all participants. Results suggest that reappraisal may be an effective regulation strategy for both negative and positive emotion across both healthy adults and individuals with bipolar disorder. Discussion focuses on clinical and treatment implications for bipolar disorder. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved).

  View details for DOI 10.1037/a0035249

  View details for PubMedID 24364852

• Academic and emotional functioning in middle school: The role of implicit theories. Emotion Romero, C., Master, A., Paunesku, D., Dweck, C. S., Gross, J. J. 2014; 14 (2): 227-234

  Abstract

  Adolescents face many academic and emotional challenges in middle school, but notable differences are evident in how well they adapt. What predicts adolescents' academic and emotional outcomes during this period? One important factor might be adolescents' implicit theories about whether intelligence and emotions can change. The current study examines how these theories affect academic and emotional outcomes. One hundred fifteen students completed surveys throughout middle school, and their grades and course selections were obtained from school records. Students who believed that intelligence could be developed earned higher grades and were more likely to move to advanced math courses over time. Students who believed that emotions could be controlled reported fewer depressive symptoms and, if they began middle school with lower well-being, were more likely to feel better over time. These findings illustrate the power of adolescents' implicit theories, suggesting exciting new pathways for intervention. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved).

  View details for DOI 10.1037/a0035490

  View details for PubMedID 24512251

• Reappraisal generation after acquired brain damage: the role of laterality and cognitive control FRONTIERS IN PSYCHOLOGY Salas, C. E., Gross, J. J., Turnbull, O. H. 2014; 5

  Abstract

  In the past decade, there has been growing interest in the neuroanatomical and neuropsychological bases of reappraisal. Findings suggest that reappraisal activates a set of areas in the left hemisphere (LH), which are commonly associated with language abilities and verbally mediated cognitive control. The main goal of this study was to investigate whether individuals with focal damage to the LH (n = 8) were more markedly impaired on a reappraisal generation task than individuals with right hemisphere lesions (RH, n = 8), and healthy controls (HC, n = 14). The reappraisal generation task consisted of a set of ten pictures from the IAPS, depicting negative events of different sorts. Participants were asked to quickly generate as many positive reinterpretations as possible for each picture. Two scores were derived from this task, namely difficulty and productivity. A second goal of this study was to explore which cognitive control processes were associated with performance on the reappraisal task. For this purpose, participants were assessed on several measures of cognitive control. Findings indicated that reappraisal difficulty - defined as the time taken to generate a first reappraisal - did not differ between LH and RH groups. However, differences were found between patients with brain injury (LH + RH) and HC, suggesting that brain damage in either hemisphere influences reappraisal difficulty. No differences in reappraisal productivity were found across groups, suggesting that neurological groups and HC are equally productive when time constraints are not considered. Finally, only two cognitive control processes inhibition and verbal fluency- were inversely associated with reappraisal difficulty. Implications for the neuroanatomical and neuropsychological bases of reappraisal generation are discussed, and implications for neuro-rehabilitation are considered.

  View details for DOI 10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00242

  View details for Web of Science ID 000333162400001

  View details for PubMedID 24711799

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC3968762

• Using distraction to regulate emotion: Insights from EEG theta dynamics INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGY Uusberg, A., Thiruchselvam, R., Gross, J. J. 2014; 91 (3): 254-260

  Abstract

  Distraction is a powerful and widely-used emotion regulation strategy. Although distraction regulates emotion sooner than other cognitive strategies (Thiruchselvam, Blechert, Sheppes, Rydstrom, & Gross, 2011), it is not yet clear whether it is capable of blocking the earliest stages of emotion generation. To address this issue, we capitalized on the excellent temporal resolution of EEG by focusing on occipital theta dynamics which were associated with distinct stages of visual processing of emotional stimuli. Individually defined theta band dynamics were extracted from a previously published EEG dataset (Thiruchselvam et al., 2011) in which participants attended to unpleasant (and neutral) images or regulated emotion using distraction and reappraisal. Results revealed two peaks within early theta power increase, both of which were increased by emotional stimuli. Distraction did not affect theta power during an early peak (150-350 ms), but did successfully decrease activity in a second peak (350-550 ms). These results suggest that although distraction acts relatively early in the emotion-generative trajectory, it does not block fast detection of emotional significance. Given that theta dynamics were uncorrelated with Late Positive Potential activity, the present results also encourage researchers to add the occipital theta to the growing toolkit of EEG-based measures of emotion regulation.

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2014.01.006

  View details for Web of Science ID 000333497000013

  View details for PubMedID 24440597

• Emotion regulation choice: a conceptual framework and supporting evidence. Journal of experimental psychology. General Sheppes, G., Scheibe, S., Suri, G., Radu, P., Blechert, J., Gross, J. J. 2014; 143 (1): 163-181

  Abstract

  Choice behavior is considered the fundamental means by which individuals exert control over their environments. One important choice domain that remains virtually unexplored is that of emotion regulation. This is surprising given that healthy adaptation requires flexibly choosing between regulation strategies in a manner that is responsive to differing situational demands. In the present article, we provide a broad conceptual framework that systematically evaluates the rules that govern the ways individuals choose between different emotion regulation strategies. This conceptual account is buttressed by empirical findings from 6 studies that show the effects of hypothesized emotional, cognitive, and motivational determinants of regulation choice (Studies 1-3) and illuminate the mechanisms that underlie choices between different emotion regulation strategies (Studies 4-6). Broad implications and future directions are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved).

  View details for DOI 10.1037/a0030831

  View details for PubMedID 23163767

• Emotion regulation choice: A conceptual framework and supporting evidence. Journal of experimental psychology. General Sheppes, G., Scheibe, S., Suri, G., Radu, P., Blechert, J., Gross, J. J. 2014; 143 (1): 163-181

  Abstract

  Choice behavior is considered the fundamental means by which individuals exert control over their environments. One important choice domain that remains virtually unexplored is that of emotion regulation. This is surprising given that healthy adaptation requires flexibly choosing between regulation strategies in a manner that is responsive to differing situational demands. In the present article, we provide a broad conceptual framework that systematically evaluates the rules that govern the ways individuals choose between different emotion regulation strategies. This conceptual account is buttressed by empirical findings from 6 studies that show the effects of hypothesized emotional, cognitive, and motivational determinants of regulation choice (Studies 1-3) and illuminate the mechanisms that underlie choices between different emotion regulation strategies (Studies 4-6). Broad implications and future directions are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved).

  View details for DOI 10.1037/a0030831

  View details for PubMedID 23163767

• A randomized controlled trial of compassion cultivation training: Effects on mindfulness, affect, and emotion regulation MOTIVATION AND EMOTION Jazaieri, H., McGonigal, K., Jinpa, T., Doty, J. R., Gross, J. J., Goldin, P. R. 2014; 38 (1): 23-35

  View details for DOI 10.1007/s11031-013-9368-z

  View details for Web of Science ID 000330382800002

• Emotional suppression explains the link between early life stress and plasma oxytocin. Anxiety, stress, and coping Mohiyeddini, C., Opacka-Juffry, J., Gross, J. J. 2014; 27 (4): 466-475

  Abstract

  Early life stress (ELS) has been found to be associated with lower concentrations of plasma oxytocin (OT) in adulthood. It is not yet clear, however, what mechanisms underlie this association. The goal of the present study was to test the role of emotional suppression as an intervening variable between ELS in childhood and plasma OT. In a nonclinical sample of 90 men, ELS, emotional suppression, and plasma OT were assessed. Emotional suppression was positively associated with ELS (r = 0.37, p < 0.001) and negatively associated with plasma OT concentrations (r = -0.30, p < 0.01). In contrast, cognitive reappraisal - an alternative emotion regulation strategy - was not correlated with ELS or plasma OT concentrations. Cross-sectional regression analyses revealed that the ELS explained variance in plasma OT via emotional suppression. Moderation analyses revealed that the combination of high ELS and high emotional suppression was associated with the lowest concentrations of plasma oxytocin. These findings are consistent with the view that emotional suppression may be one pathway linking ELS and OT.

  View details for DOI 10.1080/10615806.2014.887696

  View details for PubMedID 24479658

• Handbook of emotion regulation edited by Gross, J. J. New York, NY: Guilford. 2014
• Hope in the Middle East: Malleability Beliefs, Hope, and the Willingness to Compromise for Peace SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGICAL AND PERSONALITY SCIENCE Cohen-Chen, S., Halperin, E., Crisp, R. J., Gross, J. J. 2014; 5 (1): 67-75

  View details for DOI 10.1177/1948550613484499

  View details for Web of Science ID 000336437300010

• Emotion generation and emotion regulation: Moving beyond traditional dual-process accounts Dualprocess theories of the social mind Sheppes, G., Gross, J. J. edited by Sherman, J. W., Gawronski, B., Trope, Y. New York, NY: Guilford. 2014: 483–493
• Emotion regulation: Conceptual and empirical foundations Handbook of emotion regulation Gross, J. J. edited by Gross, J. J. New York, NY: Guilford. 2014; 2: 3–20
• Emotion regulation in education: Conceptual foundations, current applications, and future directions International handbook of emotions in education Jacob, S., Gross, J. J. edited by Pekrun, R., Linnenbrink-Garcia, L. New York, NY: Routledge. 2014: 183–201
• Resolving intractable intergroup conflicts: The role of implicit theories about groups The handbook of conflict resolution Halperin, E., Gross, J. J., Dweck, C. S. edited by Deutsch, M., Coleman, P., Marcus, E. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. 2014: 384–399
• Emotional suppression explains the link between early life stress and plasma oxytocin ANXIETY STRESS AND COPING Mohiyeddini, C., Opacka-Juffry, J., Gross, J. J. 2014; 27 (4): 466-475

  Abstract

  Early life stress (ELS) has been found to be associated with lower concentrations of plasma oxytocin (OT) in adulthood. It is not yet clear, however, what mechanisms underlie this association. The goal of the present study was to test the role of emotional suppression as an intervening variable between ELS in childhood and plasma OT. In a nonclinical sample of 90 men, ELS, emotional suppression, and plasma OT were assessed. Emotional suppression was positively associated with ELS (r = 0.37, p < 0.001) and negatively associated with plasma OT concentrations (r = -0.30, p < 0.01). In contrast, cognitive reappraisal - an alternative emotion regulation strategy - was not correlated with ELS or plasma OT concentrations. Cross-sectional regression analyses revealed that the ELS explained variance in plasma OT via emotional suppression. Moderation analyses revealed that the combination of high ELS and high emotional suppression was associated with the lowest concentrations of plasma oxytocin. These findings are consistent with the view that emotional suppression may be one pathway linking ELS and OT.

  View details for DOI 10.1080/10615806.2014.887696

  View details for Web of Science ID 000337358500008

• Emotion regulation: Conceptual and empirical foundations Handbook of emotion regulation Gross, J. J. edited by Gross, J. J. New York, NY: Guilford. 2014; 2: 3–20
• Emotion regulation in education: Conceptual foundations, current applications, and future directions International handbook of emotions in education Jacob, S., Gross, J. J. edited by Pekrun, R., Linnenbrink-Garcia, L. New York, NY: Routledge. 2014: 183–201
• Resolving intractable intergroup conflicts: The role of implicit theories about groups The handbook of conflict resolution Halperin, E., Gross, J. J., Dweck, C. S. edited by Deutsch, M., Coleman, P., Marcus, E. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. 2014: 384–399
• Emotional suppression explains the link between early life stress and plasma oxytocin ANXIETY STRESS AND COPING Mohiyeddini, C., Opacka-Juffry, J., Gross, J. J. 2014; 27 (4): 466-475

  Abstract

  Early life stress (ELS) has been found to be associated with lower concentrations of plasma oxytocin (OT) in adulthood. It is not yet clear, however, what mechanisms underlie this association. The goal of the present study was to test the role of emotional suppression as an intervening variable between ELS in childhood and plasma OT. In a nonclinical sample of 90 men, ELS, emotional suppression, and plasma OT were assessed. Emotional suppression was positively associated with ELS (r = 0.37, p < 0.001) and negatively associated with plasma OT concentrations (r = -0.30, p < 0.01). In contrast, cognitive reappraisal - an alternative emotion regulation strategy - was not correlated with ELS or plasma OT concentrations. Cross-sectional regression analyses revealed that the ELS explained variance in plasma OT via emotional suppression. Moderation analyses revealed that the combination of high ELS and high emotional suppression was associated with the lowest concentrations of plasma oxytocin. These findings are consistent with the view that emotional suppression may be one pathway linking ELS and OT.

  View details for DOI 10.1080/10615806.2014.887696

  View details for Web of Science ID 000337358500008

• A Prospective Investigation of Mindfulness Skills and Changes in Emotion Regulation Among Military Veterans in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Treatment MINDFULNESS Reber, C. A., Boden, M. T., Mitragotri, N., Alvarez, J., Gross, J. J., Bonn-Miller, M. O. 2013; 4 (4): 311-317

  View details for DOI 10.1007/s12671-012-0131-4

  View details for Web of Science ID 000339617300004

• Reappraisal as a Mediator in the Link Between 5-HTTLPR and Social Anxiety Symptoms EMOTION Miu, A. C., Vulturar, R., Chis, A., Ungureanu, L., Gross, J. J. 2013; 13 (6): 1012-1022

  Abstract

  Social anxiety symptoms have been related to (a) polymorphisms in the serotonin-transporter gene-promoter region (also, serotonin-transporter-linked polymorphic region; 5-HTTLPR) and (b) reduced use of adaptive forms of emotion regulation such as reappraisal. It is not known, however, whether reappraisal functions as a mediator in the link between 5-HTTLPR and social anxiety. To address this issue, 182 unselected community volunteers were tested for 5-HTTLPR status, and self-report measures of social anxiety symptoms and reappraisal use were obtained. Relative to other participants, those with two low-expressing alleles displayed increased social anxiety and decreased reappraisal. As predicted, the influence of 5-HTTLPR on social anxiety symptoms was transmitted via reappraisal, and this effect of 5-HTTLPR was observed using two different measures of reappraisal. These findings suggest that cognitive reappraisal may be an intermediate phenotype of the social anxiety spectrum, and that individuals with low-expressing 5-HTTLPR genotypes may benefit the most from cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy because they do not appear to engage as frequently as others in reappraisal.

  View details for DOI 10.1037/a0033383

  View details for Web of Science ID 000328291400004

  View details for PubMedID 23795589

• Emotion Regulation in Intractable Conflicts CURRENT DIRECTIONS IN PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE Gross, J. J., Halperin, E., Porat, R. 2013; 22 (6): 423-429

  View details for DOI 10.1177/0963721413495871

  View details for Web of Science ID 000327758400001

• The Emerging Field of Affective Science EMOTION Gross, J. J., Barrett, L. F. 2013; 13 (6): 997-998

  Abstract

  This commentary discusses the emerging field of affective science. The authors note that there have been more publications containing the phrase "affective science" in the past few years than in all prior years combined. The importance accorded to this field is evidenced by the attention it is now receiving in our field's highest tier journals, most notably right here in the pages of Emotion, as well as in the several dozen recent volumes on affective science, not to mention the growing number of journals dedicated to research in affective science. To provide an integrated professional home for the emerging field of affective science, the Society for Affective Science was founded in 2012, and will host its first meeting in April 2014 in Washington DC. The authors remark that these are exciting times in affective science, and it is very clear that the best is yet to come.

  View details for DOI 10.1037/a0034512

  View details for Web of Science ID 000328291400001

  View details for PubMedID 24320711

• Beliefs About Emotion: Links to Emotion Regulation, Well-Being, and Psychological Distress BASIC AND APPLIED SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY De Castella, K., Goldin, P., Jazaieri, H., Ziv, M., Dweck, C. S., Gross, J. J. 2013; 35 (6): 497-505

  View details for DOI 10.1080/01973533.2013.840632

  View details for Web of Science ID 000327235400001

• Emotion Regulation and Emotion Coherence: Evidence for Strategy-Specific Effects EMOTION Dan-Glauser, E. S., Gross, J. J. 2013; 13 (5): 832-842

  Abstract

  One of the central tenets of emotion theory is that emotions involve coordinated changes across experiential, behavioral, and physiological response domains. Surprisingly little is known, however, about how the strength of this emotion coherence is altered when people try to regulate their emotions. To address this issue, we recorded experiential, behavioral, and physiological responses while participants watched negative and positive pictures. Cross-correlations were used to quantify emotion coherence. Study 1 tested how two types of suppression (expressive and physiological) influence coherence. Results showed that both strategies decreased the response coherence measured in negative and positive contexts. Study 2 tested how multichannel suppression (simultaneously targeting expressive and physiological responses) and acceptance influence emotion coherence. Results again showed that suppression decreased coherence. By contrast, acceptance was not significantly different from the unregulated condition. These findings help to clarify the nature of emotion response coherence by showing how different forms of emotion regulation may differentially affect it.

  View details for DOI 10.1037/a0032672

  View details for Web of Science ID 000325467200005

  View details for PubMedID 23731438

• Multisystem resiliency moderates the major depression-Telomere length association: Findings from the Heart and Soul Study BRAIN BEHAVIOR AND IMMUNITY Puterman, E., Epel, E. S., Lin, J., Blackburn, E. H., Gross, J. J., Whooley, M. A., Cohen, B. E. 2013; 33: 65-73

  Abstract

  Major depressive disorder (MDD) has been associated with reduced leukocyte telomere length (LTL). It is not known, however, whether psychosocial and behavioral protective factors moderate this association. In the current study, we examine whether multisystem resiliency--defined by healthy emotion regulation, strong social connections, and health behaviors (sleep and exercise)--predicts LTL and mitigates previously demonstrated associations between depression diagnosis and LTL. LTL was measured, using a quantitative PCR assay, in 954 patients with stable cardiovascular disease in the Heart and Soul Study. In a fully adjusted model, high multisystem resiliency predicted longer LTL (b=80.00, SE=27.17, p=.003), whereas each individual factor did not. Multisystem resiliency significantly moderated the MDD-LTL association (p=.02). Specifically, MDD was significantly related to LTL at 1 SD below the mean of multisystem resiliency (b=-142.86, SE=56.46, p=.01), but not at 1 SD above the mean (b=49.07, SE=74.51, p=.51). This study suggests that MDD associations with biological outcomes should be examined within a psychosocial-behavioral context, because this context shapes the nature of the direct relationship. Further research should explore the cognitive, neural, and other physiological pathways through which multisystem resiliency may confer biological benefit.

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.bbi.2013.05.008

  View details for Web of Science ID 000324788300010

  View details for PubMedID 23727245

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC3855878

• Impact of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Social Anxiety Disorder on the Neural Dynamics of Cognitive Reappraisal of Negative Self-beliefs Randomized Clinical Trial JAMA PSYCHIATRY Goldin, P. R., Ziv, M., Jazaieri, H., Hahn, K., Heimberg, R., Gross, J. J. 2013; 70 (10): 1048-1056

  Abstract

  Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for social anxiety disorder (SAD) is thought to enhance cognitive reappraisal in patients with SAD. Such improvements should be evident in cognitive reappraisal-related prefrontal cortex responses.To determine whether CBT for SAD modifies cognitive reappraisal-related prefrontal cortex neural signal magnitude and timing when implementing cognitive reappraisal with negative self-beliefs. DESIGN Randomized clinical trial of CBT for SAD vs wait-list control group during a study that enrolled patients from 2007 to 2010.University psychology department.Seventy-five patients with generalized SAD randomly assigned to CBT or wait list.Sixteen sessions of individual CBT for SAD.Negative emotion ratings and functional magnetic resonance imaging blood oxygen-level dependent signal when reacting to and cognitively reappraising negative self-beliefs embedded in autobiographical social anxiety situations. RESULTS During reactivity trials, compared with wait list, CBT produced (1) greater reduction in negative emotion ratings and (2) greater blood oxygen-level dependent signal magnitude in the medial prefrontal cortex. During cognitive reappraisal trials, compared with wait list, CBT produced (3) greater reduction in negative emotion ratings, (4) greater blood oxygen level-dependent signal magnitude in the dorsolateral and dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, (5) earlier temporal onset of dorsomedial prefrontal cortex activity, and (6) greater dorsomedial prefrontal cortex-amygdala inverse functional connectivity.Modulation of cognitive reappraisal-related brain responses, timing, and functional connectivity may be important brain changes that contribute to the effectiveness of CBT for social anxiety. This study demonstrates that clinically applied neuroscience investigations can elucidate neurobiological mechanisms of change in psychiatric conditions.clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT00380731.

  View details for DOI 10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2013.234

  View details for Web of Science ID 000325184100009

  View details for PubMedID 23945981

• Impact of cognitive behavioral therapy for social anxiety disorder on the neural dynamics of cognitive reappraisal of negative self-beliefs: randomized clinical trial. JAMA psychiatry Goldin, P. R., Ziv, M., Jazaieri, H., Hahn, K., Heimberg, R., Gross, J. J. 2013; 70 (10): 1048-1056

  Abstract

  Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for social anxiety disorder (SAD) is thought to enhance cognitive reappraisal in patients with SAD. Such improvements should be evident in cognitive reappraisal-related prefrontal cortex responses.To determine whether CBT for SAD modifies cognitive reappraisal-related prefrontal cortex neural signal magnitude and timing when implementing cognitive reappraisal with negative self-beliefs. DESIGN Randomized clinical trial of CBT for SAD vs wait-list control group during a study that enrolled patients from 2007 to 2010.University psychology department.Seventy-five patients with generalized SAD randomly assigned to CBT or wait list.Sixteen sessions of individual CBT for SAD.Negative emotion ratings and functional magnetic resonance imaging blood oxygen-level dependent signal when reacting to and cognitively reappraising negative self-beliefs embedded in autobiographical social anxiety situations. RESULTS During reactivity trials, compared with wait list, CBT produced (1) greater reduction in negative emotion ratings and (2) greater blood oxygen-level dependent signal magnitude in the medial prefrontal cortex. During cognitive reappraisal trials, compared with wait list, CBT produced (3) greater reduction in negative emotion ratings, (4) greater blood oxygen level-dependent signal magnitude in the dorsolateral and dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, (5) earlier temporal onset of dorsomedial prefrontal cortex activity, and (6) greater dorsomedial prefrontal cortex-amygdala inverse functional connectivity.Modulation of cognitive reappraisal-related brain responses, timing, and functional connectivity may be important brain changes that contribute to the effectiveness of CBT for social anxiety. This study demonstrates that clinically applied neuroscience investigations can elucidate neurobiological mechanisms of change in psychiatric conditions.clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT00380731.

  View details for DOI 10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2013.234

  View details for PubMedID 23945981

• Patient inertia and the status quo bias: when an inferior option is preferred. Psychological science Suri, G., Sheppes, G., Schwartz, C., Gross, J. J. 2013; 24 (9): 1763-1769

  Abstract

  Medical noncompliance is a major public-health problem. One potential source of this noncompliance is patient inertia. It has been hypothesized that one cause of patient inertia might be the status quo bias-which is the tendency to select the default choice among a set of options. To test this hypothesis, we created a laboratory analogue of the decision context that frequently occurs in situations involving patient inertia, and we examined whether participants would stay with a default option even when it was clearly inferior to other available options. Specifically, in Studies 1 and 2, participants were given the option to reduce their anxiety while waiting for an electric shock. When doing nothing was the status quo option, participants frequently did not select the option that would reduce their anxiety. In Study 3, we demonstrated a simple way to overcome status quo bias in a context relevant to patient inertia.

  View details for DOI 10.1177/0956797613479976

  View details for PubMedID 23873580

• Patient Inertia and the Status Quo Bias When an Inferior Option Is Preferred PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE Suri, G., Sheppes, G., Schwartz, C., Gross, J. J. 2013; 24 (9): 1763-1769

  Abstract

  Medical noncompliance is a major public-health problem. One potential source of this noncompliance is patient inertia. It has been hypothesized that one cause of patient inertia might be the status quo bias-which is the tendency to select the default choice among a set of options. To test this hypothesis, we created a laboratory analogue of the decision context that frequently occurs in situations involving patient inertia, and we examined whether participants would stay with a default option even when it was clearly inferior to other available options. Specifically, in Studies 1 and 2, participants were given the option to reduce their anxiety while waiting for an electric shock. When doing nothing was the status quo option, participants frequently did not select the option that would reduce their anxiety. In Study 3, we demonstrated a simple way to overcome status quo bias in a context relevant to patient inertia.

  View details for DOI 10.1177/0956797613479976

  View details for Web of Science ID 000324403000017

• The psychophysiology of mixed emotional states. Psychophysiology Kreibig, S. D., Samson, A. C., Gross, J. J. 2013; 50 (8): 799-811

  Abstract

  How to conceptualize mixed emotional states is a central issue in the field of affective science. Nondifferentiation, additive, and emergence accounts of mixed emotions make divergent predictions regarding physiological responses in mixed emotions. To test these predictions, 43 women watched film clips that elicited amusement, disgust, or mixed emotions while feeling self-report, facial electromyography, cardiovascular, electrodermal, and respiratory measures were assessed. Simultaneous self-reports of amusement and disgust confirmed elicitation of a mixed emotional state. Physiologically, mixed emotions differed from pure amusement and pure disgust both in intensity and pattern. This suggests a distinct physiological response of the mixed emotional state, as predicted by the emergence account of mixed emotions. Implications for emotion theory and research are discussed.

  View details for DOI 10.1111/psyp.12064

  View details for PubMedID 23730872

• Oxytocin increases willingness to socially share one's emotions INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PSYCHOLOGY Lane, A., Luminet, O., Rime, B., Gross, J. J., de Timary, P., Mikolajczak, M. 2013; 48 (4): 676-681

  Abstract

  Oxytocin (OT) is a neuropeptide that is attracting growing attention from researchers interested in human emotional and social behavior. There is indeed increasing evidence that OT has a calming effect and that it facilitates pair-bonding and social interactions. Some of OT's effects are thought to be direct, but it has been suggested that OT also may have indirect effects, mediated by changes in behavior. One potentially relevant behavioral change is an increased propensity for "emotional sharing" as this behavior, like OT, is known to have both calming and bonding effects. In this study, 60 healthy young adult men were randomly assigned to receive either intranasal placebo (PL; n = 30) or oxytocin (OT; n = 30). Participants were then instructed to retrieve a painful memory. Subsequently, OT and placebo participants' willingness to disclose to another person event-related facts (factual sharing) vs. event-related emotions (emotional sharing) was evaluated. Whereas the two groups were equally willing to disclose event-related facts, oxytocin was found to specifically increase the willingness to share event-related emotions. This study provides the first evidence that OT increases people's willingness to share their emotions. Importantly, OT did not make people more talkative (word counts were comparable across the two groups) but instead increased the willingness to share the specific component that is responsible for the calming and bonding effects of social sharing: emotions. Findings suggest that OT may shape the form of social sharing so as to maximize its benefits. This might help explain the calming and bonding effects of OT.

  View details for DOI 10.1080/00207594.2012.677540

  View details for Web of Science ID 000322696600021

  View details for PubMedID 22554106

• Concrete behaviour and reappraisal deficits after a left frontal stroke: A case study NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL REHABILITATION Salas, C. E., Gross, J. J., Rafal, R. D., Vinas-Guasch, N., Turnbull, O. H. 2013; 23 (4): 467-500

  Abstract

  Concrete behaviour, the inability to disengage from immediate experience in order to manipulate ideas and thoughts, has long been understood to be a common problem after frontal lobe lesions. However, there has been little consideration of the impact that concreteness may have on emotional functioning, specifically in the use of thinking to manipulate emotional responses. One widely studied emotion regulation strategy is reappraisal, which depends on several frontal lobe related cognitive control processes. While there have been numerous neuroimaging findings on reappraisal, no study has used brain injured patients to investigate this issue. The present case study is the first to describe the capacity to generate reappraisals in a patient (Mrs M), whose behaviour became concrete after a left prefrontal stroke. Using a picture-based reappraisal paradigm, her performance was compared to non-concrete brain-lesioned patients, and neurologically healthy controls. Although Mrs M showed relatively preserved overall cognitive function, she was completely unable to spontaneously generate reappraisals. In striking contrast, once external support was offered, in the form of prompts, her capacity to reappraise dramatically improved. The results are analysed in terms of three neuropsychological capacities - all compromised in Mrs M - previously proposed as reappraisal components: response inhibition, abstraction, and verbal fluency. A number of implications for rehabilitation are discussed, including how the use of prompting may facilitate reappraisal capacity.

  View details for DOI 10.1080/09602011.2013.784709

  View details for Web of Science ID 000322151600001

  View details for PubMedID 23551078

• Enhancing Compassion: A Randomized Controlled Trial of a Compassion Cultivation Training Program JOURNAL OF HAPPINESS STUDIES Jazaieri, H., Jinpa, G. T., McGonigal, K., Rosenberg, E. L., Finkelstein, J., Simon-Thomas, E., Cullen, M., Doty, J. R., Gross, J. J., Goldin, P. R. 2013; 14 (4): 1113-1126

  View details for DOI 10.1007/s10902-012-9373-z

  View details for Web of Science ID 000323740500002

• A Brief Intervention to Promote Conflict Reappraisal Preserves Marital Quality Over Time PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE Finkel, E. J., Slotter, E. B., Luchies, L. B., Walton, G. M., Gross, J. J. 2013; 24 (8): 1595-1601

  Abstract

  Marital quality is a major contributor to happiness and health. Unfortunately, marital quality normatively declines over time. We tested whether a novel 21-min intervention designed to foster the reappraisal of marital conflicts could preserve marital quality in a sample of 120 couples enrolled in an intensive 2-year study. Half of the couples were randomly assigned to receive the reappraisal intervention in Year 2 (following no intervention in Year 1); half were not. Both groups exhibited declines in marital quality over Year 1. This decline continued in Year 2 among couples in the control condition, but it was eliminated among couples in the reappraisal condition. This effect of the reappraisal intervention on marital quality over time was mediated through reductions in conflict-related distress over time. This study illustrates the potential of brief, theory-based, social-psychological interventions to preserve the quality of intimate relationships over time.

  View details for DOI 10.1177/0956797612474938

  View details for Web of Science ID 000322904700025

  View details for PubMedID 23804960

• Maladaptive Cognitive Emotion Regulation Prospectively Predicts Subclinical Paranoia COGNITIVE THERAPY AND RESEARCH Westermann, S., Boden, M. T., Gross, J. J., Lincoln, T. M. 2013; 37 (4): 881-885

  View details for DOI 10.1007/s10608-013-9523-6

  View details for Web of Science ID 000322272100024

• Predicting Affective Choice JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY-GENERAL Suri, G., Sheppes, G., Gross, J. J. 2013; 142 (3): 627-632

  Abstract

  Affect is increasingly recognized as central to decision making. However, it is not clear whether affect can be used to predict choice. To address this issue, we conducted 4 studies designed to create and test a model that could predict choice from affect. In Study 1, we used an image rating task to develop a model that predicted approach-avoidance motivations. This model quantified the role of two basic dimensions of affect-valence and arousal-in determining choice. We then tested the predictive power of this model for two types of decisions involving images: preference based selections (Study 2) and risk-reward trade-offs (Study 3). In both cases, the model derived in Study 1 predicted choice and outperformed competing models drawn from well-established theoretical views. Finally, we showed that this model has ecological validity: It predicted choices between news articles on the basis of headlines (Study 4). These findings have implications for diverse fields, including neuroeconomics and judgment and decision making. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved).

  View details for DOI 10.1037/a0029900

  View details for Web of Science ID 000322353600004

  View details for PubMedID 22924884

• Childhood maltreatment and response to cognitive behavioral therapy among individuals with social anxiety disorder. Depression and anxiety Bruce, L. C., Heimberg, R. G., Goldin, P. R., Gross, J. J. 2013; 30 (7): 662-669

  Abstract

  The association between childhood maltreatment-particularly emotional maltreatment-and social anxiety disorder (SAD) has been established by research. Only recently have researchers begun to look at the impact of childhood maltreatment on treatment outcomes, and findings have been mixed. Because prior studies have focused on pharmacotherapy outcomes, or used global measures of childhood adversity or abuse, it is not clear how specific types of maltreatment impact outcomes in cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) for SAD. The current study reports on how specific types of childhood maltreatment such as physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse, physical neglect, and emotional neglect impact response to CBT in adults with SAD.Sixty-eight individuals with a primary diagnosis of SAD completed the childhood trauma questionnaire, along with measures of social anxiety, disability, and life satisfaction.Childhood maltreatment did not affect the rate of response to CBT, but there is evidence for its negative impact. Patients with histories of emotional abuse and emotional neglect reported greater social anxiety, less satisfaction, and greater disability over the course of treatment. Sexual abuse also predicted greater social anxiety.Childhood abuse and/or neglect did not result in differential rates of improvement during CBT; however, those reporting histories of emotional and sexual forms of maltreatment evidenced greater symptoms and/or impairment at pre- and posttreatment. Additional attention to the role of traumatic experiences within CBT for SAD may be warranted.

  View details for DOI 10.1002/da.22112

  View details for PubMedID 23554134

• Changes in Positive Self-Views Mediate the Effect of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Social Anxiety Disorder. Clinical psychological science : a journal of the Association for Psychological Science Goldin, P. R., Jazaieri, H., Ziv, M., Kraemer, H., Heimberg, R., Gross, J. J. 2013; 1 (3): 301-310

  Abstract

  Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) is thought to be characterized by maladaptive self-views. This study investigated whether (1) patients with SAD (n=75) differ at baseline from healthy controls (HC; n=43) in negative and positive self-views, (2) Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) for SAD vs. waitlist control (WL) produces statistically and clinically significant changes in negative and positive self-views, (3) changes in self-views mediate the effect of CBT on social anxiety symptoms, and (4) changes in self-views during CBT related to social anxiety symptoms at 1-year post-CBT. As expected, patients endorsed more negative and fewer positive self-views than HC at baseline. Compared to WL, CBT yielded statistically and clinically significant changes, specifically, fewer negative and more positive self-views. Mediational analysis indicated that increased positive (but not reduced negative) self-views mediated the effect of CBT on social anxiety reduction. Correlational analyses determined that increased positive self-views were associated with social anxiety symptom reduction at 1-year-post-CBT.

  View details for PubMedID 25541599

• There's More to Anxiety Than Meets the Eye: Isolating Threat-Related Attentional Engagement and Disengagement Biases EMOTION Sheppes, G., Luria, R., Fukuda, K., Gross, J. J. 2013; 13 (3): 520-528

  Abstract

  Threat-related attentional biases represent a basic survival mechanism. These biases include an engagement bias involving rapid direction of attention toward threat and a disengagement bias involving slow direction of attention away from threat. The exact nature of these biases in healthy and anxious individuals remains controversial because of the challenges associated with accurately isolating each of these attentional biases. Combining a cognitive attentional task with classical conditioning using electric stimulation, we created a new paradigm that makes it possible to more clearly isolate these attentional biases. Utilizing this novel paradigm, we detected both types of attentional bias and differentiated between levels of trait anxiety, in which low- and high-trait anxiety individuals showed equal levels of engagement bias, but only high-trait anxiety individuals showed impaired disengagement from threat.

  View details for DOI 10.1037/a0031236

  View details for PubMedID 23356563

• Emotion Regulation: Taking Stock and Moving Forward EMOTION Gross, J. J. 2013; 13 (3): 359-365

  Abstract

  The field of emotion regulation has now come of age. However, enthusiasm for the topic continues to outstrip conceptual clarity. In this article, I review the state of the field. I do this by asking--and attempting to succinctly answer--10 fundamental questions concerning emotion regulation, ranging from what emotion regulation is, to why it matters, to how we can change it. I conclude by considering some of the challenges that confront this rapidly growing field.

  View details for DOI 10.1037/a0032135

  View details for Web of Science ID 000320064900001

  View details for PubMedID 23527510

• Affective Science and Health: The Importance of Emotion and Emotion Regulation HEALTH PSYCHOLOGY DeSteno, D., Gross, J. J., Kubzansky, L. 2013; 32 (5): 474-486

  Abstract

  The goal of this article is to provide insight into how recent findings from affective science may be translated into the health arena.We first review definitional issues related to the key concepts of emotion and stress. We then review relevant research that informs our understanding of the affect-health relationship. Subsequently, we highlight findings that are the most informative and also ripe for translation into the domains of health and health-related behaviors.We identify several domains of affect-relevant processes (e.g., emotion-regulation, stress response) that would benefit from increased elaboration. Three themes may guide how best to broaden our understanding across multiple domains: the need to use a differentiated emotion-based approach, the need to consider potential synergistic and oppositional effects of emotion that can occur in parallel, and the need to examine the impact of emotions with respect to regulation and coping at both the intra- and interindividual levels. Building on insights derived from these themes, we suggest a broad integrative framework for use with future investigations. This framework categorizes potential emotion-related effects on health according to whether they influence health directly (e.g., shaping physiological responses) or indirectly (e.g., guiding decision making and behavior). Using this approach will allow researchers to examine systematically the often simultaneous and sometimes opposing influences of emotion on distinct health-relevant cognitive and physiological mechanisms, and to integrate across potentially disparate findings.We conclude by suggesting opportunities for future work that we see as most fruitful based on the presented framework.

  View details for DOI 10.1037/a0030259

  View details for Web of Science ID 000318523400003

  View details for PubMedID 23646831

• EMOTION REGULATION AND POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER: A PROSPECTIVE INVESTIGATION JOURNAL OF SOCIAL AND CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY Boden, M. T., Westermann, S., McRae, K., Kuo, J., Alvarez, J., Kulkarni, M. R., Gross, J. J., Bonn-Miller, M. O. 2013; 32 (3): 296-314

  View details for Web of Science ID 000315675300003

• Friend or Foe? Age Moderates Time-Course Specific Responsiveness to Trustworthiness Cues JOURNALS OF GERONTOLOGY SERIES B-PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES Petrican, R., English, T., Gross, J. J., Grady, C., Hai, T., Moscovitch, M. 2013; 68 (2): 215-223

  Abstract

  There is growing evidence of a greater focus on positive relative to negative information in older adulthood. Up to date, the age-related positivity effect in affective processing has been only investigated with respect to explicit emotional cues. Thus, the purpose of this study was to investigate whether similar age-related differences would be observed in reference to subtler cues, such as emotionally suggestive structural facial characteristics.We used a gaze following paradigm and investigated the temporal dynamics of responding to facial trustworthiness cues in younger and older adults.Both age groups provided similar trustworthiness evaluations. Nonetheless, under responding conditions that allowed for volitional modulatory influences (600 ms), older (but not younger) adults with superior cognitive resources showed more gaze following in response to trustworthy than to untrustworthy looking faces.This study provided initial evidence that the age-related positivity effect in affective processing extends to subtle emotional cues, generally interpreted as being reflective of socially relevant personality traits. Implications for aging theories of motivated cognition and developmental changes in reliance on superficial affective cues are discussed.

  View details for DOI 10.1093/geronb/gbs064

  View details for Web of Science ID 000315050900008

  View details for PubMedID 22929388

• The interactive effects of emotional clarity and cognitive reappraisal on problematic cannabis use among medical cannabis users ADDICTIVE BEHAVIORS Boden, M. T., Gross, J. J., Babson, K. A., Bonn-Miller, M. O. 2013; 38 (3): 1663-1668

  Abstract

  This study examined whether emotional clarity (i.e., the extent to which one can identify and understand the type and source of emotions one experiences) and cognitive reappraisal (i.e., altering how potentially emotion-eliciting situations are construed to change their emotional impact) would individually or jointly be associated with problematic cannabis use among individuals receiving cannabis for medical reasons (n=153). Findings indicated that problematic cannabis use was predicted by the interaction between emotional clarity and cognitive reappraisal. In particular, low levels of emotional clarity combined with high levels of cognitive reappraisal predicted problematic cannabis use. The current study is the first to demonstrate the interactive effects of emotional clarity and the use of cognitive reappraisal in predicting substance use disorder outcomes. Such findings are important given the lack of empirical data demonstrating for whom and for which conditions cannabis is either beneficial or detrimental.

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.addbeh.2012.09.001

  View details for Web of Science ID 000315369800012

  View details for PubMedID 23254215

• Emotion Regulation in Adolescence: A Prospective Study of Expressive Suppression and Depressive Symptoms JOURNAL OF EARLY ADOLESCENCE Larsen, J. K., Vermulst, A. A., Geenen, R., van Middendorp, H., English, T., Gross, J. J., Thao Ha, T., Evers, C., Engels, R. C. 2013; 33 (2): 184-200

  View details for DOI 10.1177/0272431611432712

  View details for Web of Science ID 000313732800002

• MBSR vs aerobic exercise in social anxiety: fMRI of emotion regulation of negative self-beliefs SOCIAL COGNITIVE AND AFFECTIVE NEUROSCIENCE Goldin, P., Ziv, M., Jazaieri, H., Hahn, K., Gross, J. J. 2013; 8 (1): 65-72

  Abstract

  Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) is thought to reduce emotional reactivity and enhance emotion regulation in patients with social anxiety disorder (SAD). The goal of this study was to examine the neural correlates of deploying attention to regulate responses to negative self-beliefs using functional magnetic resonance imaging. Participants were 56 patients with generalized SAD in a randomized controlled trial who were assigned to MBSR or a comparison aerobic exercise (AE) stress reduction program. Compared to AE, MBSR yielded greater (i) reductions in negative emotion when implementing regulation and (ii) increases in attention-related parietal cortical regions. Meditation practice was associated with decreases in negative emotion and social anxiety symptom severity, and increases in attention-related parietal cortex neural responses when implementing attention regulation of negative self-beliefs. Changes in attention regulation during MBSR may be an important psychological factor that helps to explain how mindfulness meditation training benefits patients with anxiety disorders.

  View details for DOI 10.1093/scan/nss054

  View details for Web of Science ID 000313649700009

  View details for PubMedID 22586252

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC3541489

• Affective Disturbance and Psychopathology: An Emotion Regulation Perspective JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL PSYCHOPATHOLOGY Jazaieri, H., Urry, H. L., Gross, J. J. 2013; 4 (5): 584-599

  View details for DOI 10.5127/jep.030312

  View details for Web of Science ID 000209729400009

• Can Emotion Regulation Change Political Attitudes in Intractable Conflicts? From the Laboratory to the Field PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE Halperin, E., Porat, R., Tamir, M., Gross, J. J. 2013; 24 (1): 106-111

  Abstract

  We hypothesized that an adaptive form of emotion regulation-cognitive reappraisal-would decrease negative emotion and increase support for conflict-resolution policies. In Study 1, Israeli participants were invited to a laboratory session in which they were randomly assigned to either a cognitive-reappraisal condition or a control condition; they were then presented with anger-inducing information related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Participants in the reappraisal condition were more supportive of conciliatory policies and less supportive of aggressive policies compared with participants in the control condition. In Study 2, we replicated these findings in responses to a real political event (the recent Palestinian bid for United Nations recognition). When assessed 1 week after training, participants trained in cognitive reappraisal showed greater support for conciliatory policies and less support for aggressive policies toward Palestinians compared with participants in a control condition. These effects persisted when participants were reassessed 5 months after training, and at both time points, negative emotion mediated the effects of reappraisal.

  View details for DOI 10.1177/0956797612452572

  View details for Web of Science ID 000315099700015

  View details for PubMedID 23211565

• Emotion regulation and cognition Handbook of cognition and emotion Suri, G., Sheppes, G., Gross, J. J. edited by Robinson, M. D., Watkins, E. R., Harmon-Jones, E. New York, NY: Guilford. 2013: 195–209
• A Spanish Adaptation of the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT Cabello, R., Salguero, J. M., Fernandez-Berrocal, P., Gross, J. J. 2013; 29 (4): 234-240

  View details for DOI 10.1027/1015-5759/a000150

  View details for Web of Science ID 000326165900002

• An emotion regulation perspective on belief change Oxford handbook of cognitive psychology Boden, M. T., Gross, J. J. edited by Reseiberg, D. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. 2013: 585–599
• An emotion regulation perspective on belief change Oxford handbook of cognitive psychology Boden, M. T., Gross, J. J. edited by Reisberg, D. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. 2013
• Emotion regulation Enclopedia of the mind McRae, K., Gross, J. J. edited by Pashler, H. Washington D.C.: Sage. 2013: 310–313
• Oxytocin increases the willingness to socially share one’s emotions International Journal of Psychology Lane, A., Luminet, O., Rime, B., Gross, J. J., de Timary, P., Mikolajczak, M. 2013; 48: 676-681
• What time can tell us The temporal dynamics of emotion regulation Conference on Changing Emotions Thiruchselvam, R., Gross, J. J. PSYCHOLOGY PRESS. 2013: 166–173

  View details for Web of Science ID 000315701500023

• Reappraisal mediates the link between 5-HTTLPR and social anxiety symptoms Emotion Miu, A. C., Vulturar, R., Chis, A., Ungureanu, L., Gross, J. J. 2013; 6: 1012-1022
• Conceptualizing emotional labor: An emotion regulation perspective Emotional labor in the 21st century: Diverse perspectives on the psychology of emotion regulation at work Gross, J. J. edited by Grandey, A. A., Diefendorff, J. M., Rupp, D. E. New York, NY: Psychology Press/Routledge. 2013: 288–294
• Emotion regulation in close relationships The Oxford handbook of close relationships English, T., John, O. P., Gross, J. J. edited by Simpson, J. A., Campbell, L. Oxford University Press. 2013: 500–513
• Responding to trauma and loss: An emotion regulation perspective The resilience handbook: Approaches to stress and trauma Boden, M. T., Kulkarni, M., Shurick, A., Bonn-Miller, M., Gross, J. J. edited by Kent, M., Davis, M. C., Reich, J. W. Routledge: New York. 2013: 86–99
• Affective disturbance and psychopathology: An emotion regulation perspective Journal of Experimental Psychopathology Jazaieri, H., Urry, H. L., Gross, J. J. 2013; 4: 584-599
• Changes in positive self-views mediate the effect of cognitive-behavioral therapy for social anxiety disorder Clinical Psychological Science Goldin, P. R., Jazaieri, H., Ziv, M., Kraemer, J., Heimberg, R., Gross, J. J. 2013; 1: 301-310
• Emotion regulation in social anxiety disorder: behavioral and neural responses to three socio-emotional tasks. Biology of mood & anxiety disorders Ziv, M., Goldin, P. R., Jazaieri, H., Hahn, K. S., Gross, J. J. 2013; 3 (1): 20-?

  Abstract

  Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is thought to involve deficits in emotion regulation, and more specifically, deficits in cognitive reappraisal. However, evidence for such deficits is mixed.Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) of blood oxygen-level dependent (BOLD) signal, we examined reappraisal-related behavioral and neural responses in 27 participants with generalized SAD and 27 healthy controls (HC) during three socio-emotional tasks: (1) looming harsh faces (Faces); (2) videotaped actors delivering social criticism (Criticism); and (3) written autobiographical negative self-beliefs (Beliefs).Behaviorally, compared to HC, participants with SAD had lesser reappraisal-related reduction in negative emotion in the Beliefs task. Neurally, compared to HC, participants with SAD had lesser BOLD responses in reappraisal-related brain regions when reappraising faces, in visual and attention related regions when reappraising criticism, and in the left superior temporal gyrus when reappraising beliefs. Examination of the temporal dynamics of BOLD responses revealed late reappraisal-related increased responses in HC, compared to SAD. In addition, the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (DMPFC), which showed reappraisal-related increased activity in both groups, had similar temporal dynamics in SAD and HC during the Faces and Criticism tasks, but greater late response increases in HC, compared to SAD, during the Beliefs task. Reappraisal-related greater late DMPFC responses were associated with greater percent reduction in negative emotion ratings in SAD patients.These results suggest a dysfunction of cognitive reappraisal in SAD patients, with overall reduced late brain responses in prefrontal regions, particularly when reappraising faces. Decreased late activity in the DMPFC might be associated with deficient reappraisal and greater negative reactivity.ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT00380731.

  View details for DOI 10.1186/2045-5380-3-20

  View details for PubMedID 24517388

• Is there less to social anxiety than meets the eye? Behavioral and neural responses to three socio-emotional tasks. Biology of mood & anxiety disorders Ziv, M., Goldin, P. R., Jazaieri, H., Hahn, K. S., Gross, J. J. 2013; 3 (1): 5-?

  Abstract

  Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is widely thought to be characterized by heightened behavioral and limbic reactivity to socio-emotional stimuli. However, although behavioral findings are clear, neural findings are surprisingly mixed.Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we examined behavioral and brain responses in a priori emotion generative regions of interest (amygdala and insula) in 67 patients with generalized SAD and in 28 healthy controls (HC) during three distinct socio-emotional tasks. We administered these socio-emotional tasks during one fMRI scanning session: 1) looming harsh faces (Faces); 2) videotaped actors delivering social criticism (Criticism); and 3) written negative self-beliefs (Beliefs).In each task, SAD patients reported heightened negative emotion, compared to HC. There were, however, no SAD versus HC differential brain responses in the amygdala and insula. Between-group whole-brain analyses confirmed no group differences in the responses of the amygdala and insula, and indicated different brain networks activated during each of the tasks. In SAD participants, social anxiety symptom severity was associated with increased BOLD signal in the left insula during the Faces task.The similar responses in amygdala and insula in SAD and HC participants suggest that heightened negative emotion responses reported by patients with SAD may be related to dysfunction in higher cognitive processes (e.g., distorted appraisal, attention biases, or ineffective cognitive reappraisal). In addition, the findings of this study emphasize the differential effects of socio-emotional experimental tasks.

  View details for DOI 10.1186/2045-5380-3-5

  View details for PubMedID 23448192

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC3608942

• Emotional reactivity and regulation in panic disorder: insights from a functional magnetic resonance imaging study of cognitive behavioral therapy. Biological psychiatry Shurick, A. A., Gross, J. J. 2013; 73 (1): 5-6

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.biopsych.2012.10.008

  View details for PubMedID 23217459

• Emotional reactivity and regulation in panic disorder: insights from a functional magnetic resonance imaging study of cognitive behavioral therapy. Biological psychiatry Shurick, A. A., Gross, J. J. 2013; 73 (1): 5-6

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.biopsych.2012.10.008

  View details for PubMedID 23217459

• Emotion awareness and regulation in individuals with schizophrenia: Implications for social functioning PSYCHIATRY RESEARCH Kimhy, D., Vakhrusheva, J., Jobson-Ahmed, L., Tarrier, N., Malaspina, D., Gross, J. J. 2012; 200 (2-3): 193-201

  Abstract

  Successful social functioning requires adaptive forms of emotion awareness and regulation. However, despite well-documented deficits in social functioning in individuals with schizophrenia, little is known about emotion awareness and regulation in this population. Therefore, we compared emotion awareness and regulation in individuals with schizophrenia and healthy controls, and then, within the schizophrenia group, we examined their impact on social functioning. Forty-four individuals with schizophrenia and 20 healthy controls completed measures of emotion awareness, emotion regulation, and social functioning, in addition to control measures, including neurocognitive functioning. Compared to controls, individuals with schizophrenia displayed significant deficits describing and identifying their emotions and used significantly less reappraisal and more suppression to regulate their emotions. Among the schizophrenia group, better social functioning was associated with the ability to identify, and in particular to describe emotions, better emotion management, as well as greater use of reappraisal and less use of suppression. A hierarchical multiple regression analysis indicated that, after controlling for age and neurocognition, difficulties describing feelings accounted for 35% of the social functioning variance. The present study highlights the importance of emotion awareness and regulation in schizophrenia, pointing to their substantial influence on social functioning above and beyond the impact of neurocognitive functioning.

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.psychres.2012.05.029

  View details for Web of Science ID 000313764700021

  View details for PubMedID 22749227

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC3469754

• Emotion regulation and peer-rated social functioning: A 4-year longitudinal study JOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN PERSONALITY English, T., John, O. P., Srivastava, S., Gross, J. J. 2012; 46 (6): 780-784

  Abstract

  Different emotion regulation strategies have been linked to distinct social outcomes, but only concurrently or in the short-term. The present research employed a four-year longitudinal design with peer-reported measures of social functioning to examine the long-term social effects of emotion regulation. Individual differences in suppression before entering college predicted weaker social connections (e.g., less close relationships) at the end of college, whereas reappraisal predicted stronger social connections and more favorable sociometric standing (e.g., higher social status). These effects of emotion regulation remained intact even when controlling for baseline social functioning and Big Five personality traits. These findings suggest that individual differences in the use of particular emotion regulation strategies have an enduring impact, shaping the individual's social environment over time.

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.jrp.2012.09.006

  View details for Web of Science ID 000312626100018

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC3587109

• Experiential Versus Analytical Emotion Regulation and Sleep: Breaking the Link Between Negative Events and Sleep Disturbance EMOTION Vandekerckhove, M., Kestemont, J., Weiss, R., Schotte, C., Exadaktylos, V., Haex, B., Verbraecken, J., Gross, J. J. 2012; 12 (6): 1415-1421

  Abstract

  Despite a long history of interest in emotion regulation as well as in the mechanisms that regulate sleep, the relationship between emotion regulation and sleep is not yet well understood. The present study investigated whether "an experiential approach"-defined by coping through affectively acknowledging, understanding, and expressing actual emotional experience and affective feeling about a situation-compared with a "cognitive analytical approach"-defined by the cognitive analysis of the causes, meanings and implications of the situation for the own self-would buffer the impact of an emotional failure experience on (1) emotional experience and (2) sleep structure assessed by EEG polysomnography. Twenty-eight healthy volunteers participated in this study. A direct comparison of the two emotion regulation strategies revealed that participants who were instructed to apply an experiential approach showed less fragmentation of sleep than participants who were instructed to apply an analytical approach. The use of an experiential approach resulted in a longer sleep time, higher sleep efficiency, fewer awakenings, less % time awake, and fewer minutes wake after sleep onset. Implications of the differential effects of these two forms of emotion regulation on sleep are discussed.

  View details for DOI 10.1037/a0028501

  View details for Web of Science ID 000311878700029

  View details for PubMedID 22775124

• Social Coping by Masking? Parental Support and Peer Victimization as Mediators of the Relationship Between Depressive Symptoms and Expressive Suppression in Adolescents JOURNAL OF YOUTH AND ADOLESCENCE Larsen, J. K., Vermulst, A. A., Eisinga, R., English, T., Gross, J. J., Hofman, E., Scholte, R. H., Engels, R. C. 2012; 41 (12): 1628-1642

  Abstract

  Expressive suppression is regarded as a generally ineffective emotion regulation strategy and appears to be associated with the development of depressive symptoms among adolescents. However, the mechanisms linking suppression to depressive symptoms are not well understood. The main aim of this study was to examine two potential mediators of the prospective relationship from depressive symptoms to expressive suppression among adolescents: parental support and peer victimization. Structural equation modelling was used to construct a three-wave cross-lagged model (n = 2,051 adolescents, 48.5 % female, at baseline; 1,465 with data at all three time points) with all possible longitudinal linkages. Depressive symptoms preceded decreases in perceived parental support 1 year later. Decreases in parental support mediated the relationship between depressive symptoms and increases in expressive suppression over a 2-year period. Multi-group analyses show that the mediation model tested was significant for girls, but not for boys. No evidence for other mediating models was found. Although initial suppression preceded increases in depressive symptoms 1 year later, we did not find any evidence for the reversed link from suppression to depressive symptoms. Clear evidence for a reciprocal relationship between depressive symptoms and parental support was found. However, only limited and inconsistent support was found for a reciprocal relationship between depressive symptoms and peer victimization. Finally, although some evidence for a unidirectional relationship from parental support to increases in suppression was found, no significant prospective relationship was found between peer victimization and suppression. The implications of our clear results for parental support, and mostly lacking results for peer victimization, are discussed.

  View details for DOI 10.1007/s10964-012-9782-7

  View details for Web of Science ID 000310871800007

  View details for PubMedID 22739935

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC3492695

• Promoting Intergroup Contact by Changing Beliefs: Group Malleability, Intergroup Anxiety, and Contact Motivation EMOTION Halperin, E., Crisp, R. J., Husnu, S., Trzesniewski, K. H., Dweck, C. S., Gross, J. J. 2012; 12 (6): 1192-1195

  Abstract

  Intergroup contact plays a crucial role in moderating long-term conflicts. Unfortunately, the motivation to make contact with outgroup members is usually very low in such conflicts. We hypothesized that one limiting factor is the belief that groups cannot change, which leads to increased intergroup anxiety and decreased contact motivation. To test this hypothesis, we experimentally manipulated beliefs about group malleability in the context of the conflict between Greek and Turkish Cypriots and then assessed intergroup anxiety and motivation to engage in intergroup contact. Turkish Cypriots who were led to believe that groups can change (with no mention of the specific groups involved) reported lower levels of intergroup anxiety and higher motivation to interact and communicate with Greek Cypriots in the future, compared with those who were led to believe that groups cannot change. This effect of group malleability manipulation on contact motivation was mediated by intergroup anxiety.

  View details for DOI 10.1037/a0028620

  View details for Web of Science ID 000311878700003

  View details for PubMedID 22642339

• Trait Rumination is Associated with Enhanced Recollection of Negative Words COGNITIVE THERAPY AND RESEARCH Kuo, J. R., Edge, I. G., Ramel, W., Edge, M. D., Drabant, E. M., Dayton, W. M., Gross, J. J. 2012; 36 (6): 722-730

  Abstract

  Rumination is associated with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). To better understand this association, researchers have begun to investigate the relationship between rumination and cognitive biases that are linked to MDD. To date, several studies have found that rumination is related to negatively biased memory, but it is not clear whether this relationship is independent of depressive symptoms. To address this question, the present study examined 97 healthy Caucasian women between the ages of 18 and 25. Participants performed an encoding task of self-referent adjectives, followed by a recognition task. The recognition task utilized a remember/know paradigm to separately examine recollection-based memory and familiarity-based memory. Trait rumination was assessed using the ruminative response scale (RRS). Results indicate that high trait rumination is associated with selective enhancement of recollection for negative words compared to neutral words and a trend toward selective enhancement for recollection for negative words compared to positive words. Trait rumination does not affect biases in overall recognition sensitivity or familiarity.

  View details for DOI 10.1007/s10608-011-9430-7

  View details for Web of Science ID 000310741700013

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC4289628

• Looking Inward: Shifting Attention Within Working Memory Representations Alters Emotional Responses PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE Thiruchselvam, R., Hajcak, G., Gross, J. J. 2012; 23 (12): 1461-1466

  Abstract

  Selective attention plays a fundamental role in emotion regulation. To date, research has examined individuals' use of selective attention to regulate emotional responses during stimulus presentation. In the present study, we examined whether selective attention can be used to regulate emotional responses during a poststimulus period when representations are active within working memory (WM). On each trial, participants viewed either a negative or a neutral image. After the offset of the image, they maintained a representation of it in WM and were cued to focus their attention on either neutral or arousing aspects of that representation. Results showed that, relative to focusing on an arousing portion of a negative-image representation within WM, focusing on a neutral portion of the representation reduced both self-reported negative emotion and the late positive potential, a robust neural measure of emotional reactivity. These data suggest that selective attention can alter emotional responses arising from affective representations active within WM.

  View details for DOI 10.1177/0956797612449838

  View details for Web of Science ID 000314502600004

  View details for PubMedID 23137969

• The effects of acceptance and suppression on anticipation and receipt of painful stimulation JOURNAL OF BEHAVIOR THERAPY AND EXPERIMENTAL PSYCHIATRY Braams, B. R., Blechert, J., Boden, M. T., Gross, J. J. 2012; 43 (4): 1014-1018

  Abstract

  Previous research has found that in some contexts, suppression increases distress, whereas acceptance decreases distress. It is not clear, however, whether these two common forms of emotion regulation have comparable or divergent physiological and behavioral effects during the anticipation and receipt of a painful stimulus.To address this issue, we randomized participants to suppression, acceptance, or no instruction control groups, and assessed their cardiovascular and behavioral responses while they anticipated and then received electric shocks.Findings revealed that compared to the control condition (1) acceptance and suppression led to comparable reductions in pain reports and cardiac defense responses; and (2) acceptance led to greater reductions in reports of anticipatory anxiety than suppression.The current study tested only two emotion regulation techniques in the context of a pain-inducing stimulus that has limited ecological validity.In contrast to previous research, we found that both acceptance and suppression are effective in reducing pain and anxiety in response to experimentally induced pain.

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.jbtep.2012.04.001

  View details for Web of Science ID 000306625200006

  View details for PubMedID 22580070

• Durable Effects of Cognitive Restructuring on Conditioned Fear EMOTION Shurick, A. A., Hamilton, J. R., Harris, L. T., Roy, A. K., Gross, J. J., Phelps, E. A. 2012; 12 (6): 1393-1397

  Abstract

  Studies of cognitive reappraisal have demonstrated that reinterpreting a stimulus can alter emotional responding, yet few studies have examined the durable effects associated with reinterpretation-based emotion regulation strategies. Evidence for the enduring effects of emotion regulation may be found in clinical studies that use cognitive restructuring (CR) techniques in cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) to alleviate anxiety. These techniques are based on cognitive theories of anxiety that suggest these disorders arise from biased cognitions; therefore, changing a person's thoughts will elicit durable changes in an individual's emotional responses. Despite the considerable success of CBT for anxiety disorders, durable effects associated with emotion regulation have not been thoroughly examined in the context of a laboratory paradigm. The goal of this study was to determine whether CR, a technique used in CBT and similar to cognitive reappraisal, could attenuate conditioned fear responses, and whether the effect would persist over time (24 hr). We conditioned participants using images of snakes or spiders that were occasionally paired with a mild shock to the wrist while we obtained subjective fear reports and electrodermal activity (EDA). After conditioning, half of the participants were randomly assigned to CR training aimed at decreasing their emotional response to the shock and the conditioned stimuli, while the other half received no such training. All participants returned 24 hr later to repeat the conditioning session. Compared with control participants, CR participants demonstrated a reduction in fear and EDA across sessions. These findings suggest that CR has durable effects on fear responding.

  View details for DOI 10.1037/a0029143

  View details for Web of Science ID 000311878700026

  View details for PubMedID 22775125

• Cognitive Reappraisal Self-Efficacy Mediates the Effects of Individual Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Social Anxiety Disorder JOURNAL OF CONSULTING AND CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY Goldin, P. R., Ziv, M., Jazaieri, H., Werner, K., Kraemer, H., Heimberg, R. G., Gross, J. J. 2012; 80 (6): 1034-1040

  Abstract

  To examine whether changes in cognitive reappraisal self-efficacy (CR-SE) mediate the effects of individually administered cognitive-behavioral therapy (I-CBT) for social anxiety disorder (SAD) on severity of social anxiety symptoms.A randomized controlled trial in which 75 adult patients (21-55 years of age; 53% male; 57% Caucasian) with a principal diagnosis of generalized SAD were randomly assigned to 16 sessions of I-CBT (n = 38) or a wait-list control (WL) group (n = 37). All patients completed self-report inventories measuring CR-SE and social anxiety symptoms at baseline and post-I-CBT/post-WL, and I-CBT completers were also assessed at 1-year posttreatment.Compared with WL, I-CBT resulted in greater increases in CR-SE and greater decreases in social anxiety. Increases in CR-SE during I-CBT mediated the effect of I-CBT on social anxiety. Gains achieved by patients receiving I-CBT were maintained 1-year posttreatment, and I-CBT-related increases in CR-SE were also associated with reduction in social anxiety at the 1-year follow-up.Increasing CR-SE may be an important mechanism by which I-CBT for SAD produces both immediate and long-term reductions in social anxiety.

  View details for DOI 10.1037/a0028555

  View details for Web of Science ID 000311817500007

  View details for PubMedID 22582765

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC3424305

• Age-Related Differences in Emotional Reactivity, Regulation, and Rejection Sensitivity in Adolescence EMOTION Silvers, J. A., McRae, K., Gabrieli, J. D., Gross, J. J., Remy, K. A., Ochsner, K. N. 2012; 12 (6): 1235-1247

  Abstract

  Although adolescents' emotional lives are thought to be more turbulent than those of adults, it is unknown whether this difference is attributable to developmental changes in emotional reactivity or emotion regulation. Study 1 addressed this question by presenting healthy individuals aged 10-23 with negative and neutral pictures and asking them to respond naturally or use cognitive reappraisal to down-regulate their responses on a trial-by-trial basis. Results indicated that age exerted both linear and quadratic effects on regulation success but was unrelated to emotional reactivity. Study 2 replicated and extended these findings using a different reappraisal task and further showed that situational (i.e., social vs. nonsocial stimuli) and dispositional (i.e., level of rejection sensitivity) social factors interacted with age to predict regulation success: young adolescents were less successful at regulating responses to social than to nonsocial stimuli, particularly if the adolescents were high in rejection sensitivity. Taken together, these results have important implications for the inclusion of emotion regulation in models of emotional and cognitive development.

  View details for DOI 10.1037/a0028297

  View details for Web of Science ID 000311878700009

  View details for PubMedID 22642356

• Randomized controlled trial of mindfulness-based stress reduction versus aerobic exercise: effects on the self-referential brain network in social anxiety disorder FRONTIERS IN HUMAN NEUROSCIENCE Goldin, P., Ziv, M., Jazaieri, H., Gross, J. J. 2012; 6

  Abstract

  Background: Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is characterized by distorted self-views. The goal of this study was to examine whether mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) alters behavioral and brain measures of negative and positive self-views. Methods: Fifty-six adult patients with generalized SAD were randomly assigned to MBSR or a comparison aerobic exercise (AE) program. A self-referential encoding task was administered at baseline and post-intervention to examine changes in behavioral and neural responses in the self-referential brain network during functional magnetic resonance imaging. Patients were cued to decide whether positive and negative social trait adjectives were self-descriptive or in upper case font. Results: Behaviorally, compared to AE, MBSR produced greater decreases in negative self-views, and equivalent increases in positive self-views. Neurally, during negative self versus case, compared to AE, MBSR led to increased brain responses in the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC). There were no differential changes for positive self versus case. Secondary analyses showed that changes in endorsement of negative and positive self-views were associated with decreased social anxiety symptom severity for MBSR, but not AE. Additionally, MBSR-related increases in dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (DMPFC) activity during negative self-view versus case were associated with decreased social anxiety related disability and increased mindfulness. Analysis of neural temporal dynamics revealed MBSR-related changes in the timing of neural responses in the DMPFC and PCC for negative self-view versus case. Conclusion: These findings suggest that MBSR attenuates maladaptive habitual self-views by facilitating automatic (i.e., uninstructed) recruitment of cognitive and attention regulation neural networks. This highlights potentially important links between self-referential and cognitive-attention regulation systems and suggests that MBSR may enhance more adaptive social self-referential processes in patients with SAD.

  View details for DOI 10.3389/fnhum.2012.00295

  View details for Web of Science ID 000311226900001

  View details for PubMedID 23133411

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC3488800

• Leadership is associated with lower levels of stress PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Sherman, G. D., Lee, J. J., Cuddy, A. J., Renshon, J., Oveis, C., Gross, J. J., Lerner, J. S. 2012; 109 (44): 17903-17907

  Abstract

  As leaders ascend to more powerful positions in their groups, they face ever-increasing demands. As a result, there is a common perception that leaders have higher stress levels than nonleaders. However, if leaders also experience a heightened sense of control--a psychological factor known to have powerful stress-buffering effects--leadership should be associated with reduced stress levels. Using unique samples of real leaders, including military officers and government officials, we found that, compared with nonleaders, leaders had lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol and lower reports of anxiety (study 1). In study 2, leaders holding more powerful positions exhibited lower cortisol levels and less anxiety than leaders holding less powerful positions, a relationship explained significantly by their greater sense of control. Altogether, these findings reveal a clear relationship between leadership and stress, with leadership level being inversely related to stress.

  View details for DOI 10.1073/pnas.1207042109

  View details for Web of Science ID 000311149900050

  View details for PubMedID 23012416

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC3497788

• The Stranger Effect: The Rejection of Affective Deviants PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE Szczurek, L., Monin, B., Gross, J. J. 2012; 23 (10): 1105-1111

  Abstract

  What happens when affective displays deviate from normative expectations? In this study, participants evaluated target individuals displaying flat, incongruent, or congruent expressions seemingly in response to pictures eliciting positive, neutral, or negative affect. Relative to targets who displayed normative reactions, those who violated affective norms (affective deviants) were rated more negatively on various dimensions of social judgment. Participants also preferred greater social distance from affective deviants, reported more moral outrage in response to them, and inferred that these targets did not share their moral values. Incongruent affect resulted in more negative social judgment than did flat affect, and this relationship was moderated by stimulus valence. Finally, the relationship between targets' affective expressions and participants' avoidant intentions was mediated by the extent to which participants thought the targets shared their moral values. These findings demonstrate the interpersonal costs of affective deviance, revealing the pervasiveness and force of affective norms.

  View details for DOI 10.1177/0956797612445314

  View details for Web of Science ID 000314499600008

  View details for PubMedID 22961772

• When Trying Is Not Enough: Emotion Regulation and the Effort-Success Gap in Bipolar Disorder EMOTION Gruber, J., Harvey, A. G., Gross, J. J. 2012; 12 (5): 997-1003

  Abstract

  Bipolar disorder (BD) is presumed to involve difficulties in emotion regulation. Little is known, however, about the specific emotion regulation profile associated with this disorder. The present study examined the use of specific emotion regulation strategies among individuals with BD (n = 37) and healthy controls (n = 38). Participants' spontaneous use of reappraisal and suppression, as well as their associated effort and success at regulating their emotions, was measured in the context of three emotionally evocative films (neutral, happy, sad). Results indicated that the BD participants made greater use of spontaneous suppression and reappraisal across all films compared to the control group. BD participants also reported greater effort, but less success, when spontaneously regulating emotions. These findings suggest that bipolar disorder is associated with less success when regulating emotions despite a widespread engagement of regulatory efforts. Discussion focuses on the disjunction between troubled emotion functioning in bipolar disorder and sustained efforts to modify intense emotions.

  View details for DOI 10.1037/a0026822

  View details for Web of Science ID 000309946200018

  View details for PubMedID 22251049

• You don't like me, do you? Enhanced ERP responses to averted eye gaze in social anxiety BIOLOGICAL PSYCHOLOGY Schmitz, J., Scheel, C. N., Rigon, A., Gross, J. J., Blechert, J. 2012; 91 (2): 263-269

  Abstract

  Social anxiety is associated with an attentional bias toward angry and fearful faces, along with an enhanced processing of faces per se. However, little is known about the processing of gaze direction, a subtle but important social cue. Participants with high or low social anxiety (HSA/LSA) observed eye pairs with direct or averted gaze while subjective ratings and event-related potentials (ERPs) were measured. Behaviorally, all participants rated averted gaze as more unpleasant than direct gaze. Neurally, only HSA participants showed a trend for higher P100 amplitudes to averted gaze and significantly enhanced processing at late latencies (Late positive potential [LPP]), indicative of a specific processing bias for averted gaze. Furthermore, HSA individuals showed enhanced processing of both direct and averted gaze relative to the LSA group at intermediate latencies (Early posterior negativity [EPN]). Both general and specific attentional biases play a role in social anxiety. Averted gaze--potential sign of disinterest--deserves more attention in the attentional bias literature.

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2012.07.004

  View details for Web of Science ID 000310418600012

  View details for PubMedID 22820039

• Cognitive Regulation during Decision Making Shifts Behavioral Control between Ventromedial and Dorsolateral Prefrontal Value Systems JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE Hutcherson, C. A., Plassmann, H., Gross, J. J., Rangel, A. 2012; 32 (39): 13543-13554

  Abstract

  Cognitive regulation is often used to influence behavioral outcomes. However, the computational and neurobiological mechanisms by which it affects behavior remain unknown. We studied this issue using an fMRI task in which human participants used cognitive regulation to upregulate and downregulate their cravings for foods at the time of choice. We found that activity in both ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) correlated with value. We also found evidence that two distinct regulatory mechanisms were at work: value modulation, which operates by changing the values assigned to foods in vmPFC and dlPFC at the time of choice, and behavioral control modulation, which operates by changing the relative influence of the vmPFC and dlPFC value signals on the action selection process used to make choices. In particular, during downregulation, activation decreased in the value-sensitive region of dlPFC (indicating value modulation) but not in vmPFC, and the relative contribution of the two value signals to behavior shifted toward the dlPFC (indicating behavioral control modulation). The opposite pattern was observed during upregulation: activation increased in vmPFC but not dlPFC, and the relative contribution to behavior shifted toward the vmPFC. Finally, ventrolateral PFC and posterior parietal cortex were more active during both upregulation and downregulation, and were functionally connected with vmPFC and dlPFC during cognitive regulation, which suggests that they help to implement the changes to the decision-making circuitry generated by cognitive regulation.

  View details for DOI 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.6387-11.2012

  View details for Web of Science ID 000309506300024

  View details for PubMedID 23015444

• THE PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGY OF MIXED EMOTIONS 52nd Annual Meeting of the Society-for-Psychophysiological-Research Kreibig, S. D., Samson, A. C., Gross, J. J. WILEY-BLACKWELL. 2012: S40–S40

  View details for Web of Science ID 000314272300221

• EVIDENCE OF BLUNTING OF TASK-DRIVEN COORDINATED CARDIAC AND SOMATIC MOVEMENT RESPONSES IN PTSD 52nd Annual Meeting of the Society-for-Psychophysiological-Research Woodward, S. H., Shurick, A. A., Gross, J. J. WILEY-BLACKWELL. 2012: S116–S116

  View details for Web of Science ID 000314272300625

• Emotion regulation and successful aging TRENDS IN COGNITIVE SCIENCES Suri, G., Gross, J. J. 2012; 16 (8): 409-410

  Abstract

  Despite normative declines in old age, healthy elderly typically report surprisingly high levels of well-being. It is not clear why this is so. A study by Brassen and colleagues suggests that one factor may be reduced responsiveness to regret. These findings highlight the role of emotion regulation in successful aging.

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.tics.2012.06.007

  View details for Web of Science ID 000307696400007

  View details for PubMedID 22739000

• Emotion Regulation in Asperger's Syndrome and High-Functioning Autism EMOTION Samson, A. C., Huber, O., Gross, J. J. 2012; 12 (4): 659-665

  Abstract

  It is generally thought that individuals with Asperger's syndrome and high-functioning autism (AS/HFA) have deficits in theory of mind. These deficits have been previously linked to problems with social cognition. However, we reasoned that AS/HFA individuals' Theory of Mind deficits also might lead to problems with emotion regulation. To assess emotional functioning in AS/HFA, 27 AS/HFA adults (16 women) and 27 age-, gender-, and education-matched typically developing (TD) participants completed a battery of measures of emotion experience, labeling, and regulation. With respect to emotion experience, individuals with AS/HFA reported higher levels of negative emotions, but similar levels of positive emotions, compared with TD individuals. With respect to emotion labeling, individuals with AS/HFA had greater difficulties identifying and describing their emotions, with approximately two-thirds exceeding the cutoff for alexithymia. With respect to emotion regulation, individuals with AS/HFA used reappraisal less frequently than TD individuals and reported lower levels of reappraisal self-efficacy. Although AS/HFA individuals used suppression more frequently than TD individuals, no difference in suppression self-efficacy was found. It is important to note that these differences in emotion regulation were evident even when controlling for emotion experience and labeling. Implications of these deficits are discussed, and future research directions are proposed.

  View details for DOI 10.1037/a0027975

  View details for Web of Science ID 000307085800001

  View details for PubMedID 22642342

• Lead Me Not into Temptation: Using Cognitive Reappraisal to Reduce Goal Inconsistent Behavior PLOS ONE Leroy, V., Gregoire, J., Magen, E., Gross, J. J., Mikolajczak, M. 2012; 7 (7)

  Abstract

  Temptations besiege us, and we must resist their appeal if we are to achieve our long-term goals. In two studies, we tested the hypothesis that cognitive reappraisal could be used to successfully maintain performance in a task embedded in temptation. In Study 1, 62 participants had to search for information on the Internet while resisting attractive task-irrelevant content on preselected sites. In Study 2, 58 participants had to count target words in a funny TV sequence. Compared to the no-reappraisal condition, participants who understood the situation as a test of willpower (the reappraisal condition) (1) performed better at the task (Studies 1 and 2), and (2) were less tempted by the attractive content of the TV sequence (Study 2). These findings suggest that, by making the temptation less attractive and the task more appealing, cognitive reappraisal can help us resist temptation.

  View details for DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0039493

  View details for Web of Science ID 000306751300005

  View details for PubMedID 22911686

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC3404050

• A Randomized Trial of MBSR Versus Aerobic Exercise for Social Anxiety Disorder JOURNAL OF CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY Jazaieri, H., Goldin, P. R., Werner, K., Ziv, M., Gross, J. J. 2012; 68 (7): 715-731

  Abstract

  OBJECTIVE: Effective treatments for social anxiety disorder (SAD) exist, but additional treatment options are needed for nonresponders as well as those who are either unable or unwilling to engage in traditional treatments. Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) is one nontraditional treatment that has demonstrated efficacy in treating other mood and anxiety disorders, and preliminary data suggest its efficacy in SAD as well. METHOD: Fifty-six adults (52% female; 41% Caucasian; age mean [M] ± standard deviation [SD]: 32.8 ± 8.4) with SAD were randomized to MBSR or an active comparison condition, aerobic exercise (AE). At baseline and post-intervention, participants completed measures of clinical symptoms (Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale, Social Interaction Anxiety Scale, Beck Depression Inventory-II, and Perceived Stress Scale) and subjective well-being (Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, Satisfaction with Life Scale, Self-Compassion Scale, and UCLA-8 Loneliness Scale). At 3 months post-intervention, a subset of these measures was readministered. For clinical significance analyses, 48 healthy adults (52.1% female; 56.3% Caucasian; age [M ± SD]: 33.9 ± 9.8) were recruited. MBSR and AE participants were also compared with a separate untreated group of 29 adults (44.8% female; 48.3% Caucasian; age [M ± SD]: 32.3 ± 9.4) with generalized SAD who completed assessments over a comparable time period with no intervening treatment. RESULTS: A 2 (Group) x 2 (Time) repeated measures analyses of variance (ANOVAs) on measures of clinical symptoms and well-being were conducted to examine pre-intervention to post-intervention and pre-intervention to 3-month follow-up. Both MBSR and AE were associated with reductions in social anxiety and depression and increases in subjective well-being, both immediately post-intervention and at 3 months post-intervention. When participants in the randomized controlled trial were compared with the untreated SAD group, participants in both interventions exhibited improvements on measures of clinical symptoms and well-being. CONCLUSION: Nontraditional interventions such as MBSR and AE merit further exploration as alternative or complementary treatments for SAD.

  View details for DOI 10.1002/jclp.21863

  View details for Web of Science ID 000305293300001

• Psychometric Evaluation of the Fear of Positive Evaluation Scale in Patients With Social Anxiety Disorder PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT Weeks, J. W., Heimberg, R. G., Rodebaugh, T. L., Goldin, P. R., Gross, J. J. 2012; 24 (2): 301-312

  Abstract

  The Fear of Positive Evaluation Scale (FPES; J. W. Weeks, R. G. Heimberg, & T. L. Rodebaugh, 2008) was designed to assess fear of positive evaluation, a proposed cognitive component of social anxiety. Although previous findings on the psychometric properties of the FPES have been highly encouraging, only 1 previous study has examined the psychometric profile of the FPES in a sample of patients with social anxiety disorder (T. A. Fergus et al., 2009). The primary purpose of the present study was to conduct a large multisite examination of the psychometric profile of the FPES among patients with a principal diagnosis of social anxiety disorder (n = 226; generalized subtype = 97.8%). Responses of nonanxious control participants (n = 42) were also examined. The factorial validity, internal consistency, test-retest reliability, construct validity, and treatment sensitivity of the FPES were strongly supported by our findings. Furthermore, an FPES cutoff score was identified for distinguishing levels of fear of positive evaluation characteristic of patients with social anxiety disorder from those characteristic of the control group. Results provide additional support for the psychometric properties of the FPES in clinical samples.

  View details for DOI 10.1037/a0025723

  View details for Web of Science ID 000304842200004

  View details for PubMedID 21966932

• A Randomized Trial of MBSR Versus Aerobic Exercise for Social Anxiety Disorder. Journal of clinical psychology Jazaieri, H., Goldin, P. R., Werner, K., Ziv, M., Gross, J. J. 2012

  Abstract

  OBJECTIVE: Effective treatments for social anxiety disorder (SAD) exist, but additional treatment options are needed for nonresponders as well as those who are either unable or unwilling to engage in traditional treatments. Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) is one nontraditional treatment that has demonstrated efficacy in treating other mood and anxiety disorders, and preliminary data suggest its efficacy in SAD as well. METHOD: Fifty-six adults (52% female; 41% Caucasian; age mean [M] ± standard deviation [SD]: 32.8 ± 8.4) with SAD were randomized to MBSR or an active comparison condition, aerobic exercise (AE). At baseline and post-intervention, participants completed measures of clinical symptoms (Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale, Social Interaction Anxiety Scale, Beck Depression Inventory-II, and Perceived Stress Scale) and subjective well-being (Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, Satisfaction with Life Scale, Self-Compassion Scale, and UCLA-8 Loneliness Scale). At 3 months post-intervention, a subset of these measures was readministered. For clinical significance analyses, 48 healthy adults (52.1% female; 56.3% Caucasian; age [M ± SD]: 33.9 ± 9.8) were recruited. MBSR and AE participants were also compared with a separate untreated group of 29 adults (44.8% female; 48.3% Caucasian; age [M ± SD]: 32.3 ± 9.4) with generalized SAD who completed assessments over a comparable time period with no intervening treatment. RESULTS: A 2 (Group) x 2 (Time) repeated measures analyses of variance (ANOVAs) on measures of clinical symptoms and well-being were conducted to examine pre-intervention to post-intervention and pre-intervention to 3-month follow-up. Both MBSR and AE were associated with reductions in social anxiety and depression and increases in subjective well-being, both immediately post-intervention and at 3 months post-intervention. When participants in the randomized controlled trial were compared with the untreated SAD group, participants in both interventions exhibited improvements on measures of clinical symptoms and well-being. CONCLUSION: Nontraditional interventions such as MBSR and AE merit further exploration as alternative or complementary treatments for SAD.

  View details for DOI 10.1002/jclp.21863

  View details for PubMedID 22623316

• The role of maladaptive beliefs in cognitive-behavioral therapy: Evidence from social anxiety disorder BEHAVIOUR RESEARCH AND THERAPY Boden, M. T., John, O. P., Goldin, P. R., Werner, K., Heimberg, R. G., Gross, J. J. 2012; 50 (5): 287-291

  Abstract

  Beliefs that are negatively biased, inaccurate, and rigid are thought to play a key role in the mood and anxiety disorders. Our goal in this study was to examine whether a change in maladaptive beliefs mediated the outcome of individual cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) for social anxiety disorder (SAD). In a sample of 47 individuals with SAD receiving CBT, we measured maladaptive interpersonal beliefs as well as emotional and behavioral components of social anxiety, both at baseline and after treatment completion. We found that (a) maladaptive interpersonal beliefs were associated with social anxiety at baseline and treatment completion; (b) maladaptive interpersonal beliefs were significantly reduced from baseline to treatment completion; and (c) treatment-related reductions in maladaptive interpersonal beliefs fully accounted for reductions in social anxiety after CBT. These results extend the literature by providing support for cognitive models of mental disorders, broadly, and SAD, specifically.

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.brat.2012.02.007

  View details for PubMedID 22445947

• See What You Think: Reappraisal Modulates Behavioral and Neural Responses to Social Stimuli PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE Blechert, J., Sheppes, G., Di Tella, C., Williams, H., Gross, J. J. 2012; 23 (4): 346-353

  Abstract

  The social environment requires people to quickly form contextually appropriate social evaluations. Models of social cognition suggest that this ability depends on the interaction of automatic and controlled evaluative systems. However, controlled processes, such as reappraisal of an initial response, have rarely been studied in the context of social evaluation. In the two studies reported here, participants reappraised or simply observed angry or neutral faces. In Study 1, reappraisal modulated evaluations of angry faces on explicit as well as implicit behavioral levels. In Study 2, reappraisal altered both early and late phases of evaluative electrocortical processing. These studies suggest that controlled processes, such as reappraisal, can quickly and substantially modulate early evaluative processes in the context of biologically significant social stimuli.

  View details for DOI 10.1177/0956797612438559

  View details for Web of Science ID 000303209300002

  View details for PubMedID 22431908

• Neural Mechanisms Underlying 5-HTTLPR-Related Sensitivity to Acute Stress AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PSYCHIATRY Drabant, E. M., Ramel, W., Edge, M. D., Hyde, L. W., Kuo, J. R., Goldin, P. R., Hariri, A. R., Gross, J. J. 2012; 169 (4): 397-405

  Abstract

  Many studies have shown that 5-HTTLPR genotype interacts with exposure to stress in conferring risk for psychopathology. However, the specific neural mechanisms through which this gene-by-environment interaction confers risk remain largely unknown, and no study to date has directly examined the modulatory effects of 5-HTTLPR on corticolimbic circuit responses during exposure to acute stress.An acute laboratory stressor was administered to 51 healthy women during blood-oxygen-level-dependent functional magnetic resonance imaging. In this task, participants were threatened with electric shocks of uncertain intensity, which were unpredictably delivered to the wrist after a long anticipatory cue period of unpredictable duration.Relative to women carrying the L allele, those with the SS genotype showed enhanced activation during threat anticipation in a network of regions, including the amygdala, hippocampus, anterior insula, thalamus, pulvinar, caudate, precuneus, anterior cingulate cortex, and medial prefrontal cortex. Individuals with the SS genotype also displayed enhanced positive coupling between medial prefrontal cortex activation and anxiety experience, whereas enhanced negative coupling between insula activation and perceived success at regulating anxiety was observed in individuals carrying the L allele.These findings suggest that during stress exposure, neural systems that enhance fear and arousal, modulate attention toward threat, and perseverate on emotional salience of the threat may be engaged preferentially in individuals with the SS genotype. This may be one mechanism underlying the risk for psychopathology conferred by the S allele upon exposure to life stressors.

  View details for DOI 10.1176/appi.ajp.2011.10111699

  View details for Web of Science ID 000302115400010

  View details for PubMedID 22362395

• Unpacking Cognitive Reappraisal: Goals, Tactics, and Outcomes EMOTION McRae, K., Ciesielski, B., Gross, J. J. 2012; 12 (2): 250-255

  Abstract

  Studies of emotion regulation typically contrast two or more strategies (e.g., reappraisal vs. suppression) and ignore variation within each strategy. To address such variation, we focused on cognitive reappraisal and considered the effects of goals (i.e., what people are trying to achieve) and tactics (i.e., what people actually do) on outcomes (i.e., how affective responses change). To examine goals, we randomly assigned participants to either increase positive emotion or decrease negative emotion to a negative stimulus. To examine tactics, we categorized participants' reports of how they reappraised. To examine reappraisal outcomes, we measured experience and electrodermal responding. Findings indicated that (a) the goal of increasing positive emotion led to greater increases in positive affect and smaller decreases in skin conductance than the goal of decreasing negative emotion, and (b) use of the reality challenge tactic was associated with smaller increases in positive affect during reappraisal. These findings suggest that reappraisal can be implemented in the service of different emotion goals, using different tactics. Such differences are associated with different outcomes, and they should be considered in future research and applied attempts to maximize reappraisal success.

  View details for DOI 10.1037/a0026351

  View details for Web of Science ID 000302200000009

  View details for PubMedID 22148990

• Resisting the sirens of temptation while studying: Using reappraisal to increase focus, enthusiasm, and performance LEARNING AND INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES Leroy, V., Gregoire, J., Magen, E., Gross, J. J., Mikolajczak, M. 2012; 22 (2): 263-268

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.lindif.2011.10.003

  View details for Web of Science ID 000301691200012

• Bottom-up and top-down emotion generation: implications for emotion regulation SOCIAL COGNITIVE AND AFFECTIVE NEUROSCIENCE McRae, K., Misra, S., Prasad, A. K., Pereira, S. C., Gross, J. J. 2012; 7 (3): 253-262

  Abstract

  Emotion regulation plays a crucial role in adaptive functioning and mounting evidence suggests that some emotion regulation strategies are often more effective than others. However, little attention has been paid to the different ways emotions can be generated: from the 'bottom-up' (in response to inherently emotional perceptual properties of the stimulus) or 'top-down' (in response to cognitive evaluations). Based on a process priming principle, we hypothesized that mode of emotion generation would interact with subsequent emotion regulation. Specifically, we predicted that top-down emotions would be more successfully regulated by a top-down regulation strategy than bottom-up emotions. To test this hypothesis, we induced bottom-up and top-down emotions, and asked participants to decrease the negative impact of these emotions using cognitive reappraisal. We observed the predicted interaction between generation and regulation in two measures of emotional responding. As measured by self-reported affect, cognitive reappraisal was more successful on top-down generated emotions than bottom-up generated emotions. Neurally, reappraisal of bottom-up generated emotions resulted in a paradoxical increase of amygdala activity. This interaction between mode of emotion generation and subsequent regulation should be taken into account when comparing of the efficacy of different types of emotion regulation, as well as when reappraisal is used to treat different types of clinical disorders.

  View details for DOI 10.1093/scan/nsq103

  View details for Web of Science ID 000302810100001

  View details for PubMedID 21296865

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC3304475

• Individual differences in reappraisal ability: Links to reappraisal frequency, well-being, and cognitive control JOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN PERSONALITY McRae, K., Jacobs, S. E., Ray, R. D., John, O. P., Gross, J. J. 2012; 46 (1): 2-7

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.jrp.2011.10.003

  View details for Web of Science ID 000301685500001

• Humour as emotion regulation: The differential consequences of negative versus positive humour COGNITION & EMOTION Samson, A. C., Gross, J. J. 2012; 26 (2): 375-384

  Abstract

  Humour is often seen as an adaptive coping strategy; however, the empirical literature is inconclusive. One possible explanation is that different types of humour have different adaptive consequences. In the present research, we predicted that positive (good-natured) humour would be more effective at regulating negative emotions than negative (mean-spirited) humour. In Study 1, participants were shown negative pictures two times. First, they simply viewed the pictures and rated their levels of positive and negative emotions. Second, they were instructed to: (a) view; (b) use positive humour; or (c) use negative humour, and then rate their reactions. Compared to negative humour, positive humour was more successful at down-regulating negative and up-regulating positive emotion. In Study 2, we replicated these findings and showed that these effects cannot be explained by differences in difficulty between the two humour conditions, participants' expectations, or social desirability. Taken together, these findings suggest that positive (but not negative) humour may be an effective form of emotion regulation.

  View details for DOI 10.1080/02699931.2011.585069

  View details for Web of Science ID 000301650700015

  View details for PubMedID 21756218

• What good are emotions, anyway? Should I strap a battery to my head? (and other questions about emotion) Suri, G., Gross, J. J. edited by Totterdell, P., Niven, K. Charleston, VA: Createspace Independent Publishing. 2012: 9–17
• Selfcompassion and social anxiety disorder Anxiety, Stress, & Coping Werener, K. H., Jazaieri, H., Goldin, P. R., Ziv, M., Heimberg, R. G., Gross, J. J. 2012; 25: 543-558

  View details for DOI 10.1080/10615806.2011.608842

• Selection, optimization, and compensation in the domain of emotion regulation: Applications to adolescence, older age, and major depressive disorder. Social and Personality Psychology Compass Opitz, P., Gross, J. J., Urry, H. L. 2012; 6: 142-155
• The interactive effects of emotional clarity and cognitive reappraisal in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder JOURNAL OF ANXIETY DISORDERS Boden, M. T., Bonn-Miller, M. O., Kashdan, T. B., Alvarez, J., Gross, J. J. 2012; 26 (1): 233-238

  Abstract

  The goal of this investigation was to examine how emotional clarity and a specific emotion regulation strategy, cognitive reappraisal, interact to predict Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) symptom severity and positive affect among treatment seeking military Veterans (N=75, 93% male) diagnosed with PTSD. PTSD is a highly relevant context because PTSD features include heightened stress reactivity, diminished ability to differentiate and understand emotions, and reliance on maladaptive forms of emotion regulation. We found that the combination of high levels of emotional clarity and frequent use of cognitive reappraisal were associated with (a) lesser total PTSD severity after accounting for shared variance with positive affect and the extent to which emotions are attended to (attention to emotions), and (b) greater positive affect after accounting for shared variance with total PTSD severity and attention to emotions. This is the first study to demonstrate interactive effects of emotional clarity and cognitive reappraisal.

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.janxdis.2011.11.007

  View details for Web of Science ID 000299361800030

  View details for PubMedID 22169054

• Sleep quality and neural circuit function supporting emotion regulation. Biology of mood & anxiety disorders Minkel, J. D., McNealy, K., Gianaros, P. J., Drabant, E. M., Gross, J. J., Manuck, S. B., Hariri, A. R. 2012; 2 (1): 22-?

  Abstract

  Recent laboratory studies employing an extended sleep deprivation model have mapped sleep-related changes in behavior onto functional alterations in specific brain regions supporting emotion, suggesting possible biological mechanisms for an association between sleep difficulties and deficits in emotion regulation. However, it is not yet known if similar behavioral and neural changes are associated with the more modest variability in sleep observed in daily life.We examined relationships between sleep and neural circuitry of emotion using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and fMRI data from a widely used emotion regulation task focusing on cognitive reappraisal of negative emotional stimuli in an unselected sample of 97 adult volunteers (48 women; mean age 42.78±7.37 years, range 30-54 years old).Emotion regulation was associated with greater activation in clusters located in the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC), left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC), and inferior parietal cortex. Only one subscale from the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, use of sleep medications, was related to BOLD responses in the dmPFC and dlPFC during cognitive reappraisal. Use of sleep medications predicted lesser BOLD responses during reappraisal, but other aspects of sleep, including sleep duration and subjective sleep quality, were not related to neural activation in this paradigm.The relatively modest variability in sleep that is common in the general community is unlikely to cause significant disruption in neural circuits supporting reactivity or regulation by cognitive reappraisal of negative emotion. Use of sleep medication however, may influence emotion regulation circuitry, but additional studies are necessary to determine if such use plays a causal role in altering emotional responses.

  View details for DOI 10.1186/2045-5380-2-22

  View details for PubMedID 23216889

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC3542038

• The development of emotion regulation: an fMRI study of cognitive reappraisal in children, adolescents and young adults SOCIAL COGNITIVE AND AFFECTIVE NEUROSCIENCE McRae, K., Gross, J. J., Weber, J., Robertson, E. R., Sokol-Hessner, P., Ray, R. D., Gabrieli, J. D., Ochsner, K. N. 2012; 7 (1): 11-22

  Abstract

  The ability to use cognitive reappraisal to regulate emotions is an adaptive skill in adulthood, but little is known about its development. Because reappraisal is thought to be supported by linearly developing prefrontal regions, one prediction is that reappraisal ability develops linearly. However, recent investigations into socio-emotional development suggest that there are non-linear patterns that uniquely affect adolescents. We compared older children (10-13), adolescents (14-17) and young adults (18-22) on a task that distinguishes negative emotional reactivity from reappraisal ability. Behaviorally, we observed no age differences in self-reported emotional reactivity, but linear and quadratic relationships between reappraisal ability and age. Neurally, we observed linear age-related increases in activation in the left ventrolateral prefrontal cortex, previously identified in adult reappraisal. We observed a quadratic pattern of activation with age in regions associated with social cognitive processes like mental state attribution (medial prefrontal cortex, posterior cingulate cortex, anterior temporal cortex). In these regions, we observed relatively lower reactivity-related activation in adolescents, but higher reappraisal-related activation. This suggests that (i) engagement of the cognitive control components of reappraisal increases linearly with age and (ii) adolescents may not normally recruit regions associated with mental state attribution, but (iii) this can be reversed with reappraisal instructions.

  View details for DOI 10.1093/scan/nsr093

  View details for Web of Science ID 000298891400002

  View details for PubMedID 22228751

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC3252634

• Self-compassion and social anxiety disorder ANXIETY STRESS AND COPING Werner, K. H., Jazaieri, H., Goldin, P. R., Ziv, M., Heimberg, R. G., Gross, J. J. 2012; 25 (5): 543-558

  Abstract

  Self-compassion refers to having an accepting and caring orientation towards oneself. Although self-compassion has been studied primarily in healthy populations, one particularly compelling clinical context in which to examine self-compassion is social anxiety disorder (SAD). SAD is characterized by high levels of negative self-criticism as well as an abiding concern about others' evaluation of one's performance. In the present study, we tested the hypotheses that: (1) people with SAD would demonstrate less self-compassion than healthy controls (HCs), (2) self-compassion would relate to severity of social anxiety and fear of evaluation among people with SAD, and (3) age would be negatively correlated with self-compassion for people with SAD, but not for HC. As expected, people with SAD reported less self-compassion than HCs on the Self-Compassion Scale and its subscales. Within the SAD group, lesser self-compassion was not generally associated with severity of social anxiety, but it was associated with greater fear of both negative and positive evaluation. Age was negatively correlated with self-compassion for people with SAD, whereas age was positively correlated with self-compassion for HC. These findings suggest that self-compassion may be a particularly important target for assessment and treatment in persons with SAD.

  View details for DOI 10.1080/10615806.2011.608842

  View details for Web of Science ID 000307643100005

  View details for PubMedID 21895450

• A two-dimensional approach to assessing affective states in good and poor sleepers JOURNAL OF SLEEP RESEARCH Ong, J. C., Carde, N. B., Gross, J. J., Manber, R. 2011; 20 (4): 606-610

  Abstract

  This study examined a two-dimensional approach to assessing affective states among good and poor sleepers using the self-assessment manikin (SAM), a brief non-verbal self-report measure of affective states with separate ratings of valence and arousal. A sample of 286 undergraduate students completed the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and the SAM. Participants were classified post hoc as either good (PSQI ≤ 5) or poor sleepers (PSQI > 5) using the PSQI and used the SAM to rate their current affective states (day) and their affective state at bedtime (night) the previous night. Compared to good sleepers, poor sleepers reported more negative affect and arousal at night and more negative affect during the day. Among poor sleepers, lower sleep quality and shorter sleep duration on the components of the PSQI were associated with more negative daytime valence. Among good sleepers, higher scores on the sleep medication and daytime dysfunction components of the PSQI were associated with more negative daytime valence. These findings indicate that the SAM appears to detect differences between good and poor sleepers on both valence and arousal of current daytime and retrospective night-time emotional states. This approach could be useful for the assessment of affective states related to sleep disturbance.

  View details for DOI 10.1111/j.1365-2869.2011.00907.x

  View details for Web of Science ID 000297412700017

  View details for PubMedID 21244540

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC3119723

• Emotion-Regulation Choice PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE Sheppes, G., Scheibe, S., Suri, G., Gross, J. J. 2011; 22 (11): 1391-1396

  Abstract

  Despite centuries of speculation about how to manage negative emotions, little is actually known about which emotion-regulation strategies people choose to use when confronted with negative situations of varying intensity. On the basis of a new process conception of emotion regulation, we hypothesized that in low-intensity negative situations, people would show a relative preference to choose to regulate emotions by engagement reappraisal, which allows emotional processing. However, we expected people in high-intensity negative situations to show a relative preference to choose to regulate emotions by disengagement distraction, which blocks emotional processing at an early stage before it gathers force. In three experiments, we created emotional contexts that varied in intensity, using either emotional pictures (Experiments 1 and 2) or unpredictable electric stimulation (Experiment 3). In response to these emotional contexts, participants chose between using either reappraisal or distraction as an emotion-regulation strategy. Results in all experiments supported our hypothesis. This pattern in the choice of emotion-regulation strategies has important implications for the understanding of healthy adaptation.

  View details for DOI 10.1177/0956797611418350

  View details for Web of Science ID 000300826400006

  View details for PubMedID 21960251

• Is Timing Everything? Temporal Considerations in Emotion Regulation PERSONALITY AND SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY REVIEW Sheppes, G., Gross, J. J. 2011; 15 (4): 319-331

  Abstract

  It is often said that timing is everything. The process model of emotion regulation has taken this aphorism to heart, suggesting that down-regulating emotions before they are "up and running" is always easier than down-regulating emotions once they have gathered force (i.e., generic timing hypothesis). But does timing (i.e., emotion intensity) matter equally for all forms of regulation? In this article, the authors offer an alternative process-specific timing hypothesis, in which emotion-generative and emotion-regulatory processes compete at either earlier or later stages of information processing. Regulation strategies that target early processing stages require minimal effort. Therefore, their efficacy should be relatively unaffected by emotion intensity. By contrast, regulation strategies that target later processing stages require effort that is proportional to the intensity of the emotional response. Therefore, their efficacy should be determined by the relative strength of regulatory versus emotional processes. Implications of this revised conception are considered.

  View details for DOI 10.1177/1088868310395778

  View details for Web of Science ID 000295178600001

  View details for PubMedID 21233326

• A MECHANISM FOR REDUCING DELAY DISCOUNTING BY ALTERING TEMPORAL ATTENTION JOURNAL OF THE EXPERIMENTAL ANALYSIS OF BEHAVIOR Radu, P. T., Yi, R., Bickel, W. K., Gross, J. J., McClure, S. M. 2011; 96 (3): 363-385

  Abstract

  Rewards that are not immediately available are discounted compared to rewards that are immediately available. The more a person discounts a delayed reward, the more likely that person is to have a range of behavioral problems, including clinical disorders. This latter observation has motivated the search for interventions that reduce discounting. One surprisingly simple method to reduce discounting is an "explicit-zero" reframing that states default or null outcomes. Reframing a classical discounting choice as "something now but nothing later" versus "nothing now but more later" decreases discount rates. However, it is not clear how this "explicit-zero" framing intervention works. The present studies delineate and test two possible mechanisms to explain the phenomenon. One mechanism proposes that the explicit-zero framing creates the impression of an improving sequence, thereby enhancing the present value of the delayed reward. A second possible mechanism posits an increase in attention allocation to temporally distant reward representations. In four experiments, we distinguish between these two hypothesized mechanisms and conclude that the temporal attention hypothesis is superior for explaining our results. We propose a model of temporal attention whereby framing affects intertemporal preferences by modifying present bias.

  View details for DOI 10.1901/jeab.2011.96-363

  View details for Web of Science ID 000297609500005

  View details for PubMedID 22084496

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC3213002

• Promoting the Middle East Peace Process by Changing Beliefs About Group Malleability SCIENCE Halperin, E., Russell, A. G., Trzesniewski, K. H., Gross, J. J., Dweck, C. S. 2011; 333 (6050): 1767-1769

  Abstract

  Four studies showed that beliefs about whether groups have a malleable versus fixed nature affected intergroup attitudes and willingness to compromise for peace. Using a nationwide sample (N = 500) of Israeli Jews, the first study showed that a belief that groups were malleable predicted positive attitudes toward Palestinians, which in turn predicted willingness to compromise. In the remaining three studies, experimentally inducing malleable versus fixed beliefs about groups among Israeli Jews (N = 76), Palestinian citizens of Israel (N = 59), and Palestinians in the West Bank (N = 53)--without mentioning the adversary--led to more positive attitudes toward the outgroup and, in turn, increased willingness to compromise for peace.

  View details for DOI 10.1126/science.1202925

  View details for Web of Science ID 000295121500049

  View details for PubMedID 21868627

• Assessing Emotion Regulation in Social Anxiety Disorder: The Emotion Regulation Interview JOURNAL OF PSYCHOPATHOLOGY AND BEHAVIORAL ASSESSMENT Werner, K. H., Goldin, P. R., Ball, T. M., Heimberg, R. G., Gross, J. J. 2011; 33 (3): 346-354

  View details for DOI 10.1007/s10862-011-9225-x

  View details for Web of Science ID 000293139100006

• Feeling bad about screwing up: emotion regulation and action monitoring in the anterior cingulate cortex COGNITIVE AFFECTIVE & BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE Ichikawa, N., Siegle, G. J., Jones, N. P., Kamishima, K., Thompson, W. K., Gross, J. J., Ohira, H. 2011; 11 (3): 354-371

  Abstract

  This study examined neural features of emotional responses to errors. We specifically examined whether directed emotion regulation of negative emotion associated with error modulates action-monitoring functions of anterior cingulate cortex, including conflict monitoring, error processing, and error prevention. Seventeen healthy adults performed a continuous performance task during assessment by fMRI. In each block, participants were asked either to increase or decrease their negative emotional responses or to react naturally after error commission. Emotion regulation instructions were associated with modulation of rostral and dorsal anterior activity and of their effective connectivity following errors and conflict. Cingulate activity and connectivity predicted subsequent errors. These data may suggest that responses to errors are affected by emotion and that aspects of emotion and cognition are inextricably linked, even during a nominally cognitive task.

  View details for DOI 10.3758/s13415-011-0028-z

  View details for Web of Science ID 000293238700007

  View details for PubMedID 21590316

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC4128506

• The temporal dynamics of two response-focused forms of emotion regulation: Experiential, expressive, and autonomic consequences PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGY Dan-Glauser, E. S., Gross, J. J. 2011; 48 (9): 1309-1322

  Abstract

  This study examines the early affective consequences of two close forms of suppression. Participants (N=37) were shown negative, positive, and neutral pictures and cued either to attend to the pictures, or to perform expressive or physiological suppression (i.e., reduce body reactions). Continuous measures of experience, expressivity, and autonomic responses showed that both suppression strategies produced rapid response modulation. Common effects of the two strategies included a transient increase in negative feeling, a durable decrease in positive feeling, and a decrease in expressivity, cardiovascular activity, and oxygenation. The two strategies were significantly different only in response to positive stimuli, with physiological suppression showing a larger decrease in experience intensity and blood pressure. These results suggest a strong overlap between the two suppression strategies in terms of their early impact on emotional responses.

  View details for DOI 10.1111/j.1469-8986.2011.01191.x

  View details for Web of Science ID 000293228800015

  View details for PubMedID 21361967

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC3136552

• Emotion regulation and brain plasticity: Expressive suppression use predicts anterior insula volume NEUROIMAGE Giuliani, N. R., Drabant, E. M., Bhatnagar, R., Gross, J. J. 2011; 58 (1): 10-15

  Abstract

  Expressive suppression is an emotion regulation strategy that requires interoceptive and emotional awareness. These processes both recruit the anterior insula. It is not known, however, whether increased use of expressive suppression is associated with increased anterior insula volume. In the present study, high-resolution anatomical MRI images were used to calculate insula volumes in a set of 50 healthy female subjects (mean 21.9 years) using both region of interest (ROI) and voxel-based morphometry (VBM) approaches. Participants also completed trait measures of expressive suppression usage, cognitive reappraisal usage, and negative emotional reactivity (the latter two served as control measures). As predicted, both ROI and VBM methods found that expressive suppression usage, but not negative affect and cognitive reappraisal, was positively related to anterior insula volume. These findings are consistent with the idea that trait patterns of emotion processing are related to brain structure.

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2011.06.028

  View details for Web of Science ID 000293548500002

  View details for PubMedID 21704173

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC3161031

• Emotion regulation and brain plasticity: Expressive suppression use predicts anterior insula volume NEUROIMAGE Giuliani, N. R., Drabant, E. M., Bhatnagar, R., Gross, J. J. 2011; 58 (1): 10-15

  Abstract

  Expressive suppression is an emotion regulation strategy that requires interoceptive and emotional awareness. These processes both recruit the anterior insula. It is not known, however, whether increased use of expressive suppression is associated with increased anterior insula volume. In the present study, high-resolution anatomical MRI images were used to calculate insula volumes in a set of 50 healthy female subjects (mean 21.9 years) using both region of interest (ROI) and voxel-based morphometry (VBM) approaches. Participants also completed trait measures of expressive suppression usage, cognitive reappraisal usage, and negative emotional reactivity (the latter two served as control measures). As predicted, both ROI and VBM methods found that expressive suppression usage, but not negative affect and cognitive reappraisal, was positively related to anterior insula volume. These findings are consistent with the idea that trait patterns of emotion processing are related to brain structure.

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2011.06.028

  View details for Web of Science ID 000293548500002

  View details for PubMedID 21704173

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC3161031

• An affective computing approach to physiological emotion specificity: Toward subject-independent and stimulus-independent classification of film-induced emotions PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGY Kolodyazhniy, V., Kreibig, S. D., Gross, J. J., Roth, W. T., Wilhelm, F. H. 2011; 48 (7): 908-922

  Abstract

  The hypothesis of physiological emotion specificity has been tested using pattern classification analysis (PCA). To address limitations of prior research using PCA, we studied effects of feature selection (sequential forward selection, sequential backward selection), classifier type (linear and quadratic discriminant analysis, neural networks, k-nearest neighbors method), and cross-validation method (subject- and stimulus-(in)dependence). Analyses were run on a data set of 34 participants watching two sets of three 10-min film clips (fearful, sad, neutral) while autonomic, respiratory, and facial muscle activity were assessed. Results demonstrate that the three states can be classified with high accuracy by most classifiers, with the sparsest model having only five features, even for the most difficult task of identifying the emotion of an unknown subject in an unknown situation (77.5%). Implications for choosing PCA parameters are discussed.

  View details for DOI 10.1111/j.1469-8986.2010.01170.x

  View details for Web of Science ID 000291255500004

  View details for PubMedID 21261632

• Intergroup anger in intractable conflict: Long-term sentiments predict anger responses during the Gaza War GROUP PROCESSES & INTERGROUP RELATIONS Halperin, E., Gross, J. J. 2011; 14 (4): 477-488

  View details for DOI 10.1177/1368430210377459

  View details for Web of Science ID 000291587600003

• Childhood trauma and current psychological functioning in adults with social anxiety disorder JOURNAL OF ANXIETY DISORDERS Kuo, J. R., Goldin, P. R., Werner, K., Heimberg, R. G., Gross, J. J. 2011; 25 (4): 467-473

  Abstract

  Etiological models of social anxiety disorder (SAD) suggest that early childhood trauma contributes to the development of this disorder. However, surprisingly little is known about the link between different forms of childhood trauma and adult clinical symptoms in SAD. This study (1) compared levels of childhood trauma in adults with generalized SAD versus healthy controls (HCs), and (2) examined the relationship between specific types of childhood trauma and adult clinical symptoms in SAD. Participants were 102 individuals with generalized SAD and 30 HCs who completed measures of childhood trauma, social anxiety, trait anxiety, depression, and self-esteem. Compared to HCs, individuals with SAD reported greater childhood emotional abuse and emotional neglect. Within the SAD group, childhood emotional abuse and neglect, but not sexual abuse, physical abuse, or physical neglect, were associated with the severity of social anxiety, trait anxiety, depression, and self-esteem.

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.janxdis.2010.11.011

  View details for Web of Science ID 000289588000001

  View details for PubMedID 21183310

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC3074005

• The Moral Emotions: A Social-Functionalist Account of Anger, Disgust, and Contempt JOURNAL OF PERSONALITY AND SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY Hutcherson, C. A., Gross, J. J. 2011; 100 (4): 719-737

  Abstract

  Recent research has highlighted the important role of emotion in moral judgment and decision making (Greene, Sommerville, Nystrom, Darley, & Cohen, 2001; Haidt, 2001). What is less clear is whether distinctions should be drawn among specific moral emotions. Although some have argued for differences among anger, disgust, and contempt (Rozin, Lowery, Imada, & Haidt, 1999), others have suggested that these terms may describe a single undifferentiated emotional response to morally offensive behavior (Nabi, 2002). In this article, we take a social-functionalist perspective, which makes the prediction that these emotions should be differentiable both in antecedent appraisals and in consequent actions and judgments. Studies 1-3 tested and found support for our predictions concerning distinctions among antecedent appraisals, including (a) a more general role for disgust than has been previously been described, (b) an effect of self-relevance on anger but not other emotions, and (c) a role for contempt in judging incompetent actions. Studies 4 and 5 tested and found support for our specific predictions concerning functional outcomes, providing evidence that these emotions are associated with different consequences. Taken together, these studies support a social-functionalist account of anger, disgust, and contempt and lay the foundation for future research on the negative interpersonal emotions.

  View details for DOI 10.1037/a0022408

  View details for Web of Science ID 000288776100011

  View details for PubMedID 21280963

• Psychological Distance and Emotional Experience: What You See Is What You Get EMOTION Davis, J. I., Gross, J. J., Ochsner, K. N. 2011; 11 (2): 438-444

  Abstract

  Recent research suggests that perceiving negative emotion-eliciting scenes approaching intensifies the associated felt emotion, while perceiving emotion-eliciting scenes receding weakens the associated felt emotion (Muhlberger, Neumann, Wieser, & Pauli, 2008). In the present studies, we sought to extend these findings by examining the effects of imagining rather than perceiving such changes to negative emotion-eliciting scenes. Across three studies, we found that negative scenes generally elicited less negative responses and lower levels of arousal when imagined moving away from participants and shrinking, and more negative responses and higher levels of arousal when imagined moving toward participants and growing, as compared to the responses elicited by negative scenes when imagined unchanged. Patterns in responses to neutral scenes undergoing the same imagined transformations were similar on ratings of emotional arousal, but differed on valence-generally eliciting greater positivity when imagined moving toward participants and growing, and less positivity when imagined moving away from participants and shrinking. Moreover, for these effects to emerge, participants reported it necessary to explicitly imagine scenes moving closer or farther. These findings have implications for emotion regulation, and suggest that imagined spatial distance plays a role in mental representations of emotionally salient events.

  View details for DOI 10.1037/a0021783

  View details for Web of Science ID 000289272000023

  View details for PubMedID 21500912

• Don't Hide Your Happiness! Positive Emotion Dissociation, Social Connectedness, and Psychological Functioning JOURNAL OF PERSONALITY AND SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY Mauss, I. B., Shallcross, A. J., Troy, A. S., Ferrer, E., John, O. P., Wilhelm, F. H., Gross, J. J. 2011; 100 (4): 738-748

  Abstract

  It is now clear that positive emotion leads to enhanced psychological functioning. What is less clear, however, is just why this is so. Drawing on a social-functional perspective, we argue that positive emotional behavior that accurately signals to others the individual's internal state will enhance social connectedness. Positive emotional behavior that does not accurately signal a person's experience--such as a smile that is not felt--may impede social connectedness and, in turn, psychological functioning. This perspective suggests that (a) the degree to which experience and behavior are dissociated during positive emotional episodes, over and above level of positive behavior, should predict worse psychological functioning and (b) the effect of dissociation should be mediated by social connectedness. To test these hypotheses, we conducted a short-term prospective longitudinal study, with a baseline assessment of depressive symptoms and well-being at Time 1. Six months later, at Time 2, we used a novel within-individual laboratory paradigm to measure the degree to which positive emotional behavior was dissociated from (vs. coherent with) a participant's positive emotional experience. We also assessed level of positive behavior and experience. Then, another 6 months later, we assessed social connectedness as a mediator and depressive symptoms and well-being as outcomes at Time 3. Even when controlling for baseline functioning and for level of positive emotion behavior and experience, we found that greater positive experience-behavior dissociation at Time 2 predicted higher levels of depressive symptoms and lower levels of well-being at Time 3. As predicted, these associations were mediated by social connectedness.

  View details for DOI 10.1037/a0022410

  View details for Web of Science ID 000288776100012

  View details for PubMedID 21280962

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC3265161

• Anger, Hatred, and the Quest for Peace: Anger Can Be Constructive in the Absence of Hatred JOURNAL OF CONFLICT RESOLUTION Halperin, E., Russell, A. G., Dweck, C. S., Gross, J. J. 2011; 55 (2): 274-291

  View details for DOI 10.1177/0022002710383670

  View details for Web of Science ID 000289616700005

• The temporal dynamics of emotion regulation: An EEG study of distraction and reappraisal BIOLOGICAL PSYCHOLOGY Thiruchselvam, R., Blechert, J., Sheppes, G., Rydstrom, A., Gross, J. J. 2011; 87 (1): 84-92

  Abstract

  Distraction and reappraisal are two widely used forms of emotion regulation. The process model of emotion regulation (Gross, 1998) holds that they differ (1) in when they act on the emotion-generative process, and (2) in their impact on subsequent responses to regulated stimuli. We tested these two predictions by measuring electrocortical responses to neutral and emotional images during two phases. In the regulation phase, images were watched or regulated using distraction or reappraisal. During the re-exposure phase, the same images were passively watched. As predicted, during regulation, distraction reduced the late positive potential (LPP) earlier than reappraisal. Upon re-exposure, images with a distraction (but not reappraisal) history elicited a larger LPP than images with an attend history. This pattern of results suggests that distraction and reappraisal intervene at separate stages during emotion generation, a feature which may have distinct consequences that extend beyond the regulatory episode.

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2011.02.009

  View details for Web of Science ID 000290195100010

  View details for PubMedID 21354262

• Affective modulation of the acoustic startle: Does sadness engage the defensive system? BIOLOGICAL PSYCHOLOGY Kreibig, S. D., Wilhelm, F. H., Roth, W. T., Gross, J. J. 2011; 87 (1): 161-163

  Abstract

  It has been suggested that high arousal negative affective states, but not low arousal negative affective states, potentiate the startle response. Because sadness has generally been studied as a low arousal emotion, it remains unclear whether high arousal sadness would produce startle potentiation to a similar degree as high arousal fear. To address this issue, 32 participants viewed two sets of 10-min film clips selected to induce two affective states of high subjective arousal (fear, sadness) and a neutral state of low subjective arousal, while the eyeblink startle response associated with brief noise bursts was assessed using orbicularis oculi EMG. Larger blink magnitude was found for fearful than for sad or neutral clips. Implications for conceptualizing sadness are discussed.

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2011.02.008

  View details for Web of Science ID 000290195100020

  View details for PubMedID 21352887

• Anterior cingulate cortex volume and emotion regulation: Is bigger better? BIOLOGICAL PSYCHOLOGY Giuliani, N. R., Drabant, E. M., Gross, J. J. 2011; 86 (3): 379-382

  Abstract

  Emotion dysregulation is a key feature of mood and anxiety disorders. Many of these disorders also involve volumetric reductions in brain regions implicated in emotion regulation, including the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC). Investigating this relationship in healthy individuals may clarify the link between emotion regulation and volumetric reductions in this key brain region. High-resolution anatomical MRI images were used to calculate dACC volumes in 50 healthy female subjects. Trait measures of emotion regulation (cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression) and negative affect were also obtained. As predicted, cognitive reappraisal was positively related to dACC volume, but not the volume of a control region, the ventral ACC. Expressive suppression, negative affect, and age were not related to dACC volume. These findings indicate that individual differences in cognitive reappraisal are related to individual differences in dACC volume in healthy participants.

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2010.11.010

  View details for Web of Science ID 000289137500027

  View details for PubMedID 21138751

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC3051027

• ALTERED CEREBRAL BLOOD FLOW PATTERNS ASSOCIATED WITH PATHOLOGIC WORRY IN THE ELDERLY DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY Andreescu, C., Gross, J. J., Lenze, E., Edelman, K. D., Snyder, S., Tanase, C., Aizenstein, H. 2011; 28 (3): 202-209

  Abstract

  Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is the most prevalent anxiety disorder among the elderly and has high functional and cognitive morbidity. However, late-life GAD is relatively understudied and its functional neuroanatomy is uncharted. Several imaging studies have suggested abnormalities in the cognitive control systems of emotion regulation in anxiety disorders in young adults. The aim of this study was to examine the neural correlates of emotion regulation in late-life GAD.We compared 7 elderly GAD subjects and 10 elderly nonanxious comparison subjects using functional MRI. Regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) was measured using pulsed arterial spin labeling perfusion MRI at rest and during an emotion regulation paradigm.Relative to the rest condition, elderly nonanxious comparison subjects had increased rCBF during worry induction (WI) in the right insula, bilateral amygdala, and associative temporooccipital areas. Elderly GAD subjects had increased rCBF during WI in the associative temporooccipital areas, but not in the insula or the amygdala. During worry suppression (WS), elderly nonanxious comparison subjects had increased rCBF in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and dorsal ACC. Elderly GAD subjects had no changes in rCBF during WS in the PFC.When attempting to regulate their emotional responses, elderly anxious subjects failed to activate prefrontal regions involved in the downregulation of negative emotions. These results, showing that elderly anxious subjects are not effectively engaging the PFC in suppressing worry, may be clinically relevant for developing personalized therapeutic strategies for the treatment of late-life GAD.

  View details for DOI 10.1002/da.20799

  View details for Web of Science ID 000288331700004

  View details for PubMedID 21394853

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC3225118

• Experiential, autonomic, and neural responses during threat anticipation vary as a function of threat intensity and neuroticism NEUROIMAGE Drabant, E. M., Kuo, J. R., Ramel, W., Blechert, J., Edge, M. D., Cooper, J. R., Goldin, P. R., Hariri, A. R., Gross, J. J. 2011; 55 (1): 401-410

  Abstract

  Anticipatory emotional responses play a crucial role in preparing individuals for impending challenges. They do this by triggering a coordinated set of changes in behavioral, autonomic, and neural response systems. In the present study, we examined the biobehavioral impact of varying levels of anticipatory anxiety, using a shock anticipation task in which unpredictable electric shocks were threatened and delivered to the wrist at variable intervals and intensities (safe, medium, strong). This permitted investigation of a dynamic range of anticipatory anxiety responses. In two studies, 95 and 51 healthy female participants, respectively, underwent this shock anticipation task while providing continuous ratings of anxiety experience and electrodermal responding (Study 1) and during fMRI BOLD neuroimaging (Study 2). Results indicated a step-wise pattern of responding in anxiety experience and electrodermal responses. Several brain regions showed robust responses to shock anticipation relative to safe trials, including the hypothalamus, periaqueductal gray, caudate, precentral gyrus, thalamus, insula, ventrolateral PFC, dorsomedial PFC, and ACC. A subset of these regions demonstrated a linear pattern of increased responding from safe to medium to strong trials, including the bilateral insula, ACC, and inferior frontal gyrus. These responses were modulated by individual differences in neuroticism, such that those high in neuroticism showed exaggerated anxiety experience across the entire task, and reduced brain activation from medium to strong trials in a subset of brain regions. These findings suggest that individual differences in neuroticism may influence sensitivity to anticipatory threat and provide new insights into the mechanism through which neuroticism may confer risk for developing anxiety disorders via dysregulated anticipatory responses.

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2010.11.040

  View details for Web of Science ID 000287008900040

  View details for PubMedID 21093595

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC3031673

• Stimulation at dorsal and ventral electrode contacts targeted at the subthalamic nucleus has different effects on motor and emotion functions in Parkinson's disease NEUROPSYCHOLOGIA Greenhouse, I., Gould, S., Houser, M., Hicks, G., Gross, J., Aron, A. R. 2011; 49 (3): 528-534

  Abstract

  Motor and emotion processing depend on different fronto-basal ganglia circuits. Distinct sub-regions of the subthalamic nucleus (STN) may modulate these circuits. We evaluated whether stimulation targeted at separate territories in the STN region would differentially affect motor and emotion function. In a double-blind design, we studied twenty Parkinson's disease patients who had deep brain stimulation (DBS) electrodes implanted bilaterally in the STN. We stimulated either dorsal or ventral contacts of the STN electrodes on separate days in each patient and acquired behavioral measures. Dorsal contact stimulation improved motor function by reducing scores on the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale and by reducing both reaction time and reaction time variability compared to ventral contact stimulation. By contrast, ventral contact stimulation led to an increase in positive emotion compared to dorsal contact stimulation. These results support the hypothesis that different territories within the STN region implement motor and emotion functions.

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2010.12.030

  View details for Web of Science ID 000287909900025

  View details for PubMedID 21184765

• Context-Dependent Emotion Regulation: Suppression and Reappraisal at the Burning Man Festival BASIC AND APPLIED SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY McRae, K., Heller, S. M., John, O. P., Gross, J. J. 2011; 33 (4): 346-350

  View details for DOI 10.1080/01973533.2011.614170

  View details for Web of Science ID 000300160500005

• Emotion Generation and Emotion Regulation: One or Two Depends on Your Point of View. Emotion review : journal of the International Society for Research on Emotion Gross, J. J., Barrett, L. F. 2011; 3 (1): 8-16

  Abstract

  Emotion regulation has the odd distinction of being a wildly popular construct whose scientific existence is in considerable doubt. In this article, we discuss the confusion about whether emotion generation and emotion regulation can and should be distinguished from one another. We describe a continuum of perspectives on emotion, and highlight how different (often mutually incompatible) perspectives on emotion lead to different views about whether emotion generation and emotion regulation can be usefully distinguished. We argue that making differences in perspective explicit serves the function of allowing researchers with different theoretical commitments to collaborate productively despite seemingly insurmountable differences in terminology and methods.

  View details for DOI 10.1177/1754073910380974

  View details for PubMedID 21479078

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC3072688

• Emotion regulation in violent conflict: Reappraisal, hope, and support for humanitarian aid to the opponent in wartime COGNITION & EMOTION Halperin, E., Gross, J. J. 2011; 25 (7): 1228-1236

  Abstract

  It is well known that negative intergroup emotions such as anger, fear, and hatred play a major role in initiating and maintaining intergroup conflicts. It is far less clear, however, what factors promote the resolution of intergroup conflicts. Using an emotion regulation- framework, we hypothesised that one form of emotion regulation-namely cognitive reappraisal-should play a salutary role in such conflicts, and be associated with increased hope as well as greater support for humanitarian aid to out-group members. To test these hypotheses, we used a nationwide survey of Jewish-Israeli adults, conducted during the war in Gaza between Israelis and Palestinians. Results obtained via structural equation modelling revealed that Israelis who regulated their negative emotions during the war through reappraisal were more supportive in providing humanitarian aid to innocent Palestinian citizens and that this relation was partially mediated by an enhanced feeling of hope.

  View details for DOI 10.1080/02699931.2010.536081

  View details for Web of Science ID 000299564700008

  View details for PubMedID 22017615

• Emotion and emotion regulation in intergroup conflict: An appraisal-based framework Intergroup conflicts and their resolution: A social psychological perspective Halperin, E., Sharvit, K., Gross, J. J. edited by Bar-Tal, D. New York: Psychology Press. 2011: 83–103
• The reason in passion: A social cognitive neuroscience approach to emotion regulation. Handbook of self regulation: Research, theory, and applications McRae, K., Ochsner, K. N., Gross, J. J., Vohs, K. D. edited by Baumeister, R. F. New York, NY: Guilford Press.. 2011; 2nd: 186–203
• Psychology Gleitman, H., Gross, J. J., Reisberg, D. New York, NY: Norton. 2011
• Beyond pleasure and pain? Emotion regulation and positive psychology Designing positive psychology: Taking stock and moving forward Tamir, M., Gross, J. J. edited by Sheldon, K. M., Kashdan, T. B., Steger, M. F. New York: Oxford University Press. 2011: 89–100
• Taking one's lumps while doing the splits: A big tent perspective on emotion generation and emotion regulation COGNITION & EMOTION Gross, J. J., Sheppes, G., Urry, H. L. 2011; 25 (5): 789-793

  View details for DOI 10.1080/02699931.2011.586590

  View details for Web of Science ID 000299562700004

• A NETWORK APPROACH FOR EVALUATING COHERENCE IN MULTIVARIATE SYSTEMS: AN APPLICATION TO PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGICAL EMOTION DATA PSYCHOMETRIKA Hsieh, F., Ferrer, E., Chen, S., Mauss, I. B., John, O., Gross, J. J. 2011; 76 (1): 124-152

  View details for DOI 10.1007/s11336-010-9194-0

  View details for Web of Science ID 000289439000008

• Posttraumatic stress, difficulties in emotion regulation, and coping-oriented marijuana use. Cognitive behaviour therapy Bonn-Miller, M. O., Vujanovic, A. A., Boden, M. T., Gross, J. J. 2011; 40 (1): 34-44

  Abstract

  In an effort to better understand factors that may explain prior findings of a positive relation between posttraumatic stress symptom severity and coping-oriented marijuana use motivation, the present study tested whether the association between posttraumatic stress symptom severity and marijuana use coping motives is mediated by difficulties in emotion regulation. Participants were 79 (39 women; M(age) = 22.29 years, SD = 6.99) community-recruited adults who reported (1) lifetime exposure to at least one posttraumatic stress disorder Criterion A traumatic event and (2) marijuana use in the past 30 days. Results indicated that difficulties in emotion regulation, as indexed by the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (Gratz & Roemer, 2004), fully mediated the association between posttraumatic stress symptom severity and marijuana use coping motives. Implications for the treatment of co-occurring posttraumatic stress and marijuana use are discussed.

  View details for DOI 10.1080/16506073.2010.525253

  View details for PubMedID 21337213

• Cognition and Emotion Lecture at the 2010 SPSP Emotion Preconference Emotion generation and emotion regulation: A distinction we should make (carefully) COGNITION & EMOTION Gross, J. J., Sheppes, G., Urry, H. L. 2011; 25 (5): 765-781

  Abstract

  One of the most fundamental distinctions in the field of emotion is the distinction between emotion generation and emotion regulation. This distinction fits comfortably with folk theories, which view emotions as passions that arise unbidden and then must be controlled. But is it really helpful to distinguish between emotion generation and emotion regulation? In this article, we begin by offering working definitions of emotion generation and emotion regulation. We argue that in some circumstances, the distinction between emotion generation and emotion regulation is indeed useful. We point both to citation patterns, which indicate that researchers from across a number of sub-areas within psychology are making this distinction, and to empirical studies, which indicate the utility of this distinction in many different research contexts. We then consider five ways in which the distinction between emotion generation and emotion regulation can be problematic. We suggest that it is time to move beyond debates about whether this distinction is useful to a more specific consideration of when and in what ways this distinction is useful, and in this spirit, we offer recommendations for future research.

  View details for DOI 10.1080/02699931.2011.555753

  View details for Web of Science ID 000299562700001

  View details for PubMedID 21824019

• Emotion Generation and Emotion Regulation: One or Two Depends on Your Point of View EMOTION REVIEW Gross, J. J., Barrett, L. F. 2011; 3 (1): 8-16

  Abstract

  Emotion regulation has the odd distinction of being a wildly popular construct whose scientific existence is in considerable doubt. In this article, we discuss the confusion about whether emotion generation and emotion regulation can and should be distinguished from one another. We describe a continuum of perspectives on emotion, and highlight how different (often mutually incompatible) perspectives on emotion lead to different views about whether emotion generation and emotion regulation can be usefully distinguished. We argue that making differences in perspective explicit serves the function of allowing researchers with different theoretical commitments to collaborate productively despite seemingly insurmountable differences in terminology and methods.

  View details for DOI 10.1177/1754073910380974

  View details for Web of Science ID 000306271500002

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC3072688

• Explicit and implicit emotion regulation: A dual-process framework COGNITION & EMOTION Gyurak, A., Gross, J. J., Etkin, A. 2011; 25 (3): 400-412

  Abstract

  It is widely acknowledged that emotions can be regulated in an astonishing variety of ways. Most research to date has focused on explicit (effortful) forms of emotion regulation. However, there is growing research interest in implicit (automatic) forms of emotion regulation. To organise emerging findings, we present a dual-process framework that integrates explicit and implicit forms of emotion regulation, and argue that both forms of regulation are necessary for well-being. In the first section of this review, we provide a broad overview of the construct of emotion regulation, with an emphasis on explicit and implicit processes. In the second section, we focus on explicit emotion regulation, considering both neural mechanisms that are associated with these processes and their experiential and physiological consequences. In the third section, we turn to several forms of implicit emotion regulation, and integrate the burgeoning literature in this area. We conclude by outlining open questions and areas for future research.

  View details for DOI 10.1080/02699931.2010.544160

  View details for Web of Science ID 000288672700002

  View details for PubMedID 21432682

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC3280343

• Misery Has More Company Than People Think: Underestimating the Prevalence of Others' Negative Emotions PERSONALITY AND SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY BULLETIN Jordan, A. H., Monin, B., Dweck, C. S., Lovett, B. J., John, O. P., Gross, J. J. 2011; 37 (1): 120-135

  Abstract

  Four studies document underestimations of the prevalence of others' negative emotions and suggest causes and correlates of these erroneous perceptions. In Study 1a, participants reported that their negative emotions were more private or hidden than were their positive emotions; in Study 1b, participants underestimated the peer prevalence of common negative, but not positive, experiences described in Study 1a. In Study 2, people underestimated negative emotions and overestimated positive emotions even for well-known peers, and this effect was partially mediated by the degree to which those peers reported suppression of negative (vs. positive) emotions. Study 3 showed that lower estimations of the prevalence of negative emotional experiences predicted greater loneliness and rumination and lower life satisfaction and that higher estimations for positive emotional experiences predicted lower life satisfaction. Taken together, these studies suggest that people may think they are more alone in their emotional difficulties than they really are.

  View details for DOI 10.1177/0146167210390822

  View details for PubMedID 21177878

• Emotion Regulation in Older Age CURRENT DIRECTIONS IN PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE Urry, H. L., Gross, J. J. 2010; 19 (6): 352-357

  View details for DOI 10.1177/0963721410388395

  View details for Web of Science ID 000288426500003

• Cognitive Reappraisal of Negative Affect: Converging Evidence From EMG and Self-Report EMOTION Ray, R. D., McRae, K., Ochsner, K. N., Gross, J. J. 2010; 10 (4): 587-592

  Abstract

  Prior psychophysiological studies of cognitive reappraisal have generally focused on the down-regulation of negative affect, and have demonstrated either changes in self-reports of affective experience, or changes in facial electromyography, but not both. Unfortunately, when taken separately, these measures are vulnerable to different sources of bias, and alternative explanations might account for changes in these indicators of negative affect. What is needed is a study that (a) obtains measures of self-reported affect together with facial electromyography, and (b) examines the use of reappraisal to regulate externally and internally generated affective responses. In the present study, participants up- or down-regulated negative affect in the context of both negative and neutral pictures. Up-regulation led to greater self reports of negative affect, as well as greater corrugator and startle responses to both negative and neutral stimuli. Down-regulation led to lesser reports of negative affect, and lesser corrugator responses to negative and neutral stimuli. These results extend prior research by (a) showing simultaneous effects on multiple measures of affect, and (b) demonstrating that cognitive reappraisal may be used both to regulate responses to negative stimuli and to manufacture a negative response to neutral stimuli.

  View details for DOI 10.1037/a001901533

  View details for Web of Science ID 000280829700013

  View details for PubMedID 20677875

• Oxytocin Makes People Trusting, Not Gullible PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE Mikolajczak, M., Gross, J. J., Lane, A., Corneille, O., de Timary, P., Luminet, O. 2010; 21 (8): 1072-1074

  View details for DOI 10.1177/0956797610377343

  View details for Web of Science ID 000285454200006

  View details for PubMedID 20631321

• Emotion Regulation and Vulnerability to Depression: Spontaneous Versus Instructed Use of Emotion Suppression and Reappraisal EMOTION Ehring, T., Tuschen-Caffier, B., Schnuelle, J., Fischer, S., Gross, J. J. 2010; 10 (4): 563-572

  Abstract

  Emotion dysregulation has long been thought to be a vulnerability factor for mood disorders. However, there have been few empirical tests of this idea. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that depression vulnerability is related to difficulties with emotion regulation by comparing recovered-depressed and never-depressed participants (N = 73). In the first phase, participants completed questionnaires assessing their typical use of emotion regulation strategies. In the second phase, sad mood was induced using a film clip, and the degree to which participants reported to have spontaneously used suppression versus reappraisal to regulate their emotions was assessed. In the third phase, participants received either suppression or reappraisal instructions prior to watching a second sadness-inducing film. As predicted, suppression was found to be ineffective for down-regulating negative emotions, and recovered-depressed participants reported to have spontaneously used this strategy during the first sadness-inducing film more often than controls. However, the groups did not differ regarding the effects of induced suppression versus reappraisal on negative mood. These results provide evidence for a role for spontaneous but not instructed emotion regulation in depression vulnerability.

  View details for DOI 10.1037/a0019010

  View details for Web of Science ID 000280829700011

  View details for PubMedID 20677873

• The Future's So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades EMOTION REVIEW Gross, J. J. 2010; 2 (3): 212-216

  View details for DOI 10.1177/1754073910361982

  View details for Web of Science ID 000208388500004

• Interdependent self-construal and neural representations of self and mother SOCIAL COGNITIVE AND AFFECTIVE NEUROSCIENCE Ray, R. D., Shelton, A. L., Hollon, N. G., Matsumoto, D., Frankel, C. B., Gross, J. J., Gabrieli, J. D. 2010; 5 (2-3): 318-323

  Abstract

  Representations of self are thought to be dynamically influenced by one's surroundings, including the culture one lives in. However, neuroimaging studies of self-representations have either ignored cultural influences or operationalized culture as country of origin. The present study used functional magnetic resonance imaging to examine the neural correlates of individual differences in interdependent self-construal. Participants rated whether trait adjectives applied to themselves or their mothers, or judged their valence or font. Findings indicated that individual differences in interdependent self-construal correlated positively with increased activation in the medial prefrontal cortex and posterior cingulated cortex when making judgments about one-self vs making judgments about one's mother. This suggests that those with greater interdependent self-construals may rely more upon episodic memory, reflected appraisals, or theory of mind to incorporate social information to make judgments about themselves.

  View details for DOI 10.1093/scan/nsp039

  View details for Web of Science ID 000282071900023

  View details for PubMedID 19822601

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC2894675

• Emotional reactivity and cognitive regulation in anxious children BEHAVIOUR RESEARCH AND THERAPY Carthy, T., Horesh, N., Apter, A., Edge, M. D., Gross, J. J. 2010; 48 (5): 384-393

  Abstract

  Recent models of anxiety disorders emphasize abnormalities in emotional reactivity and regulation. However, the empirical basis for this view is limited, particularly in children and adolescents. The present study examined whether anxious children suffer both negative emotional hyper-reactivity and deficits in cognitive emotion regulation. Participants were 49 children aged 10-17 with generalized anxiety disorder, social anxiety, or separation anxiety disorder as their primary diagnosis, as well as 42 age- and gender-matched non-anxious controls. After completing a diagnostic interview and self-report questionnaires, participants were presented with pictures of threatening scenes with the instructions either to simply view them or to use reappraisal, a cognitive emotion regulation strategy, to decrease their negative emotional response. Emotion ratings, content analysis of reappraisal responses, and reports of everyday use of reappraisal were used to assess negative emotional reactivity, reappraisal ability, efficacy and frequency. Relative to controls, children with anxiety disorders (1) experienced greater negative emotional responses to the images, (2) were less successful at applying reappraisals, but (3) showed intact ability to reduce their negative emotions following reappraisal. They also (4) reported less frequent use of reappraisal in everyday life. Implications for the assessment and treatment of childhood anxiety disorders are discussed.

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.brat.2009.12.013

  View details for Web of Science ID 000278168000005

  View details for PubMedID 20089246

• Neuoroticism Modulates the Impact of Anticipatory Anxiety on Experiential, Autonomic, and Neural Responses 65th Annual Convention of the Society-of-Biological-Psychiatry Drabant, E. M., Kuo, J. R., Ramel, W., Blechert, J., Edge, M. D., Goldin, P. R., Gross, J. J. ELSEVIER SCIENCE INC. 2010: 119S–119S

  View details for Web of Science ID 000277064200380

• Healthy young women with serotonin transporter SS polymorphism show a pro-inflammatory bias under resting and stress conditions BRAIN BEHAVIOR AND IMMUNITY Fredericks, C. A., Drabant, E. M., Edge, M. D., Tillie, J. M., Hallmayer, J., Ramel, W., Kuo, J. R., Mackey, S., Gross, J. J., Dhabhar, F. S. 2010; 24 (3): 350-357

  Abstract

  The study of functionally relevant biological effects of serotonin transporter gene promoter region (5-HTTLPR) polymorphisms is especially important given the current controversy about the clinical relevance of these polymorphisms. Here we report an intrinsic immunobiological difference between individuals carrying two short (SS) versus long (LL) 5-HTTLPR alleles, that is observed in healthy subjects reporting low exposure to life stress. Given that 5-HTTLPR polymorphisms are thought to influence susceptibility to depression and are associated with robust neurobiological effects, that depression is associated with higher pro-inflammatory and lower anti-inflammatory cytokines, and that acute stressors increase circulating concentrations of pro-inflammatory cytokines, we hypothesized that compared to LL individuals, SS individuals may show a pro-inflammatory bias under resting conditions and/or during stress. 15 LL and 11 SS individuals participated in the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST). Serum IL-6 and IL-10 were quantified at baseline and 30, 60, 90, and 120min after beginning the 20-min stress test. Compared to LL individuals, SS individuals showed a higher IL-6/IL-10 ratio at baseline and during stress. Importantly, this pro-inflammatory bias was observed despite both groups being healthy, reporting similar intensities of stress and negative emotionality during the TSST, and reporting similar low exposures to early and recent life stress. To our knowledge, this is the first report of a pro-inflammatory bias/phenotype in individuals carrying the SS genotype of 5-HTTLPR. Thus, healthy SS individuals may be chronically exposed to a pro-inflammatory physiological burden under resting and stress conditions, which could increase their vulnerability to disorders like depression and other diseases that can be facilitated/exacerbated by a chronic pro-inflammatory state.

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.bbi.2009.10.014

  View details for Web of Science ID 000275217300004

  View details for PubMedID 19883751

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC2826575

• Patterns of Emotional Reactivity and Regulation in Children with Anxiety Disorders JOURNAL OF PSYCHOPATHOLOGY AND BEHAVIORAL ASSESSMENT Carthy, T., Horesh, N., Apter, A., Gross, J. J. 2010; 32 (1): 23-36

  View details for DOI 10.1007/s10862-009-9167-8

  View details for Web of Science ID 000274520400003

• Effects of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) on Emotion Regulation in Social Anxiety Disorder EMOTION Goldin, P. R., Gross, J. J. 2010; 10 (1): 83-91

  Abstract

  Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) is an established program shown to reduce symptoms of stress, anxiety, and depression. MBSR is believed to alter emotional responding by modifying cognitive-affective processes. Given that social anxiety disorder (SAD) is characterized by emotional and attentional biases as well as distorted negative self-beliefs, we examined MBSR-related changes in the brain-behavior indices of emotional reactivity and regulation of negative self-beliefs in patients with SAD. Sixteen patients underwent functional MRI while reacting to negative self-beliefs and while regulating negative emotions using 2 types of attention deployment emotion regulation-breath-focused attention and distraction-focused attention. Post-MBSR, 14 patients completed neuroimaging assessments. Compared with baseline, MBSR completers showed improvement in anxiety and depression symptoms and self-esteem. During the breath-focused attention task (but not the distraction-focused attention task), they also showed (a) decreased negative emotion experience, (b) reduced amygdala activity, and (c) increased activity in brain regions implicated in attentional deployment. MBSR training in patients with SAD may reduce emotional reactivity while enhancing emotion regulation. These changes might facilitate reduction in SAD-related avoidance behaviors, clinical symptoms, and automatic emotional reactivity to negative self-beliefs in adults with SAD.

  View details for DOI 10.1037/a0018441

  View details for Web of Science ID 000274400800011

  View details for PubMedID 20141305

• The Neural Bases of Distraction and Reappraisal JOURNAL OF COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE McRae, K., Hughes, B., Chopra, S., Gabrieli, J. D., Gross, J. J., Ochsner, K. N. 2010; 22 (2): 248-262

  Abstract

  Distraction and reappraisal are two commonly used forms of cognitive emotion regulation. Functional neuroimaging studies have shown that each one depends upon interactions between pFC, interpreted as implementing cognitive control, and limbic regions, interpreted as mediating emotional responses. However, no study has directly compared distraction with reappraisal, and it remains unclear whether they draw upon different neural mechanisms and have different emotional consequences. The present fMRI study compared distraction and reappraisal and found both similarities and differences between the two forms of emotion regulation. Both resulted in decreased negative affect, decreased activation in the amygdala, and increased activation in prefrontal and cingulate regions. Relative to distraction, reappraisal led to greater decreases in negative affect and to greater increases in a network of regions associated with processing affective meaning (medial prefrontal and anterior temporal cortices). Relative to reappraisal, distraction led to greater decreases in amygdala activation and to greater increases in activation in prefrontal and parietal regions. Taken together, these data suggest that distraction and reappraisal differentially engage neural systems involved in attentional deployment and cognitive reframing and have different emotional consequences.

  View details for Web of Science ID 000274034500004

  View details for PubMedID 19400679

• An Italian Adaptation of the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT Balzarotti, S., John, O. P., Gross, J. J. 2010; 26 (1): 61-67

  View details for DOI 10.1027/1015-5759/a000009

  View details for Web of Science ID 000274049400009

• Emotion regulation Corsini's encyclopedia of psychology McRae, K., Gross, J. J. edited by Weiner, I. B., Craighead, W. E. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. 2010; 4th: 558–560
• Emotion regulation and psychopathology: A conceptual framework Emotion regulation and psychopathology: A transdiagnostic approach to etiology and treatment Werner, K., Gross, J. J. edited by Kring, A., Sloan, d. New York: Guilford Press. 2010: 13–37
• The cybernetic process model of self-control: Situation- and person-specific considerations Handbook of personality and selfregulation Magen, E., Gross, J. J. edited by Hoyle, R. H. New York, NY: Blackwell Publications. 2010: 353–374
• Getting our act together: Toward a general model of selfcontrol Self control in society, mind, and brain Magen, E., Gross, J. J. edited by Hassin, R., Ochsner, K. N., Trope, Y. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. 2010: 335–353
• Neural Mechanisms of Cognitive Reappraisal of Negative Self-Beliefs in Social Anxiety Disorder BIOLOGICAL PSYCHIATRY Goldin, P. R., Manber-Ball, T., Werner, K., Heimberg, R., Gross, J. J. 2009; 66 (12): 1091-1099

  Abstract

  Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is characterized by distorted negative self-beliefs (NSBs), which are thought to enhance emotional reactivity, interfere with emotion regulation, and undermine social functioning. Cognitive reappraisal is a type of emotion regulation used to alter NSBs, with the goal of modulating emotional reactivity. Despite its relevance, little is known about the neural bases and temporal features of cognitive reappraisal in patients with SAD.Twenty-seven patients with SAD and 27 healthy control subjects (HCs) were trained to react and to implement cognitive reappraisal to downregulate negative emotional reactivity to NSBs, while undergoing functional magnetic resonance imaging and providing ratings of negative emotion experience.Behaviorally, compared with HCs, patients with SAD reported greater negative emotion both while reacting to and reappraising NSBs. However, when cued, participants in both groups were able to use cognitive reappraisal to decrease negative emotion. Neurally, reacting to NSBs resulted in early amygdala response in both groups. Reappraising NSBs resulted in greater early cognitive control, language, and visual processing in HCs but greater late cognitive control, visceral, and visual processing in patients with SAD. Functional connectivity analysis during reappraisal identified more regulatory regions inversely related to left amygdala in HCs than in patients with SAD. Reappraisal-related brain regions that differentiated patients and control subjects were associated with negative emotion ratings and cognitive reappraisal self-efficacy.Findings regarding cognitive reappraisal suggest neural timing, connectivity, and brain-behavioral associations specific to patients with SAD and elucidate neural mechanisms that might serve as biomarkers of interventions for SAD.

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.biopsych.2009.07.014

  View details for Web of Science ID 000272599500004

  View details for PubMedID 19717138

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC2788040

• Bottom-Up and Top-Down Processes in Emotion Generation: Common and Distinct Neural Mechanisms PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE Ochsner, K. N., Ray, R. R., Hughes, B., McRae, K., Cooper, J. C., Weber, J., Gabrieli, J. D., Gross, J. J. 2009; 20 (11): 1322-1331

  Abstract

  Emotions are generally thought to arise through the interaction of bottom-up and top-down processes. However, prior work has not delineated their relative contributions. In a sample of 20 females, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging to compare the neural correlates of negative emotions generated by the bottom-up perception of aversive images and by the top-down interpretation of neutral images as aversive. We found that (a) both types of responses activated the amygdala, although bottom-up responses did so more strongly; (b) bottom-up responses activated systems for attending to and encoding perceptual and affective stimulus properties, whereas top-down responses activated prefrontal regions that represent high-level cognitive interpretations; and (c) self-reported affect correlated with activity in the amygdala during bottom-up responding and with activity in the medial prefrontal cortex during top-down responding. These findings provide a neural foundation for emotion theories that posit multiple kinds of appraisal processes and help to clarify mechanisms underlying clinically relevant forms of emotion dysregulation.

  View details for Web of Science ID 000271526700005

  View details for PubMedID 19883494

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC2858766

• FOR BETTER OR WORSE? STRESS INOCULATION EFFECTS FOR IMPLICIT BUT NOT EXPLICIT ANXIETY DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY Edge, M. D., Ramel, W., Drabant, E. M., Kuo, J. R., Parker, K. J., Gross, J. J. 2009; 26 (9): 831-837

  Abstract

  Severe early life stress (ELS) is associated with negative outcomes. It is not clear, however, what impact moderate ELS has. A growing stress inoculation literature suggests that moderate (vs. low or high) ELS is associated with diminished behavioral and physiological anxiety responses. At the same time, studies of trait anxiety suggest that moderate (vs. low) ELS is associated with greater self-reported anxiety. This study tested the hypothesis that stress inoculation effects are evident for implicit (nonconscious) but not explicit (conscious) aspects of anxiety.Ninety-seven healthy women were assessed for ELS and explicit anxiety using questionnaires and assessed for implicit anxiety using a version of the Implicit Association Test.Results indicated a quadratic relation between ELS and implicit anxiety, such that moderate ELS was associated with lower implicit anxiety levels than low or high ELS. By contrast, the relation between ELS and explicit anxiety was linear.These findings support the stress inoculation hypothesis and suggest that stress inoculation applies for implicit but not explicit aspects of anxiety.

  View details for DOI 10.1002/da.20592

  View details for Web of Science ID 000269685500008

  View details for PubMedID 19569055

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC3364103

• ANXIETY, VAGAL CONTROL, AND REGULATION OF FACIAL EXPRESSION 49th Annual Meeting of the Society-for-Psychophysiological-Research Schinkoethe, D., Mueller, B., Kull, S., Michael, T., Grossman, P., Gross, J. J., Wilhelm, F. H. WILEY-BLACKWELL. 2009: S140–S140

  View details for Web of Science ID 000269744700798

• Mindfulness Meditation Training and Self-Referential Processing in Social Anxiety Disorder: Behavioral and Neural Effects. Journal of cognitive psychotherapy Goldin, P., Ramel, W., Gross, J. 2009; 23 (3): 242-257

  Abstract

  This study examined the effects of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) on the brain-behavior mechanisms of self-referential processing in patients with social anxiety disorder (SAD). Sixteen patients underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging while encoding self-referential, valence, and orthographic features of social trait adjectives. Post-MBSR, 14 patients completed neuroimaging. Compared to baseline, MBSR completers showed (a) increased self-esteem and decreased anxiety, (b) increased positive and decreased negative self-endorsement, (c) increased activity in a brain network related to attention regulation, and (d) reduced activity in brain systems implicated in conceptual-linguistic self-view. MBSR-related changes in maladaptive or distorted social self-view in adults diagnosed with SAD may be related to modulation of conceptual self-processing and attention regulation. Self-referential processing may serve as a functional biobehavioral target to measure the effects of mindfulness training.

  View details for PubMedID 25568592

• Cognitive and Neural Development of Individuated Self-Representation in Children CHILD DEVELOPMENT Ray, R. D., Shelton, A. L., Hollon, N. G., Michel, B. D., Frankel, C. B., Gross, J. J., Gabrieli, J. D. 2009; 80 (4): 1232-1242

  Abstract

  Processing the self-relevance of information facilitates recall. Similarly, processing close-other-related information facilitates recall to a lesser degree than processing self-relevant information. This memory advantage may be viewed as an index of the degree to which the representation of self is differentiated from representations of close others. To test developmental hypotheses concerning the self, this study examined the relation of memory for self- and mother-referentially processed information in participants age 7-13 years (Experiment 1: N = 37; Experiment 2: N = 14). Memory for words encoded with reference to oneself increases with age, relative to memory for words encoded with reference to one's mother. When used as an individual difference measure, the difference in self versus mother memory correlates with regions of the rostral anterior cingulate associated with affective salience.

  View details for Web of Science ID 000268051200019

  View details for PubMedID 19630904

• Does Expressing Your Emotions Raise or Lower Your Blood Pressure? The Answer Depends on Cultural Context JOURNAL OF CROSS-CULTURAL PSYCHOLOGY Butler, E. A., Lee, T. L., Gross, J. J. 2009; 40 (3): 510-517

  Abstract

  Emotion-expressive behavior is often - but not always -- inversely related to physiological responding. To test the hypothesis that cultural context moderates the relationship between expressivity and physiological responding, we had Asian American and European American women engage in face-to-face conversations about a distressing film in same-ethnicity dyads. Blood pressure was measured continuously and emotional expressivity was rated from videotapes. Results indicated that emotion-expressive behavior was inversely related to blood pressure in European American dyads, but the reverse was true in Asian American dyads who showed a trend towards a positive association. These results suggest that the links between emotion-expressive behavior and physiological responding may depend upon cultural context. One possible explanation for this effect may be that cultural contexts shape the meaning individuals give to emotional expressions that occur during social interactions.

  View details for DOI 10.1177/0022022109332845

  View details for Web of Science ID 000265108800010

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC4260334

• 5-HTTLPR Genotype is Associated with Differential Prefrontal Engagement during Anticipatory Anxiety 64th Annual Convention of the Society-of-Biological-Psychiatry Drabant, E., Ramel, W., Kuo, J., Edge, M., Gross, J. ELSEVIER SCIENCE INC. 2009: 58S–59S

  View details for Web of Science ID 000265144200186

• The Social Costs of Emotional Suppression: A Prospective Study of the Transition to College JOURNAL OF PERSONALITY AND SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY Srivastava, S., Tamir, M., McGonigal, K. M., John, O. P., Gross, J. J. 2009; 96 (4): 883-897

  Abstract

  There is growing interest in understanding how emotion regulation affects adaptation. The present study examined expressive suppression (which involves inhibiting the overt expression of emotion) and how it affects a critical domain of adaptation, social functioning. This investigation focused on the transition to college, a time that presents a variety of emotional and social challenges. Analyses focused on 2 components of suppression: a stable component, representing individual differences expressed both before and after the transition, and a dynamic component, representing variance specific to the new college context. Both components of suppression predicted lower social support, less closeness to others, and lower social satisfaction. These findings were robustly corroborated across weekly experience reports, self-reports, and peer reports and are consistent with a theoretical framework that defines emotion regulation as a dynamic process shaped by both stable person factors and environmental demands.

  View details for DOI 10.1037/a0014755

  View details for Web of Science ID 000264489400012

  View details for PubMedID 19309209

• Individual Differences in Typical Reappraisal Use Predict Amygdala and Prefrontal Responses BIOLOGICAL PSYCHIATRY Drabant, E. M., McRae, K., Manuck, S. B., Hariri, A. R., Gross, J. J. 2009; 65 (5): 367-373

  Abstract

  Participants who are instructed to use reappraisal to downregulate negative emotion show decreased amygdala responses and increased prefrontal responses. However, it is not known whether individual differences in the tendency to use reappraisal manifests in similar neural responses when individuals are spontaneously confronted with negative situations. Such spontaneous emotion regulation might play an important role in normal and pathological responses to the emotional challenges of everyday life.Fifty-six healthy women completed a blood oxygenation-level dependent functional magnetic resonance imaging challenge paradigm involving the perceptual processing of emotionally negative facial expressions. Participants also completed measures of typical emotion regulation use, trait anxiety, and neuroticism.Greater use of reappraisal in everyday life was related to decreased amygdala activity and increased prefrontal and parietal activity during the processing of negative emotional facial expressions. These associations were not attributable to variation in trait anxiety, neuroticism, or the use of another common form of emotion regulation, namely suppression.These findings suggest that, like instructed reappraisal, individual differences in reappraisal use are associated with decreased activation in ventral emotion generative regions and increased activation in prefrontal control regions in response to negative stimuli. Such individual differences in emotion regulation might predict successful coping with emotional challenges as well as the onset of affective disorders.

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.biopsych.2008.09.007

  View details for Web of Science ID 000263455300003

  View details for PubMedID 18930182

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC2855682

• Neural Bases of Social Anxiety Disorder Emotional Reactivity and Cognitive Regulation During Social and Physical Threat ARCHIVES OF GENERAL PSYCHIATRY Goldin, P. R., Manber, T., Hakimi, S., Canli, T., Gross, J. J. 2009; 66 (2): 170-180

  Abstract

  Social anxiety disorder is thought to involve emotional hyperreactivity, cognitive distortions, and ineffective emotion regulation. While the neural bases of emotional reactivity to social stimuli have been described, the neural bases of emotional reactivity and cognitive regulation during social and physical threat, and their relationship to social anxiety symptom severity, have yet to be investigated.To investigate behavioral and neural correlates of emotional reactivity and cognitive regulation in patients and controls during processing of social and physical threat stimuli.Participants were trained to implement cognitive-linguistic regulation of emotional reactivity induced by social (harsh facial expressions) and physical (violent scenes) threat while undergoing functional magnetic resonance imaging and providing behavioral ratings of negative emotion experience.Academic psychology department.Fifteen adults with social anxiety disorder and 17 demographically matched healthy controls.Blood oxygen level-dependent signal and negative emotion ratings.Behaviorally, patients reported greater negative emotion than controls during social and physical threat but showed equivalent reduction in negative emotion following cognitive regulation. Neurally, viewing social threat resulted in greater emotion-related neural responses in patients than controls, with social anxiety symptom severity related to activity in a network of emotion- and attention-processing regions in patients only. Viewing physical threat produced no between-group differences. Regulation during social threat resulted in greater cognitive and attention regulation-related brain activation in controls compared with patients. Regulation during physical threat produced greater cognitive control-related response (ie, right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex) in patients compared with controls.Compared with controls, patients demonstrated exaggerated negative emotion reactivity and reduced cognitive regulation-related neural activation, specifically for social threat stimuli. These findings help to elucidate potential neural mechanisms of emotion regulation that might serve as biomarkers for interventions for social anxiety disorder.

  View details for PubMedID 19188539

• Mindfulness meditation training and selfreferential processing in social anxiety disorder: Behavioral and neural effects Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy Goldin, P. R., Ramel, W., Gross, J. J. 2009; 23: 242-257

  Abstract

  This study examined the effects of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) on the brain-behavior mechanisms of self-referential processing in patients with social anxiety disorder (SAD). Sixteen patients underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging while encoding self-referential, valence, and orthographic features of social trait adjectives. Post-MBSR, 14 patients completed neuroimaging. Compared to baseline, MBSR completers showed (a) increased self-esteem and decreased anxiety, (b) increased positive and decreased negative self-endorsement, (c) increased activity in a brain network related to attention regulation, and (d) reduced activity in brain systems implicated in conceptual-linguistic self-view. MBSR-related changes in maladaptive or distorted social self-view in adults diagnosed with SAD may be related to modulation of conceptual self-processing and attention regulation. Self-referential processing may serve as a functional biobehavioral target to measure the effects of mindfulness training.

  View details for DOI 10.1891/0889-8391.23.3.242

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC4283801

• Reappraisa Oxford companion to the affective sciences Giuliani, N., Gross, J. J. edited by Sander, D., Scherer, K. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.. 2009: 329–330
• Emotion and Emotion Regulation: Integrating Individual and Social Levels of Analysis EMOTION REVIEW Butler, E. A., Gross, J. J. 2009; 1 (1): 86-87

  View details for DOI 10.1177/1754073908099131

  View details for Web of Science ID 000208386500017

• Using an emotion regulation framework to predict the outcomes of emotional labour Research on emotion in organizations: Emotions in groups, organizations and cultures Mikolajczak, M., Tran, V., Brotheridge, C., Gross, J. J. edited by Härtel, C. E., Ashkanasy, N. M., Zerbe, W. J. Bingley, UK: Emerald. 2009: 245–273
• Regulation of emotion. Oxford companion to the affective sciences McRae, K., Gross, J. J. edited by Sander, D., Scherer, K. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. 2009: 337–339
• Loving-Kindness Meditation Increases Social Connectedness EMOTION Hutcherson, C. A., Seppala, E. M., Gross, J. J. 2008; 8 (5): 720-724

  Abstract

  The need for social connection is a fundamental human motive, and it is increasingly clear that feeling socially connected confers mental and physical health benefits. However, in many cultures, societal changes are leading to growing social distrust and alienation. Can feelings of social connection and positivity toward others be increased? Is it possible to self-generate these feelings? In this study, the authors used a brief loving-kindness meditation exercise to examine whether social connection could be created toward strangers in a controlled laboratory context. Compared with a closely matched control task, even just a few minutes of loving-kindness meditation increased feelings of social connection and positivity toward novel individuals on both explicit and implicit levels. These results suggest that this easily implemented technique may help to increase positive social emotions and decrease social isolation.

  View details for DOI 10.1037/a0013237

  View details for Web of Science ID 000259842500014

  View details for PubMedID 18837623

• Self-representation in social anxiety disorder: Linguistic analysis of autobiographical narratives BEHAVIOUR RESEARCH AND THERAPY Anderson, B., Goldin, P. R., Kurita, K., Gross, J. J. 2008; 46 (10): 1119-1125

  Abstract

  Cognitive models of social anxiety disorder (SAD) posit aberrant beliefs about the social self as a key psychological mechanism that maintains fear of negative evaluation in social and performance situations. Consequently, a distorted self-view should be evident when recalling painful autobiographical social memories, as reflected in linguistic expression, negative self-beliefs, and emotion and avoidance. To test this hypothesis, 42 adults diagnosed with SAD and 27 non-psychiatric healthy controls (HC) composed autobiographical narratives of distinct social anxiety related situations, generated negative self-beliefs (NSB), and provided emotion and avoidance ratings. Although narratives were matched for initial emotional intensity and present vividness, linguistic analyses demonstrated that, compared to HC, SAD employed more self-referential, anxiety, and sensory words, and made fewer references to other people. There were no differences in the number of self-referential NSB identified by SAD and HC. Social anxiety symptom severity, however, was associated with greater self-referential NSB in SAD only. SAD reported greater current self-conscious emotions when recalling autobiographical social situations, and greater active avoidance of similar situations than did HC. These findings support cognitive models of SAD, and suggest that autobiographical memory of social situations in SAD may influence current and future thinking, emotion, and behavioral avoidance.

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.brat.2008.07.001

  View details for Web of Science ID 000259888500003

  View details for PubMedID 18722589

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC2630512

• Cardiovascular costs of emotion suppression cross ethnic lines INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGY Roberts, N. A., Levenson, R. W., Gross, J. J. 2008; 70 (1): 82-87

  Abstract

  Previous research has shown that inhibiting emotion-expressive behavior (emotion suppression) leads to increased sympathetic activation of the cardiovascular system [Gross, J.J. and Levenson, R.W. (1993). Emotional suppression: physiology, self-report, and expressive behavior. J. Pers. Soc. Psychol. 64(6), 970-986]. Ethnic differences have been reported in how frequently suppression is used as an emotion regulation strategy [Gross, J.J. and John, O. (2003). Individual differences in two emotion regulation processes: implications for affect, relationships, and well-being. J. Pers. Soc. Psychol. 85(2), 348-362]; however, it remains unknown whether there are ethnic differences in the physiological consequences of suppression. To test this, 168 participants from four ethnic groups (African American, Chinese American, European American, Mexican American) watched a disgust-eliciting film clip; half were instructed to suppress their emotions and half simply watched the film. Consistent with previous research, suppression was associated with decreased facial behavior, increased cardiovascular activation, and no impact on subjective emotional experience. Ethnicity failed to moderate these effects, indicating the generality of the cardiovascular consequences of emotion suppression across ethnic background.

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2008.06.003

  View details for Web of Science ID 000260125200011

  View details for PubMedID 18621086

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC2583175

• The Up- and Down-Regulation of Amusement: Experiential, Behavioral, and Autonomic Consequences EMOTION Giuliani, N. R., McRae, K., Gross, J. J. 2008; 8 (5): 714-719

  Abstract

  A growing body of research has examined the regulation of negative emotions. However, little is known about the physiological processes underlying the regulation of positive emotions, such as when amusement is enhanced during periods of stress or attenuated in the pursuit of social goals. The aim of this study was to examine the psychophysiological consequences of the cognitive up- and down-regulation of amusement. To address this goal, participants viewed brief, amusing film clips while measurements of experience, behavior, and peripheral physiology were collected. Using an event-related design, participants viewed each film under the instructions either to (a) watch, (b) use cognitive reappraisal to increase amusement, or (c) use cognitive reappraisal to decrease amusement. Findings indicated that emotion experience, emotion-expressive behavior, and autonomic physiology (including heart rate, respiration, and sympathetic nervous system activation) were enhanced and diminished in accordance with regulation instructions. This finding is a critical extension of the growing literature on the voluntary regulation of emotion, and has the potential to help us better understand how people use humor in the service of coping and social goals.

  View details for DOI 10.1037/a0013236

  View details for Web of Science ID 000259842500013

  View details for PubMedID 18837622

• The hidden-zero effect - Representing a single choice as an extended sequence reduces impulsive choice PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE Magen, E., Dweck, C. S., Gross, J. J. 2008; 19 (7): 648-649

  View details for Web of Science ID 000257785000006

  View details for PubMedID 18727778

• Misery is not miserly: Sad and self-focused individuals spend more PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE Cryder, C. E., Lerner, J. S., Gross, J. J., Dahl, R. E. 2008; 19 (6): 525-530

  Abstract

  Misery is not miserly: Sadness increases the amount of money that decision makers give up to acquire a commodity. The present research investigated when and why the misery-is-not-miserly effect occurs. Drawing on William James's concept of the material self, we tested a model specifying relationships among sadness, self-focus, and the amount of money that decision makers spend. Consistent with our Jamesian hypothesis, results demonstrated that the misery-is-not-miserly effect occurs only when self-focus is high. That is, self-focus moderates the effect of sadness on spending. Moreover, mediational analyses revealed that, at sufficiently high levels, self-focus mediates (explains) the relationship between sadness and spending. Because the study used real commodities and real money, the results hold implications for everyday decisions, as well as implications for the development of theory. For example, economic theories of spending may benefit from incorporating psychological theories -- specifically, theories of emotion and the self -- into their models.

  View details for Web of Science ID 000256636800001

  View details for PubMedID 18578840

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC4142804

• A discrete or dimensional affective landscape? Evidence for emotion discreteness from a multiple-response-levels analysis of film-induced fear and sadness Kreibig, S. D., Wilhelm, F. H., Roth, W. T., Gross, J. J. PSYCHOLOGY PRESS. 2008: 203–

  View details for Web of Science ID 000259264302315

• Real-time classification of evoked emotions using facial feature tracking and physiological responses INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HUMAN-COMPUTER STUDIES Bailenson, J. N., Pontikakis, E. D., Mauss, I. B., Gross, J. J., Jabon, M. E., Hutcherson, C. A., Nass, C., John, O. 2008; 66 (5): 303-317

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.ijhcs.2007.10.011

  View details for Web of Science ID 000255697100001

• Cognitive emotion regulation: Insights from social cognitive and affective neuroscience CURRENT DIRECTIONS IN PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE Ochsner, K. N., Gross, J. J. 2008; 17 (2): 153-158

  Abstract

  Recent developments in the study of cognitive emotion regulation illustrate how functional imaging is extending behavioral analyses. Imaging studies have contributed to the development of a multi-level model of emotion regulation that describes the interactions between neural systems implicated in emotion generation and those implicated in emotional control. In this article, we review imaging studies of one type of cognitive emotion regulation, namely reappraisal. We show how imaging studies have contributed to the construction of this model, illustrate the interplay of psychological theory and neuroscience data in its development, and describe how this model can be used as the basis for future basic and translational research.

  View details for Web of Science ID 000254807700018

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC4241349

• Cognitive Emotion Regulation: Insights from Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience. Current directions in psychological science Ochsner, K. N., Gross, J. J. 2008; 17 (2): 153-158

  Abstract

  Recent developments in the study of cognitive emotion regulation illustrate how functional imaging is extending behavioral analyses. Imaging studies have contributed to the development of a multi-level model of emotion regulation that describes the interactions between neural systems implicated in emotion generation and those implicated in emotional control. In this article, we review imaging studies of one type of cognitive emotion regulation, namely reappraisal. We show how imaging studies have contributed to the construction of this model, illustrate the interplay of psychological theory and neuroscience data in its development, and describe how this model can be used as the basis for future basic and translational research.

  View details for DOI 10.1111/j.1467-8721.2008.00566.x

  View details for PubMedID 25425765

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC4241349

• Gender Differences in Emotion Regulation: An fMRI Study of Cognitive Reappraisal. Group processes & intergroup relations : GPIR McRae, K., Ochsner, K. N., Mauss, I. B., Gabrieli, J. J., Gross, J. J. 2008; 11 (2): 143-162

  Abstract

  Despite strong popular conceptions of gender differences in emotionality and striking gender differences in the prevalence of disorders thought to involve emotion dysregulation, the literature on the neural bases of emotion regulation is nearly silent regarding gender differences (Gross, 2007; Ochsner & Gross, in press). The purpose of the present study was to address this gap in the literature. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we asked male and female participants to use a cognitive emotion regulation strategy (reappraisal) to down-regulate their emotional responses to negatively valenced pictures. Behaviorally, men and women evidenced comparable decreases in negative emotion experience. Neurally, however, gender differences emerged. Compared with women, men showed (a) lesser increases in prefrontal regions that are associated with reappraisal, (b) greater decreases in the amygdala, which is associated with emotional responding, and (c) lesser engagement of ventral striatal regions, which are associated with reward processing. We consider two non-competing explanations for these differences. First, men may expend less effort when using cognitive regulation, perhaps due to greater use of automatic emotion regulation. Second, women may use positive emotions in the service of reappraising negative emotions to a greater degree. We then consider the implications of gender differences in emotion regulation for understanding gender differences in emotional processing in general, and gender differences in affective disorders.

  View details for DOI 10.1177/1368430207088035

  View details for PubMedID 29743808

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC5937254

• Hedonic and instrumental motives in anger regulation PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE Tamir, M., Mitchell, C., Gross, J. J. 2008; 19 (4): 324-328

  Abstract

  What motivates individuals to regulate their emotions? One answer, which has been highlighted in emotion-regulation research, is that individuals are motivated by short-term hedonic goals (e.g., the motivation to feel pleasure). Another answer, however, is that individuals are motivated by instrumental goals (e.g., the motivation to perform certain behaviors). We suggest that both answers have merit. To demonstrate the role instrumental goals may play in emotion regulation, we pitted short-term hedonic motives and instrumental motives against each other, by testing whether individuals were motivated to experience a potentially useful, albeit unpleasant, emotion. We found that (a) individuals preferred activities that would increase their level of anger (but not their level of excitement) when they were anticipating confrontational, but not nonconfrontational, tasks and that (b) anger improved performance in a confrontational, but not a nonconfrontational, task. These findings support a functional view of emotion regulation, and demonstrate that in certain contexts, individuals may choose to experience emotions that are instrumental, despite short-term hedonic costs.

  View details for Web of Science ID 000254792000004

  View details for PubMedID 18399883

• Gender differences in emotion regulation: An fMRI study of cognitive reappraisal GROUP PROCESSES & INTERGROUP RELATIONS McRae, K., Ochsner, K. N., Mauss, I. B., Gabrieli, J. J., Gross, J. J. 2008; 11 (2): 143-162

  Abstract

  Despite strong popular conceptions of gender differences in emotionality and striking gender differences in the prevalence of disorders thought to involve emotion dysregulation, the literature on the neural bases of emotion regulation is nearly silent regarding gender differences (Gross, 2007; Ochsner & Gross, in press). The purpose of the present study was to address this gap in the literature. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we asked male and female participants to use a cognitive emotion regulation strategy (reappraisal) to down-regulate their emotional responses to negatively valenced pictures. Behaviorally, men and women evidenced comparable decreases in negative emotion experience. Neurally, however, gender differences emerged. Compared with women, men showed (a) lesser increases in prefrontal regions that are associated with reappraisal, (b) greater decreases in the amygdala, which is associated with emotional responding, and (c) lesser engagement of ventral striatal regions, which are associated with reward processing. We consider two non-competing explanations for these differences. First, men may expend less effort when using cognitive regulation, perhaps due to greater use of automatic emotion regulation. Second, women may use positive emotions in the service of reappraising negative emotions to a greater degree. We then consider the implications of gender differences in emotion regulation for understanding gender differences in emotional processing in general, and gender differences in affective disorders.

  View details for DOI 10.1177/1368430207088035

  View details for Web of Science ID 000256264400002

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC5937254

• The neural bases of emotion regulation: Reappraisal and suppression of negative emotion BIOLOGICAL PSYCHIATRY Goldin, P. R., McRae, K., Ramel, W., Gross, J. J. 2008; 63 (6): 577-586

  Abstract

  Emotion regulation strategies are thought to differ in when and how they influence the emotion-generative process. However, no study to date has directly probed the neural bases of two contrasting (e.g., cognitive versus behavioral) emotion regulation strategies. This study used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to examine cognitive reappraisal (a cognitive strategy thought to have its impact early in the emotion-generative process) and expressive suppression (a behavioral strategy thought to have its impact later in the emotion-generative process).Seventeen women viewed 15 sec neutral and negative emotion-eliciting films under four conditions--watch-neutral, watch-negative, reappraise-negative, and suppress-negative--while providing emotion experience ratings and having their facial expressions videotaped.Reappraisal resulted in early (0-4.5 sec) prefrontal cortex (PFC) responses, decreased negative emotion experience, and decreased amygdala and insular responses. Suppression produced late (10.5-15 sec) PFC responses, decreased negative emotion behavior and experience, but increased amygdala and insular responses.These findings demonstrate the differential efficacy of reappraisal and suppression on emotional experience, facial behavior, and neural response and highlight intriguing differences in the temporal dynamics of these two emotion regulation strategies.

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.biopsych.2007.05.031

  View details for Web of Science ID 000253618300008

  View details for PubMedID 17888411

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC2483789

• Attention and emotion influence the relationship between extraversion and neural response SOCIAL COGNITIVE AND AFFECTIVE NEUROSCIENCE Hutcherson, C. A., Goldin, P. R., Ramel, W., McRae, K., Gross, J. J. 2008; 3 (1): 71-79

  Abstract

  Extraversion has been shown to positively correlate with activation within the ventral striatum, amygdala and other dopaminergically innervated, reward-sensitive regions. These regions are implicated in emotional responding, in a manner sensitive to attentional focus. However, no study has investigated the interaction among extraversion, emotion and attention. We used fMRI and dynamic, evocative film clips to elicit amusement and sadness in a sample of 28 women. Participants were instructed either to respond naturally (n = 14) or to attend to and continuously rate their emotions (n = 14) while watching the films. Contrary to expectations, striatal response was negatively associated with extraversion during amusement, regardless of attention. A negative association was also observed during sad films, but only when attending to emotion. These findings suggest that attentional focus does not influence the relationship between extraversion and neural response to positive (amusing) stimuli but does impact the response to negative (sad) stimuli.

  View details for DOI 10.1093/scan/nsm040

  View details for Web of Science ID 000256174000009

  View details for PubMedID 19015097

• All in the mind's eye? Anger rumination and reappraisal JOURNAL OF PERSONALITY AND SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY Ray, R. D., Wilhelm, F. H., Gross, J. J. 2008; 94 (1): 133-145

  Abstract

  Research on rumination has demonstrated that compared with distraction, rumination intensifies and prolongs negative emotion. However, rumination and distraction differ both in what one thinks about and how one thinks about it. Do the negative outcomes of rumination result from how people think about negative events or simply that they think about them at all? To address this question, participants in 2 studies recalled a recent anger-provoking event and then thought about it in 1 of 2 ways: by ruminating or by reappraising. The authors examined the impact of these strategies on subsequent ratings of anger experience (Study 1) as well as on perseverative thinking and physiological responding over time (Study 2). Relative to reappraisal, rumination led to greater anger experience, more cognitive perseveration, and greater sympathetic nervous system activation. These findings provide compelling new evidence that how one thinks about an emotional event can shape the emotional response one has.

  View details for DOI 10.1037/0022-3514.94.1.133

  View details for Web of Science ID 000251826500010

  View details for PubMedID 18179323

• Emotion regulation Handbook of emotions Gross, J. J. edited by Lewis, M., Haviland-Jones, J. M., Barret, L. F. New York, NY: Guilford. 2008; 3rd: 497–512
• Culture and automatic emotion regulation Regulating emotions: Culture, social necessity, and biological inheritance Mauss, I. B., Bunge, S. A., Gross, J. J. edited by Vanderkerckhove, M., Scheve, C. V., Ismer, S., Jung, S., Kronast, S. Oxford, England: Blackwell.. 2008: 39–60
• Emotion and emotion regulation: Personality processes and individual differences. Handbook of personality: Theory and research Gross, J. J. edited by John, O. P., Robins, R. W., Pervin, L. A. New York, NY: Guilford. 2008; 3rd: 701–724
• German version of the Berkeley Expressivity Questionnaire DIAGNOSTICA Mohiyeddini, C., John, O., Gross, J. J. 2008; 54 (3): 117-128

  View details for DOI 10.1026/0012-1924.54.3.117

  View details for Web of Science ID 000257585700001

• Emotion and emotion regulation: A map for psychotherapy researchers CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY-SCIENCE AND PRACTICE Rottenberg, J., Gross, J. J. 2007; 14 (4): 323-328

  View details for Web of Science ID 000250939700002

• Individual differences in cognitive reappraisal: Experiential and physiological responses to an anger provocation INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGY Mauss, I. B., Cook, C. L., Cheng, J. Y., Gross, J. J. 2007; 66 (2): 116-124

  Abstract

  Effective emotion regulation is widely seen as vital for healthy adaptation. There remains considerable uncertainty, however, as to what constitutes effective emotion regulation. One promising emotion regulation strategy is cognitive reappraisal, which involves reframing emotional events so as to decrease their emotional impact. This strategy is useful because it seems to enable individuals to down-regulate negative feelings without the physiological costs that are associated with other forms of emotion regulation. It remains unknown, however, whether individual differences in the use of reappraisal are associated with experiential and physiological responses to anger-inducing situations. To examine this question, individuals either high or low in reappraisal were made angry in the laboratory while emotion experience and cardiovascular responses were assessed. Results indicated that compared to low reappraisers, high reappraisers had a more adaptive profile of emotion experience and cardiovascular responding. Specifically, across baseline and provocation periods, high reappraisers reported less anger, less negative emotion, and more positive emotion, showed greater cardiac output and ventricular contractility, and lesser total peripheral resistance. These findings suggest that reappraisers are successful at down-regulating negative emotions, even in the context of a potent negative emotion such as anger.

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2007.03.017

  View details for Web of Science ID 000251432600005

  View details for PubMedID 17543404

• Depression and emotional reactivity: Variation among Asian Americans of east Asian descent and European Americans JOURNAL OF ABNORMAL PSYCHOLOGY Chentsova-Dutton, Y. E., Chu, J. P., Tsai, J. L., Rottenberg, J., Gross, J. J., Gotlib, I. H. 2007; 116 (4): 776-785

  Abstract

  Studies of Western samples (e.g., European Americans [EAs]) suggest that depressed individuals tend to show diminished emotional reactivity (J. G. Gehricke & A. J. Fridlund, 2002; G. E. Schwartz, P. L. Fair, P. Salt, M. R. Mandel, & G. L. Klerman, 1976a, 1976b). Do these findings generalize to individuals oriented to other cultures (e.g., East Asian cultures)? The authors compared the emotional reactions (i.e., reports of emotional experience, facial behavior, and physiological reactivity) of depressed and nondepressed EAs and Asian Americans of East Asian descent (AAs) to sad and amusing films. Their results were consistent with previous findings: Depressed EAs showed a pattern of diminished reactivity to the sad film (less crying, less intense reports of sadness) compared with nondepressed participants. In contrast, depressed AAs showed a pattern of heightened emotional reactivity (greater crying) compared with nondepressed participants. Across cultural groups, depressed and nondepressed participants did not differ in their reports of amusement or facial behavior during the amusing film. Physiological reactivity to the film clips did not differ between depressed and control participants for either cultural group. Thus, although depression may influence particular aspects of emotional reactivity across cultures (e.g., crying), the specific direction of this influence may depend on prevailing cultural norms regarding emotional expression.

  View details for DOI 10.1037/0021-843X.116.4.776

  View details for Web of Science ID 000250937700010

  View details for PubMedID 18020723

• Signaling threat: How situational cues affect women in math, science, and engineering settings PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE Murphy, M. C., Steele, C. M., Gross, J. J. 2007; 18 (10): 879-885

  Abstract

  This study examined the cues hypothesis, which holds that situational cues, such as a setting's features and organization, can make potential targets vulnerable to social identity threat. Objective and subjective measures of identity threat were collected from male and female math, science, and engineering (MSE) majors who watched an MSE conference video depicting either an unbalanced ratio of men to women or a balanced ratio. Women who viewed the unbalanced video exhibited more cognitive and physiological vigilance, and reported a lower sense of belonging and less desire to participate in the conference, than did women who viewed the gender-balanced video. Men were unaffected by this situational cue. The implications for understanding vulnerability to social identity threat, particularly among women in MSE settings, are discussed.

  View details for Web of Science ID 000249827200007

  View details for PubMedID 17894605

• Automatic emotion regulation during anger provocation JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY Mauss, I. B., Cook, C. L., Gross, J. J. 2007; 43 (5): 698-711

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.jesp.2006.07.003

  View details for Web of Science ID 000249173200002

• Cardiovascular, electrodermal, and respiratory response patterns to fear- and sadness-inducing films 12th Annual Meeting of the Society-for-Psychophysiological-Research Kreibig, S. D., Wilhelm, F. H., Roth, W. T., Gross, J. J. WILEY-BLACKWELL. 2007: 787–806

  Abstract

  Responses to fear- and sadness-inducing films were assessed using a broad range of cardiovascular (heart rate, T-wave amplitude, low- and high-frequency heart rate variability, stroke volume, preejection period, left-ventricular ejection time, Heather index, blood pressure, pulse amplitude and transit time, and finger temperature), electrodermal (level, response rate, and response amplitude), and respiratory (rate, tidal volume and its variability, inspiratory flow rate, duty cycle, and end-tidal pCO(2)) measures. Subjective emotional experience and facial behavior (Corrugator Supercilii and Zygomaticus Major EMG) served as control measures. Results indicated robust differential physiological response patterns for fear, sadness, and neutral (mean classification accuracy 85%). Findings are discussed in terms of the fight-flight and conservation-withdrawal responses and possible limitations of a valence-arousal categorization of emotion in affective space.

  View details for DOI 10.1111/j.1469-8986.2007.00550.x

  View details for Web of Science ID 000249002200013

  View details for PubMedID 17598878

• Same situation - Different emotions: How appraisals shape our emotions EMOTION Siemer, M., Mauss, I., Gross, J. J. 2007; 7 (3): 592-600

  Abstract

  Appraisal theories of emotion hold that it is the way a person interprets a situation--rather than the situation itself--that gives rise to one emotion rather than another emotion (or no emotion at all). Unfortunately, most prior tests of this foundational hypothesis have simultaneously varied situations and appraisals, making an evaluation of this assumption difficult. In the present study, participants responded to a standardized laboratory situation with a variety of different emotions. Appraisals predicted the intensity of individual emotions across participants. In addition, subgroups of participants with similar emotional response profiles made comparable appraisals. Together, these findings suggest that appraisals may be necessary and sufficient to determine different emotional reactions toward a particular situation.

  View details for DOI 10.1037/1528-3542.7.3.592

  View details for Web of Science ID 000248532900013

  View details for PubMedID 17683215

• Business or pleasure? Utilitarian versus hedonic considerations in emotion regulation EMOTION Tamir, M., Chiu, C., Gross, J. J. 2007; 7 (3): 546-554

  Abstract

  It is widely accepted that emotions have utilitarian as well as hedonic consequences. Nevertheless, it is typically assumed that individuals regulate emotions to obtain hedonic, rather than utilitarian, benefits. In this study, the authors tested whether individuals represent the utility of pleasant and unpleasant emotions and whether they would be motivated to experience unpleasant emotions if they believed they could be useful. First, findings revealed that participants explicitly viewed approach emotions (e.g., excitement) as useful for obtaining rewards, but viewed avoidance emotions (e.g., worry) as useful for avoiding threats. Second, this pattern was replicated in implicit representations of emotional utility, which were dissociated from explicit ones. Third, implicit, but not explicit, representations of emotional utility predicted motives for emotion regulation. When anticipating a threatening task, participants who viewed emotions such as worry and fear as useful for avoiding threats preferred to engage in activities that were likely to increase worry and fear (vs. excitement) before the task. These findings demonstrate that utilitarian considerations play an important, if underappreciated, role in emotion regulation.

  View details for DOI 10.1037/1528-3542.7.3.546

  View details for Web of Science ID 000248532900009

  View details for PubMedID 17683211

• Harnessing the need for immediate gratification: Cognitive reconstrual modulates the reward value of temptations EMOTION Magen, E., Gross, J. J. 2007; 7 (2): 415-428

  Abstract

  Many of us succumb to temptations, despite knowing that we will later regret doing so. How can such behavior be avoided? In three studies, the authors tested the hypothesis that reconstruing temptation as a test of a valued internal quality ("willpower") would decrease the tendency to succumb by reducing the appeal of the temptation. In Study 1, participants who construed a challenging handgrip task as a test of willpower resisted the temptation to terminate the painful task longer than participants who did not. In Study 2, participants performed a handgrip task twice. Only participants who changed their construal of the task into a test of willpower improved their performance. In Study 3, participants took a timed math test while being tempted by comedy clips. Participants who reconstrued the situation as willpower test compared with participants who did not, (a) enjoyed the videos less, and (b) were better able to resist the tempting videos. These studies demonstrate that cognitive reconstrual can be used to modify reward contingencies, so that succumbing to temptation becomes less appealing, and resisting temptation becomes more appealing.

  View details for DOI 10.1037/1528-3542.7.2.415

  View details for Web of Science ID 000246412200017

  View details for PubMedID 17516818

• Does repressive coping promote resilience? Affective-autonomic response discrepancy during bereavement JOURNAL OF PERSONALITY AND SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY Coifman, K. G., Bonanno, G. A., Ray, R. D., Gross, J. J. 2007; 92 (4): 745-758

  Abstract

  Traditional theories of coping emphasize the value of attending to and expressing negative emotion while recovering from traumatic life events. However, recent evidence suggests that the tendency to direct attention away from negative affective experience (i.e., repressive coping) may promote resilience following extremely aversive events (e.g., the death of a spouse). The current study extends this line of investigation by showing that both bereaved and nonbereaved individuals who exhibited repressive coping behavior--as measured by the discrepancy between affective experience and sympathetic nervous system response--had fewer symptoms of psychopathology, experienced fewer health problems and somatic complaints, and were rated as better adjusted by close friends than those who did not exhibit repressive coping. Results are discussed in terms of recent developments in cognitive and neuroimaging research suggesting that repressive coping may serve a protective function.

  View details for DOI 10.1037/0022-3514.92.4.745

  View details for Web of Science ID 000245641700012

  View details for PubMedID 17469956

• Implicit theories of emotion: Affective and social outcomes across a major life transition JOURNAL OF PERSONALITY AND SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY Tamir, M., John, O. P., Srivastava, S., Gross, J. J. 2007; 92 (4): 731-744

  Abstract

  The authors demonstrate that people differ systematically in their implicit theories of emotion: Some view emotions as fixed (entity theorists), whereas others view emotions as more malleable (incremental theorists). Using a longitudinal and multimethod design, the authors show that implicit theories of emotion, as distinct from intelligence, are linked to both emotional and social adjustment during the transition to college. Before entering college, individuals who held entity (vs. incremental) theories of emotion had lower emotion regulation self-efficacy and made less use of cognitive reappraisal (Part 1). Throughout their first academic term, entity theorists of emotion had less favorable emotion experiences and received decreasing social support from their new friends, as evidenced by weekly diaries (Part 2). By the end of freshman year, entity theorists of emotion had lower well-being, greater depressive symptoms, and lower social adjustment as indicated in both self- and peer-reports (Part 3). The emotional, but not the social, outcomes were partially mediated by individual differences in emotion regulation self-efficacy (Part 4). Together, these studies demonstrate that implicit theories of emotion can have important long-term implications for socioemotional functioning.

  View details for DOI 10.1037/0022-3514.92.4.731

  View details for Web of Science ID 000245641700011

  View details for PubMedID 17469955

• Emotion regulation and culture: Are the social consequences of emotion suppression culture-specific? EMOTION Butler, E. A., Lee, T. L., Gross, J. J. 2007; 7 (1): 30-48

  Abstract

  Emotional suppression has been associated with generally negative social consequences (Butler et al., 2003; Gross & John, 2003). A cultural perspective suggests, however, that these consequences may be moderated by cultural values. We tested this hypothesis in a two-part study, and found that, for Americans holding Western-European values, habitual suppression was associated with self-protective goals and negative emotion. In addition, experimentally elicited suppression resulted in reduced interpersonal responsiveness during face-to-face interaction, along with negative partner-perceptions and hostile behavior. These deleterious effects were reduced when individuals with more Asian values suppressed, and these reductions were mediated by cultural differences in the responsiveness of the suppressors. These findings suggest that many of suppression's negative social impacts may be moderated by cultural values.

  View details for DOI 10.1037/1528-3542.7.1.30

  View details for Web of Science ID 000244491500004

  View details for PubMedID 17352561

• The experience of emotion ANNUAL REVIEW OF PSYCHOLOGY Barrett, L. F., Mesquita, B., Ochsner, K. N., Gross, J. J. 2007; 58: 373-403

  Abstract

  Experiences of emotion are content-rich events that emerge at the level of psychological description, but must be causally constituted by neurobiological processes. This chapter outlines an emerging scientific agenda for understanding what these experiences feel like and how they arise. We review the available answers to what is felt (i.e., the content that makes up an experience of emotion) and how neurobiological processes instantiate these properties of experience. These answers are then integrated into a broad framework that describes, in psychological terms, how the experience of emotion emerges from more basic processes. We then discuss the role of such experiences in the economy of the mind and behavior.

  View details for DOI 10.1146/annurev.psych.58.110405.085709

  View details for Web of Science ID 000243900200015

  View details for PubMedID 17002554

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC1934613

• Handbook of emotion regulation edited by Gross, J. J. New York, NY: Guilford Press. 2007
• Individual differences in emotion regulation strategies: Links to global trait, dynamic, and social cognitive constructs Handbook of emotion regulation John, O. P., Gross, J. J. edited by Gross, J. J. New York, NY: Guilford Press. 2007: 351–372
• Psychology Gleitman, H., Reisberg, D., Gross, J. J. New York, NY: Norton. 2007
• On the automaticity of emotion Social psychology and the unconscious: The automaticity of higher mental processes Barrett, L. F., Ochsner, K. N., Gross, J. J. edited by Bargh, J. New York, NY: Psychology Press. 2007: 173–217
• The neural architecture of emotion regulation Handbook of emotion regulation Ochsner, K. N., Gross, J. J. edited by Gross, J. J. New York, NY: Guilford Press. 2007: 87–109
• Bridges yet to come: Future directions for integrating affective and clinical science. Emotion and psychopathology: Bridging affective and clinical science. Rottenberg, J., Johnson, S. L., Gross, J. J. edited by Rottenberg, J., Johnson, S. L. Washington, DC: APA Books.. 2007: 305–308
• Handbook of emotion regulation edited by Gross, J. J. New York, NY: Guilford Press. 2007
• Individual differences in emotion regulation strategies: Links to global trait, dynamic, and social cognitive constructs Handbook of emotion regulation John, O. P., Gross, J. J. edited by Gross, J. J. New York, NY: Guilford Press. 2007: 351–372
• Psychology Gleitman, H., Reisberg, D., Gross, J. J. New York, NY: Norton. 2007
• On the automaticity of emotion Social psychology and the unconscious: The automaticity of higher mental processes Barrett, L. F., Ochsner, K. N., Gross, J. J. edited by Bargh, J. New York, NY: Psychology Press. 2007: 173–217
• The neural architecture of emotion regulation Handbook of emotion regulation Ochsner, K. N., Gross, J. J. edited by Gross, J. J. New York, NY: Guilford Press. 2007: 87–109
• Bridges yet to come: Future directions for integrating affective and clinical science. Emotion and psychopathology: Bridging affective and clinical science. Rottenberg, J., Johnson, S. L., Gross, J. J. edited by Rottenberg, J., Johnson, S. L. Washington, DC: APA Books.. 2007: 305–308
• Respiratory sinus arrhythmia, emotion, and emotion regulation during social interaction PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGY Butler, E. A., Wilhelm, F. H., Gross, J. J. 2006; 43 (6): 612-622

  Abstract

  Respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) figures prominently in emotional responding, but its exact role remains unclear. The present study tests two hypotheses: (1) Between-person differences in resting RSA are related to emotional reactivity, and (2) within-person changes in RSA are related to regulatory efforts. Pairs of women watched an upsetting film and discussed it. One woman in each of the experimental dyads was asked to either suppress or to reappraise during the conversation. Their partners and both members of the control dyads conversed naturally. Between-person differences in resting RSA were assessed with paced breathing, and within-person changes in RSA were calculated from baseline to the conversation accounting for respiration. Women with higher resting RSA experienced and expressed more negative emotion, and women who attempted to regulate their emotions either by suppressing or reappraising showed larger increases in RSA than controls.

  View details for DOI 10.1111/j.1469-8986.2006.00467.x

  View details for Web of Science ID 000241626200011

  View details for PubMedID 17076818

• Personality and emotional memory: How regulating emotion impairs memory for emotional events JOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN PERSONALITY Richards, J. M., Gross, J. J. 2006; 40 (5): 631-651

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.jrp.2005.07.002

  View details for Web of Science ID 000241203000010

• Optimism in close relationships: How seeing things in a positive light makes them so JOURNAL OF PERSONALITY AND SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY Srivastava, S., McGonigal, K. M., Richards, J. M., Butler, E. A., Gross, J. J. 2006; 91 (1): 143-153

  Abstract

  Does expecting positive outcomes--especially in important life domains such as relationships--make these positive outcomes more likely? In a longitudinal study of dating couples, the authors tested whether optimists (who have a cognitive disposition to expect positive outcomes) and their romantic partners are more satisfied in their relationships, and if so, whether this is due to optimists perceiving greater support from their partners. In cross-sectional analyses, both optimists and their partners indicated greater relationship satisfaction, an effect that was mediated by optimists' greater perceived support. When the couples engaged in a conflict conversation, optimists and their partners saw each other as engaging more constructively during the conflict, which in turn led both partners to feel that the conflict was better resolved 1 week later. In a 1-year follow-up, men's optimism predicted relationship status. Effects of optimism were mediated by the optimists' perceived support, which appears to promote a variety of beneficial processes in romantic relationships.

  View details for DOI 10.1037/0022-3514.91.1.143

  View details for Web of Science ID 000239139900010

  View details for PubMedID 16834485

• How to bite your tongue without blowing your top: Implicit evaluation of emotion regulation predicts affective responding to anger provocation PERSONALITY AND SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY BULLETIN Mauss, I. B., Evers, C., Wilhelm, F. H., Gross, J. J. 2006; 32 (5): 589-602

  Abstract

  People frequently have to control their emotions to function in life. However, mounting evidence suggests that deliberate emotion regulation often is costly. This presents a dilemma: Is it better to let emotions go or to pay the price of exerting costly control? In two studies, the authors explore whether emotion regulatory processes associated with implicit positive evaluation of emotion regulation might provide the benefits of successful emotion regulation without the costs. In Study 1, the authors introduce a measure of implicit evaluation of emotion regulation (ER-IAT). Study 2 examined whether this measure is associated with actual emotional responses to an anger provocation. It was found that greater ER-IAT scores were associated with lesser anger experience, fewer negative thoughts, lessened self-reported effortful emotion regulation, and an adaptive pattern of cardiovascular responding. These findings suggest that implicit positive evaluation of emotion regulation is associated with successful, automatic, and physiologically adaptive down-regulation of anger.

  View details for DOI 10.1177/0146167205083841

  View details for Web of Science ID 000236850100003

  View details for PubMedID 16702153

• Expressive suppression during an acoustic startle PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGY Hagemann, T., Levenson, R. W., Gross, J. J. 2006; 43 (1): 104-112

  Abstract

  Previous studies have shown that inhibiting negative or positive emotion-expressive behavior leads to increased sympathetic activation. Inhibiting facial behavior while in an affectively neutral state has no such physiological consequences. This suggests that there may be something special about inhibiting emotion-expressive behavior. To test the boundary conditions of the suppression effect, acoustic startles were delivered to 252 participants in three experimental groups. Participants in one group received unanticipated startles. Participants in the other two groups were told that after a 20-s countdown a loud noise would occur; participants in one of these groups were further told to inhibit their expressive behavior. Results indicated that startle suppression increased sympathetic activation. These findings extend prior work on emotion suppression, and suggest that inhibiting other biologically based responses also may be physiologically taxing.

  View details for DOI 10.1111/j.1469-8986.2006.00382.x

  View details for Web of Science ID 000236634400011

  View details for PubMedID 16629690

• Differential effects of film-induced fear and sadness on acoustic startle 46th Annual Meeting of the Society-for-Psychophysiological-Research Kreibig, S. D., Wilhelm, F. H., Roth, W. T., Gross, J. J. WILEY-BLACKWELL PUBLISHING, INC. 2006: S54–S54

  View details for Web of Science ID 000239965400249

• Emotion regulation in everyday life Emotion regulation in couples and families: Pathways to dysfunction and health Gross, J. J., Richards, J. M., John, O. P. edited by Simpson, J. A., Hughles, J. N. Washington DC: American Psychological Association. 2006: 13–35
• Emotion context insensitivity in major depressive disorder JOURNAL OF ABNORMAL PSYCHOLOGY Rottenberg, J., Gross, J. J., Gotlib, I. H. 2005; 114 (4): 627-639

  Abstract

  The present study tested 3 competing views of how depression alters emotional reactivity: positive attenuation (reduced positive), negative potentiation (increased negative), and emotion context insensitivity (ECI; reduced positive and negative). Normative and idiographic stimuli that elicited happy, sad, and neutral states were presented to currently depressed, formerly depressed, and healthy control individuals while experiential, behavioral, and autonomic responses were measured. Currently depressed individuals reported less sadness reactivity and less happiness experience across all conditions than did the other participants, and they exhibited a more dysphoric response to idiographic than to normative stimuli. Overall, data provide partial support for the positive attenuation and ECI views. Depression may produce mood-state-dependent changes in emotional reactivity that are most pronounced in emotion experience reports.

  View details for DOI 10.1037/0021-843X.114.4.627

  View details for Web of Science ID 000233760700014

  View details for PubMedID 16351385

• Attention and emotion: Does rating emotion alter neural responses to amusing and sad films? NEUROIMAGE Hutcherson, C. A., Goldin, P. R., Ochsner, K. N., Gabrieli, J. D., Barrett, L. F., Gross, J. J. 2005; 27 (3): 656-668

  Abstract

  Functional neuroimaging of affective systems often includes subjective self-report of the affective response. Although self-report provides valuable information regarding participants' affective responses, prior studies have raised the concern that the attentional demands of reporting on affective experience may obscure neural activations reflecting more natural affective responses. In the present study, we used potent emotion-eliciting amusing and sad films, employed a novel method of continuous self-reported rating of emotion experience, and compared the impact of rating with passive viewing of amusing and sad films. Subjective rating of ongoing emotional responses did not decrease either self-reported experience of emotion or neural activations relative to passive viewing in any brain regions. Rating, relative to passive viewing, produced increased activity in anterior cingulate, insula, and several other areas associated with introspection of emotion. These results support the use of continuous emotion measures and emotionally engaging films to study the dynamics of emotional responding and suggest that there may be some contexts in which the attention to emotion induced by reporting emotion experience does not disrupt emotional responding either behaviorally or neurally.

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2005.04.028

  View details for Web of Science ID 000231543600017

  View details for PubMedID 15946863

• Putting the 'I' and the 'Me' in emotion regulation: Reply to Northoff TRENDS IN COGNITIVE SCIENCES Ochsner, K. N., Gross, J. J. 2005; 9 (9): 409-410

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.tics.2005.06.004

  View details for Web of Science ID 000232251000004

• Mechanisms of virtual reality exposure therapy: The role of the behavioral activation and behavioral inhibition systems APPLIED PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGY AND BIOFEEDBACK Wilhelm, F. H., Pfaltz, M. C., Gross, J. J., Mauss, I. B., Kim, S. I., Wiederhold, B. K. 2005; 30 (3): 271-284

  Abstract

  J. A. Gray's (1975) theory distinguishes between two motivational systems, which he refers to as the behavioral activation system (BAS) and the behavioral inhibition system (BIS). D. C. Fowles (1980) has shown that heart rate responses reflect activity of the BAS, and electrodermal responses reflect activity of the BIS. Both BAS and BIS are reliably activated during in-vivo exposure to fearful situations (F. H. Wilhelm & W. T. Roth, 1998). However, due to the constraints imposed by virtual reality (VR), we hypothesized that VR exposure to fearful situations would activate the BIS alone. To test this hypothesis, a VR free-standing elevator simulation was presented to participants selected for high and low fear of heights. As predicted, the high-anxious group strongly responded electrodermally (effect size d = 1.53), but showed only minimal HR elevations during exposure (d = 0.12), and little other cardiovascular or respiratory changes. The low-anxious control group showed little electrodermal and HR reactivity (d = 0.28 and 0.12). A comparison with data from a previous study demonstrated that this pattern was in stark contrast to the large electrodermal and cardiovascular response observed during situational in-vivo exposure outside the laboratory. We conclude that the BIS, but not BAS, is selectively activated during VR exposure, causing discordance between self-report and commonly used physiological measures of anxiety. Results are discussed within the framework of E. B. Foa & M. J. Kozak's (1986) emotional processing theory of fear modification, suggesting different mechanisms underlying VR and in-vivo exposure treatments.

  View details for DOI 10.1007/s10484-005-6383-1

  View details for Web of Science ID 000231937900009

  View details for PubMedID 16167191

• The neural bases of amusement and sadness: A comparison of block contrast and subject-specific emotion intensity regression approaches NEUROIMAGE Goldin, P. R., Hutcherson, C. A., Ochsner, K. N., Glover, G. H., Gabrieli, J. D., Gross, J. J. 2005; 27 (1): 26-36

  Abstract

  Neuroimaging studies have made substantial progress in elucidating the neural bases of emotion. However, few studies to date have directly addressed the subject-specific, time-varying nature of emotional responding. In the present study, we employed functional magnetic resonance imaging to examine the neural bases of two common emotions--amusement and sadness--using both (a) a stimulus-based block contrast approach and (b) a subject-specific regression analysis using continuous ratings of emotional intensity. Thirteen women viewed a set of nine 2-min amusing, sad, or neutral film clips two times. During the first viewing, participants watched the film stimuli. During the second viewing, they made continuous ratings of the intensity of their own amusement and sadness during the first film viewing. For sad films, both block contrast and subject-specific regression approaches resulted in activations in medial prefrontal cortex, inferior frontal gyrus, superior temporal gyrus, precuneus, lingual gyrus, amygdala, and thalamus. For amusing films, the subject-specific regression analysis demonstrated significant activations not detected by the block contrast in medial, inferior frontal gyrus, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, posterior cingulate, temporal lobes, hippocampus, thalamus, and caudate. These results suggest a relationship between emotion-specific temporal dynamics and the sensitivity of different data analytic methods for identifying emotion-related neural responses. These findings shed light on the neural bases of amusement and sadness, and highlight the value of using emotional film stimuli and subject-specific continuous emotion ratings to characterize the dynamic, time-varying components of emotional responses.

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2005.03.018

  View details for Web of Science ID 000230701200003

  View details for PubMedID 15890534

• Individual differences in trait rumination and the neural systems supporting cognitive reappraisal COGNITIVE AFFECTIVE & BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE Ray, R. D., Ochsner, K. N., Cooper, J. C., Robertson, E. R., Gabrieli, J. D., Gross, J. J. 2005; 5 (2): 156-168

  Abstract

  Cognitive reappraisal can alter emotional responses by changing one's interpretation of a situation's meaning. Functional neuroimaging has revealed that using cognitive reappraisal to increase or decrease affective responses involves left prefrontal activation and goal-appropriate increases or decreases in amygdala activation (Ochsner, Bunge, Gross, & Gabrieli, 2002; Ochsner, Ray, et al., 2004). The present study was designed to examine whether patterns of brain activation during reappraisal vary in relation to individual differences in trait rumination, which is the tendency to focus on negative aspects of one's self or negative interpretations of one's life. Individual differences in rumination correlated with increases in amygdala response when participants were increasing negative affect and with greater decreases in prefrontal regions implicated in self-focused thought when participants were decreasing negative affect. Thus, the propensity to ruminate may reflect altered recruitment of mechanisms that potentiate negative affect. These findings clarify relations between rumination and emotion regulation processes and may have important implications for mood and anxiety disorders.

  View details for Web of Science ID 000232717900005

  View details for PubMedID 16180622

• The tie that binds? Coherence among emotion experience, behavior, and physiology EMOTION Mauss, I. B., Levenson, R. W., McCarter, L., Wilhelm, F. H., Gross, J. J. 2005; 5 (2): 175-190

  Abstract

  Emotion theories commonly postulate that emotions impose coherence across multiple response systems. However, empirical support for this coherence postulate is surprisingly limited. In the present study, the authors (a) examined the within-individual associations among experiential, facial behavioral, and peripheral physiological responses during emotional responding and (b) assessed whether emotion intensity moderates these associations. Experiential, behavioral, and physiological responses were measured second-by-second during a film that induced amusement and sadness. Results indicate that experience and behavior were highly associated but that physiological responses were only modestly associated with experience and behavior. Intensity of amusement experience was associated with greater coherence between behavior and physiological responding; intensity of sadness experience was not. These findings provide new evidence about response system coherence in emotions.

  View details for DOI 10.1037/1528-3542.5.2.175

  View details for Web of Science ID 000230443800005

  View details for PubMedID 15982083

• Vagal withdrawal to a sad film predicts subsequent recovery from depression PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGY Rottenberg, J., Salomon, K., Gross, J. J., Gotlib, I. H. 2005; 42 (3): 277-281

  Abstract

  Cardiac vagal tone, as indexed by abnormalities in the level and/or reactivity of respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), has been related to psychiatric impairment, including risk for depression. Longitudinal studies of depression have focused on RSA levels and have found mixed support for the hypothesis that low RSA levels predict a more pernicious course of depression. The current investigation focuses on the relation between RSA reactivity and the course of depression. We measured depressed persons' RSA reactivity to sadness-, fear-, and amusement-inducing emotion films and reassessed participants' diagnostic status 6 months later. Depressed persons who exhibited a higher degree of vagal withdrawal to the sad film were more likely to recover from depression. Implications for the study of RSA in depression are discussed.

  View details for DOI 10.1111/j.1469-8986.2005.00289.x

  View details for Web of Science ID 000229666500004

  View details for PubMedID 15943681

• The cognitive control of emotion TRENDS IN COGNITIVE SCIENCES Ochsner, K. N., Gross, J. J. 2005; 9 (5): 242-249

  Abstract

  The capacity to control emotion is important for human adaptation. Questions about the neural bases of emotion regulation have recently taken on new importance, as functional imaging studies in humans have permitted direct investigation of control strategies that draw upon higher cognitive processes difficult to study in nonhumans. Such studies have examined (1) controlling attention to, and (2) cognitively changing the meaning of, emotionally evocative stimuli. These two forms of emotion regulation depend upon interactions between prefrontal and cingulate control systems and cortical and subcortical emotion-generative systems. Taken together, the results suggest a functional architecture for the cognitive control of emotion that dovetails with findings from other human and nonhuman research on emotion.

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.tics.2005.03.010

  View details for Web of Science ID 000229466500010

  View details for PubMedID 15866151

• An fMRI investigation of emotion and emotion regulation in depression 12th Annual Meeting of the Cognitive-Neuroscience-Society Robertson, E., Ochsner, K., Ray, R., Cooper, J., Gabrieli, J., Gotlib, I., GROSS, J. MIT PRESS. 2005: 198–198

  View details for Web of Science ID 000227878701237

• Healthy and unhealthy emotion regulation: Personality processes, individual differences, and life span development JOURNAL OF PERSONALITY John, O. P., Gross, J. J. 2004; 72 (6): 1301-1333

  Abstract

  Individuals regulate their emotions in a wide variety of ways. Are some forms of emotion regulation healthier than others? We focus on two commonly used emotion regulation strategies: reappraisal (changing the way one thinks about a potentially emotion-eliciting event) and suppression (changing the way one responds behaviorally to an emotion-eliciting event). In the first section, we review experimental findings showing that reappraisal has a healthier profile of short-term affective, cognitive, and social consequences than suppression. In the second section, we review individual-difference findings, which show that using reappraisal to regulate emotions is associated with healthier patterns of affect, social functioning, and well-being than is using suppression. In the third section, we consider issues in the development of reappraisal and suppression and provide new evidence for a normative shift toward an increasingly healthy emotion regulation profile during adulthood (i.e., increases in the use of reappraisal and decreases in the use of suppression).

  View details for Web of Science ID 000224756300008

  View details for PubMedID 15509284

• For better or for worse: neural systems supporting the cognitive down- and up-regulation of negative emotion NEUROIMAGE Ochsner, K. N., Ray, R. D., Cooper, J. C., Robertson, E. R., Chopra, S., Gabrieli, J. D., Gross, J. J. 2004; 23 (2): 483-499

  Abstract

  Functional neuroimaging studies examining the neural bases of the cognitive control of emotion have found increased prefrontal and decreased amygdala activation for the reduction or down-regulation of negative emotion. It is unknown, however, (1) whether the same neural systems underlie the enhancement or up-regulation of emotion, and (2) whether altering the nature of the regulatory strategy alters the neural systems mediating the regulation. To address these questions using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), participants up- and down-regulated negative emotion either by focusing internally on the self-relevance of aversive scenes or by focusing externally on alternative meanings for pictured actions and their situational contexts. Results indicated (1a) that both up- and down-regulating negative emotion recruited prefrontal and anterior cingulate regions implicated in cognitive control, (1b) that amygdala activation was modulated up or down in accord with the regulatory goal, and (1c) that up-regulation uniquely recruited regions of left rostromedial PFC implicated in the retrieval of emotion knowledge, whereas down-regulation uniquely recruited regions of right lateral and orbital PFC implicated in behavioral inhibition. Results also indicated that (2) self-focused regulation recruited medial prefrontal regions implicated in internally focused processing, whereas situation-focused regulation recruited lateral prefrontal regions implicated in externally focused processing. These data suggest that both common and distinct neural systems support various forms of reappraisal and that which particular prefrontal systems modulate the amygdala in different ways depends on the regulatory goal and strategy employed.

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2004.06.030

  View details for Web of Science ID 000224817100005

  View details for PubMedID 15488398

• Is there less to social anxiety than meets the eye? Emotion experience, expression, and bodily responding COGNITION & EMOTION Mauss, I. B., Wilhelm, F. H., Gross, J. J. 2004; 18 (5): 631-662

  View details for DOI 10.1080/02699930341000112

  View details for Web of Science ID 000223126400003

• Hiding feelings in social contexts: Out of sight is not out of mind The regulation of emotion Butler, E. A., Gross, J. J. edited by Philippot, P., Feldman, R. S. Mahwah, New Jersey: Erlbaum. 2004: 101–126
• Situational and individual response specificity to emotion films: Effects on experiential, cardiovascular, electrodermal, respiratory and somatic responses 44th Annual Meeting of the Society-for-Psychophysiological-Research Kreibig, S. D., Wilhelm, F. H., Gross, J. J., Ferst, R., Roth, W. T. WILEY-BLACKWELL. 2004: S75–S75

  View details for Web of Science ID 000223558200288

• Thinking makes it so: A social cognitive neuroscience approach to emotion regulation Handbook of self regulation: Research, theory, and applications Ochsner, K. N., Gross, J. J. edited by Baumeister, R. F., Vohs, K. D. New York, NY: Guilford Press.. 2004: 229–255
• Emotion suppression and cardiovascular disease: Is hiding feelings bad for your heart? Emotional expression and health: Advances in theory, assessment, and clinical applications Mauss, I. B., Gross, J. J. edited by Nyklicek, I., Temoshok, L., Vingerhoets, A. New York, NY: Brunner-Routledge. 2004: 62–81
• Sex-steroid derived compounds induce sex-specific effects on autonomic nervous system function in humans BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE Bensafi, M., BROWN, W. M., Tsutsui, T., Mainland, J. D., Johnson, B. N., Bremner, E. A., Young, N., Mauss, I., Ray, B., GROSS, J., Richards, J., Stappen, I., Levenson, R. W., Sobel, N. 2003; 117 (6): 1125-1134

  Abstract

  The physiological and psychological effects of 2 human sex-steroid derived compounds, 4.16-androstadien-3-one (AND) and l,3,5(10),16-estratetraen-3-ol(EST) were measured in 24 subjects who participated in a within-subjects, double-blind experiment. A dissociation was evident in the physiological effects of AND, in that it increased physiological arousal in women but decreased it in men. EST did not significantly affect physiological arousal in women or men. Neither compound significantly affected mood. AND is an androgen derivative that is the most prevalent androstene in human male sweat, male axillary hair, and on the male axillary skin surface. The authors argue that AND's opposite effects on physiology in men and women further implicate this compound in chemical communication between humans.

  View details for DOI 10.1037/0735-7044.117.6.1125

  View details for Web of Science ID 000187402300001

  View details for PubMedID 14674833

• Emotion regulation in romantic relationships: The cognitive consequences of concealing feelings JOURNAL OF SOCIAL AND PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS RICHARDS, J. M., Butler, E. A., Gross, J. J. 2003; 20 (5): 599-620

  View details for Web of Science ID 000186835300002

• Individual differences in two emotion regulation processes: Implications for affect, relationships, and well-being JOURNAL OF PERSONALITY AND SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY Gross, J. J., John, O. P. 2003; 85 (2): 348-362

  Abstract

  Five studies tested two general hypotheses: Individuals differ in their use of emotion regulation strategies such as reappraisal and suppression, and these individual differences have implications for affect, well-being, and social relationships. Study 1 presents new measures of the habitual use of reappraisal and suppression. Study 2 examines convergent and discriminant validity. Study 3 shows that reappraisers experience and express greater positive emotion and lesser negative emotion, whereas suppressors experience and express lesser positive emotion, yet experience greater negative emotion. Study 4 indicates that using reappraisal is associated with better interpersonal functioning, whereas using suppression is associated with worse interpersonal functioning. Study 5 shows that using reappraisal is related positively to well-being, whereas using suppression is related negatively.

  View details for DOI 10.1037/0022-3514.85.2.348

  View details for PubMedID 12916575

• Autonomic recovery and habituation in social anxiety PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGY Mauss, I. B., Wilhelm, F. H., Gross, J. J. 2003; 40 (4): 648-653

  Abstract

  Growing evidence suggests that, contrary to expectation, high trait socially anxious (HTSA) and low trait socially anxious (LTSA) individuals show comparable autonomic reactivity during stressful speech tasks. To test the hypothesis that autonomic differences between groups might emerge during recovery or habituation, 35 HTSA and LTSA participants gave two impromptu speeches. Measures of anxiety experience as well as cardiovascular, electrodermal, respiratory, and vagal activation were obtained. Despite greater reports of anxiety experience in the HTSA versus the LTSA participants, autonomic measures showed comparable reactivity, habituation, and recovery in the two anxiety groups. These results suggest minimal autonomic differences between HTSA and LTSA individuals, thus supporting theories of social anxiety that emphasize cognitive factors.

  View details for Web of Science ID 000183733200017

  View details for PubMedID 14570172

• When emotion goes wrong: Realizing the promise of affective science CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY-SCIENCE AND PRACTICE Rottenberg, J., Gross, J. J. 2003; 10 (2): 227-232

  View details for DOI 10.1093/clipsy/bpg012

  View details for Web of Science ID 000182986300010

• The Social Consequences of Expressive Suppression EMOTION Butler, E. A., Egloff, B., Wilhelm, F. H., Smith, N. C., Erickson, E. A., Gross, J. J. 2003; 3 (1): 48-67

  Abstract

  At times, people keep their emotions from showing during social interactions. The authors' analysis suggests that such expressive suppression should disrupt communication and increase stress levels. To test this hypothesis, the authors conducted 2 studies in which unacquainted pairs of women discussed an upsetting topic. In Study 1, one member of each pair was randomly assigned to (a) suppress her emotional behavior, (b) respond naturally, or (c) cognitively reappraise in a way that reduced emotional responding. Suppression alone disrupted communication and magnified blood pressure responses in the suppressors' partners. In Study 2, suppression had a negative impact on the regulators' emotional experience and increased blood pressure in both regulators and their partners. Suppression also reduced rapport and inhibited relationship formation.

  View details for DOI 10.1037/1528-3542.3.1.48

  View details for Web of Science ID 000208224900004

  View details for PubMedID 12899316

• Vagal rebound during resolution of tearful crying among depressed and nondepressed individuals PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGY Rottenberg, J., Wilhelm, F. H., Gross, J. J., Gotlib, I. H. 2003; 40 (1): 1-6

  Abstract

  Respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) is an index of the vagal control of heart rate that is associated with emotion regulatory capacity. To examine RSA in depressed and nondepressed participants in the context of an emotion-regulatory challenge, we presented a sad film to induce crying, a behavior associated with heightened parasympathetic activation. We predicted that nondepressed persons who cried would show elevations in RSA during the onset and the resolution of crying. By contrast, we predicted that depressed individuals who cried would fail to exhibit increased RSA over the course of their crying episodes. As hypothesized, nondepressed participants exhibited RSA increases that accompanied the resolution of tearful crying, consistent with a homeostatic function for crying, whereas depressed subjects who cried did not exhibit increased RSA. Results suggest that the physiological self-regulatory mechanisms invoked by crying are compromised in depression.

  View details for Web of Science ID 000180455300001

  View details for PubMedID 12751799

• Correlates of gay and lesbian couples' relationship satisfaction and relationship dissolution JOURNAL OF HOMOSEXUALITY Gottman, J. M., Levenson, R. W., GROSS, J., Frederickson, B. L., McCoy, K., Rosenthal, L., Ruef, A., Yoshimoto, D. 2003; 45 (1): 23-43

  Abstract

  A sample of committed gay and lesbian cohabiting couples engaged in two conversations after being apart for at least 8 hours: (a) an events of the day conversation and (b) a conflict resolution conversation. Physiological data were collected during the conversations and a videotape record was made. Couples viewed the videotapes and rated their affect during the interaction. The video records were coded with a system that categorized specific affects displayed. Models derived from physiology, from the perception of interaction, and from specific affective behavior were related to relationship satisfaction, and to the prediction of relationship dissolution over a 12-year period. Results supported previous findings that satisfaction and stability in gay and lesbian relationships are related to similar emotional qualities as in heterosexual relationships.

  View details for DOI 10.1300/J082v45n01_02

  View details for Web of Science ID 000185757500002

  View details for PubMedID 14567652

• Rethinking feelings: An fMRI study of the cognitive regulation of emotion JOURNAL OF COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE Ochsner, K. N., Bunge, S. A., Gross, J. J., Gabrieli, J. D. 2002; 14 (8): 1215-1229

  Abstract

  The ability to cognitively regulate emotional responses to aversive events is important for mental and physical health. Little is known, however, about neural bases of the cognitive control of emotion. The present study employed functional magnetic resonance imaging to examine the neural systems used to reappraise highly negative scenes in unemotional terms. Reappraisal of highly negative scenes reduced subjective experience of negative affect. Neural correlates of reappraisal were increased activation of the lateral and medial prefrontal regions and decreased activation of the amygdala and medial orbito-frontal cortex. These findings support the hypothesis that prefrontal cortex is involved in constructing reappraisal strategies that can modulate activity in multiple emotion-processing systems.

  View details for Web of Science ID 000179163500008

  View details for PubMedID 12495527

• Respiratory sinus arrhythmia as a predictor of outcome in major depressive disorder JOURNAL OF AFFECTIVE DISORDERS Rottenberg, J., Wilhelm, F. H., Gross, J. J., Gotlib, I. H. 2002; 71 (1-3): 265-272

  Abstract

  Respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) is a noninvasive measure of parasympathetic tone that has been related to emotion regulatory capacity. While some previous work indicates that clinically depressed persons exhibit lower levels of RSA than do normal controls, there is nevertheless considerable between-subject variation in RSA among depressed persons. The current study evaluated the significance of variation in RSA among depressed persons by examining whether levels of RSA predicted concurrent symptomatology and the course of depressive illness.The RSA levels of 55 diagnosed depressed individuals were assessed during a paced breathing procedure at Time 1. Six months later (Time 2), participants were interviewed again to determine whether or not each had fully recovered from depression. Multinomial regression analyses were conducted to examine whether RSA predicted Time 2 clinical status.Although RSA levels were not related to overall depression severity, they were associated with specific symptoms of depression: RSA was positively associated with the report of sadness and negatively associated with the report of suicidality. More strikingly, however, higher levels of RSA at Time 1 predicted non-recovery from depression at Time 2, even when statistically controlling for initial depression severity, age and medication use.Treatment and medication use were not controlled during the follow-up period and a group of nonpsychiatric controls was not included in this study.A relatively high level of RSA among depressed individuals predicts a more pernicious course of illness than do lower RSA levels.

  View details for Web of Science ID 000177824700033

  View details for PubMedID 12167527

• Sadness and Amusement Reactivity Differentially Predict Concurrent and Prospective Functioning in Major Depressive Disorder EMOTION Rottenberg, J., Kasch, K. L., Gross, J. J., Gotlib, I. H. 2002; 2 (2): 135-146

  Abstract

  Depressed individuals often fail to react to emotionally significant stimuli. The significance of this pattern of emotional dysregulation in depression is poorly understood. In the present study, depressed and nondepressed participants viewed standardized neutral, sad, fear, and amusing films; and experiential, behavioral, and physiological responses to each film were assessed. Compared with nondepressed controls, depressed participants reported sadness and amusement in a flattened, context-insensitive manner. Those depressed participants who reported the least reactivity to the sad film exhibited the greatest concurrent impairment. Prospectively, the depressed participant who exhibited the least behavioral and heart rate reactivity to the amusing film were the least likely to recover from depression. Loss of the context-appropriate modulation of emotion in depression may reflect a core feature of emotion dysregulation in this disorder.

  View details for DOI 10.1037//1528-3542.2.2.135

  View details for Web of Science ID 000208224500004

  View details for PubMedID 12899187

• Crying threshold and intensity in major depressive disorder JOURNAL OF ABNORMAL PSYCHOLOGY Rottenberg, J., Gross, J. J., Wilhelm, F. H., Gotlib, I. H. 2002; 111 (2): 302-312

  Abstract

  Clinical lore suggests that depression is associated with frequent and intense crying. To test these postulations empirically, a standardized cry-evoking stimulus was presented to depressed and nondepressed participants, and their likelihood of crying and the magnitude of crying-related changes in their emotion experience, behavior, and autonomic physiology were compared. Unexpectedly, crying was no more likely in depressed than in nondepressed participants. Within the nondepressed group, participants who cried exhibited increases in the report and display of sadness and had greater cardiac and electrodermal activation than did participants who did not cry. There was less evidence of this crying-related emotional activation within the depressed group. The lack of emotional activation among clinically depressed participants who cried provides a tantalizing clue concerning how emotions are dysregulated in this disorder.

  View details for DOI 10.1037//0021-843X.111.2.302

  View details for Web of Science ID 000175078600009

  View details for PubMedID 12003451

• Emotion regulation: Affective, cognitive, and social consequences PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGY Gross, J. J. 2002; 39 (3): 281-291

  Abstract

  One of life's great challenges is successfully regulating emotions. Do some emotion regulation strategies have more to recommend them than others? According to Gross's (1998, Review of General Psychology, 2, 271-299) process model of emotion regulation, strategies that act early in the emotion-generative process should have a different profile of consequences than strategies that act later on. This review focuses on two commonly used strategies for down-regulating emotion. The first, reappraisal, comes early in the emotion-generative process. It consists of changing the way a situation is construed so as to decrease its emotional impact. The second, suppression, comes later in the emotion-generative process. It consists of inhibiting the outward signs of inner feelings. Experimental and individual-difference studies find reappraisal is often more effective than suppression. Reappraisal decreases emotion experience and behavioral expression, and has no impact on memory. By contrast, suppression decreases behavioral expression, but fails to decrease emotion experience, and actually impairs memory. Suppression also increases physiological responding for suppressors and their social partners. This review concludes with a consideration of five important directions for future research on emotion regulation processes.

  View details for DOI 10.1017/S0048577201393198

  View details for Web of Science ID 000175419200002

  View details for PubMedID 12212647

• Implicit Anxiety Measure Predicts Cardiovascular Reactivity to an Evaluated Speaking Task EMOTION Egloff, B., Wilhelm, F. H., Neubauer, D. H., Mauss, I. B., Gross, J. J. 2002; 2 (1): 3-11

  Abstract

  Explicit personality tests assess introspectively accessible self-descriptions. By contrast, implicit personality tests assess introspectively inaccessible processes that operate outside of awareness. Despite their inaccessibility, implicit processes are presumed to influence a variety of current responses. This study tested the hypothesis that an implicit anxiety test should predict cardiovascular reactivity during a speech stressor task. In all, 97 participants completed a measure of attention allocation toward threat (implicit test) and an anxiety questionnaire (explicit test) 1 week before giving an evaluated speech. Whereas the explicit test showed modest relations within only 1 measure of cardiovascular reactivity, the implicit test predicted heart rate and blood pressure reactivity during preparation and delivery of the speech. These findings encourage the broader use of implicit measures to assess cardiovascular responses to threat.

  View details for DOI 10.1037/1528-3542.2.1.3

  View details for Web of Science ID 000208224400001

  View details for PubMedID 12899363

• Wise emotion regulation The wisdom in feeling: Psychological processes in emotional intelligence Gross, J. J., John edited by Barret, L. F., Salovey, P. New York, NY: Guilford. 2002: 297–318
• Social anxiety and response to touch: incongruence between self-evaluative and physiological reactions 40th Annual Meeting of the Society-for-Psychophysiological-Research Wilhelm, F. H., Kochar, A. S., Roth, W. T., Gross, J. J. ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV. 2001: 181–202

  Abstract

  Touch is an important form of social interaction, and one that can have powerful emotional consequences. Appropriate touch can be calming, while inappropriate touch can be anxiety provoking. To examine the impact of social touching, this study compared socially high-anxious (N=48) and low-anxious (N=47) women's attitudes concerning social touch, as well as their affective and physiological responses to a wrist touch by a male experimenter. Compared to low-anxious participants, high-anxious participants reported greater anxiety to a variety of social situations involving touch. Consistent with these reports, socially anxious participants reacted to the experimenter's touch with markedly greater increases in self-reported anxiety, self-consciousness, and embarrassment. Physiologically, low-anxious and high-anxious participants showed a distinct pattern of sympathetic-parasympathetic coactivation, as reflected by decreased heart rate and tidal volume, and increased respiratory sinus arrhythmia, skin conductance, systolic/diastolic blood pressure, stroke volume, and respiratory rate. Interestingly, physiological responses were comparable in low and high-anxious groups. These findings indicate that social anxiety is accompanied by heightened aversion towards social situations that involve touch, but this enhanced aversion and negative-emotion report is not reflected in differential physiological responding.

  View details for Web of Science ID 000172496600001

  View details for PubMedID 11698114

• Emotion regulation in adulthood: Timing is everything CURRENT DIRECTIONS IN PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE Gross, J. J. 2001; 10 (6): 214-219

  View details for Web of Science ID 000172394200007

• James J. Gross - Award for distinguished scientific early career contributions to psychology AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGIST Anonymous 2001; 56 (11): 911-913

  View details for DOI 10.1037//0003-066X.56.11.911

  View details for Web of Science ID 000173083800013

  View details for PubMedID 11785163

• Knowing what you're feeling and knowing what to do about it: Mapping the relation between emotion differentiation and emotion regulation Meeting of the Society-of-Experimental-Social-Psychology Barrett, L. F., GROSS, J., CHRISTENSEN, T. C., Benvenuto, M. PSYCHOLOGY PRESS. 2001: 713–24

  View details for Web of Science ID 000171618800001

• An fMRI study of personality influences on brain reactivity to emotional stimuli BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE Canli, T., Zhao, Z., Desmond, J. E., Kang, E. J., GROSS, J., Gabrieli, J. D. 2001; 115 (1): 33-42

  Abstract

  Functional imaging studies have examined which brain regions respond to emotional stimuli, but they have not determined how stable personality traits moderate such brain activation. Two personality traits, extraversion and neuroticism, are strongly associated with emotional experience and may thus moderate brain reactivity to emotional stimuli. The present study used functional magnetic resonance imaging to directly test whether individual differences in brain reactivity to emotional stimuli are correlated with extraversion and neuroticism in healthy women. Extraversion was correlated with brain reactivity to positive stimuli in localized brain regions, and neuroticism was correlated with brain reactivity to negative stimuli in localized brain regions. This study provides direct evidence that personality is associated with brain reactivity to emotional stimuli and identifies both common and distinct brain regions where such modulation takes place.

  View details for DOI 10.1037//0735-7044.115.1.33

  View details for Web of Science ID 000170911300003

  View details for PubMedID 11256451

• Emotional intelligence: A process model of emotion representation and regulation. Emotions: Current issues and future directions Barrett, L. F., Gross, J. J. edited by Mayne, T. J., Bonanno, G. A. New York, NY: Guilford. 2001: 286–310
• Emotion regulation and memory: The cognitive costs of keeping one's cool JOURNAL OF PERSONALITY AND SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY RICHARDS, J. M., Gross, J. J. 2000; 79 (3): 410-424

  Abstract

  An emerging literature has begun to document the affective consequences of emotion regulation. Little is known, however, about whether emotion regulation also has cognitive consequences. A process model of emotion suggests that expressive suppression should reduce memory for emotional events but that reappraisal should not. Three studies tested this hypothesis. Study 1 experimentally manipulated expressive suppression during film viewing, showing that suppression led to poorer memory for the details of the film. Study 2 manipulated expressive suppression and reappraisal during slide viewing. Only suppression led to poorer slide memory. Study 3 examined individual differences in typical expressive suppression and reappraisal and found that suppression was associated with poorer self-reported and objective memory but that reappraisal was not. Together, these studies suggest that the cognitive costs of keeping one's cool may vary according to how this is done.

  View details for DOI 10.1037//0022-3514.79.3.410

  View details for Web of Science ID 000089022300008

  View details for PubMedID 10981843

• Crying in depression Rottenberg, J., Najmi, S., Wilhelm, F. H., Gross, J. J., Gotlib, I. H. CAMBRIDGE UNIV PRESS. 2000: S83

  View details for Web of Science ID 000089900500339

• The dissociation of emotion expression from emotion experience: A personality perspective PERSONALITY AND SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY BULLETIN Gross, J. J., John, O. P., RICHARDS, J. M. 2000; 26 (6): 712-726

  View details for Web of Science ID 000087015200006

• The Berkeley Expressivity Questionnaire Commissioned reviews on 300 psychological tests Gross, J. J. edited by Maltby, J., Lewis, C. A., Hills, A. P. Lampeter, Wales: Edwin Mellen Press.. 2000: 465–467
• Functional accounts of emotions COGNITION & EMOTION Keltner, D., Gross, J. J. 1999; 13 (5): 467-480

  View details for Web of Science ID 000082383300002

• Emotion regulation: Past, present, future COGNITION & EMOTION Gross, J. J. 1999; 13 (5): 551-573

  View details for Web of Science ID 000082383300006

• Composure at any cost? The cognitive consequences of emotion suppression PERSONALITY AND SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY BULLETIN RICHARDS, J. M., Gross, J. J. 1999; 25 (8): 1033-1044

  View details for Web of Science ID 000081519500010

• Emotion and emotion regulation Handbook of personality: Theory and research Gross, J. J. edited by Pervin, L. A., John, O. P. New York, NY: Guilford. 1999; 2nd: 525–552
• Emotion suppression Encyclopedia of human emotions Miles, H. J., Gross, J. J. edited by Levinson, D., Ponzetti, J. J., Jorgensen, P. F. New York, NY: Macmillan. 1999: 237–241
• Mood matters: Negative mood induction activates dysfunctional attitudes in women vulnerable to depression COGNITIVE THERAPY AND RESEARCH MIRANDA, J., Gross, J. J., Persons, J. B., Hahn, J. 1998; 22 (4): 363-376

  View details for Web of Science ID 000075747000005

• Relations between affect and personality: Support for the affect-level and affective-reactivity views 7th Annual Meeting of the American-Psychological-Society Gross, J. J., Sutton, S. K., Ketelaar, T. SAGE PUBLICATIONS INC. 1998: 279–88

  View details for Web of Science ID 000072227800005

• Mapping the domain of expressivity: Multimethod evidence for a hierarchical model JOURNAL OF PERSONALITY AND SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY Gross, J. J., John, O. P. 1998; 74 (1): 170-191

  Abstract

  Increased interest in emotional expressivity has led to a proliferation of conceptions and measures. It is unclear, however, whether they all refer to the same construct and whether the domain of emotional expressivity is best conceptualized as unidimensional or multifaceted. Study 1 examined 6 common expressivity questionnaires, yielding 5 factors: Expressive Confidence, Positive Expressivity, Negative Expressivity, Impulse Intensity, and Masking. To develop a nomological network for these factors, the factors were related to broader personality taxonomies and their differential relations to sex and ethnicity were tested. Study 2 provided further evidence of discriminant validity in relation to (a) typical emotion expression in peer relationships, (b) ability to pose emotions in the laboratory, (c) likability, and (d) regulation of emotion and mood. These findings support a hierarchical model of individual differences in emotional expressivity.

  View details for PubMedID 9457781

• The social context of emotional experience Annual Review of Gerontology and Geriatrics Carstensen, L. L., Gross, J. J., Fung, H. edited by Schaie, K. W., Lawton, M. P. New York, NY: Springer. 1998: 325–352
• The emerging field of emotion regulation: An integrative review Review of General Psychology Gross, J. J. 1998; 2: 271-299

  View details for DOI 10.1037//1089-2680.2.3.271

• Sharpening the focus: Emotion regulation, arousal, and social competence PSYCHOLOGICAL INQUIRY Gross, J. J. 1998; 9 (4): 287-290

  View details for Web of Science ID 000079554600008

• Antecedent- and response-focused emotion regulation: Divergent consequences for experience, expression, and physiology JOURNAL OF PERSONALITY AND SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY Gross, J. J. 1998; 74 (1): 224-237

  Abstract

  Using a process model of emotion, a distinction between antecedent-focused and response-focused emotion regulation is proposed. To test this distinction, 120 participants were shown a disgusting film while their experiential, behavioral, and physiological responses were recorded. Participants were told to either (a) think about the film in such a way that they would feel nothing (reappraisal, a form of antecedent-focused emotion regulation), (b) behave in such a way that someone watching them would not know they were feeling anything (suppression, a form of response-focused emotion regulation), or (c) watch the film (a control condition). Compared with the control condition, both reappraisal and suppression were effective in reducing emotion-expressive behavior. However, reappraisal decreased disgust experience, whereas suppression increased sympathetic activation. These results suggest that these 2 emotion regulatory processes may have different adaptive consequences.

  View details for Web of Science ID 000071543400017

  View details for PubMedID 9457784

• Emotion and aging: Experience, expression, and control PSYCHOLOGY AND AGING Gross, J. J., Carstensen, L. L., Pasupathi, M., Tsai, J., Skorpen, C. G., Hsu, A. Y. 1997; 12 (4): 590-599

  Abstract

  Age differences in emotional experience, expression, and control were investigated in 4 studies. A community sample of 127 African Americans and European Americans (ages 19-96 years) was used in Study 1; a community sample of 82 Chinese Americans and European Americans (ages 20-85 years) was used in Study 2; a community sample of 49 Norwegians drawn from 2 age groups (ages 20-35 years and 70+ years) was used in Study 3; and a sample of 1,080 American nuns (ages 24-101 years) was used in Study 4. Across studies, a consistent pattern of age differences emerged. Compared with younger participants, older participants reported fewer negative emotional experiences and greater emotional control. Findings regarding emotional expressivity were less consistent, but when there were age differences, older participants reported lesser expressivity. Results are interpreted in terms of increasingly competent emotion regulation across the life span.

  View details for Web of Science ID A1997YK91800005

  View details for PubMedID 9416628

• Cognitive vulnerability, depression, and the mood-state dependent hypothesis: Is out of sight out of mind? COGNITION & EMOTION MIRANDA, J. 1997; 11 (5-6): 585-605

  View details for Web of Science ID A1997YG51300006

• Hiding feelings: The acute effects of inhibiting negative and positive emotion JOURNAL OF ABNORMAL PSYCHOLOGY Gross, J. J., Levenson, R. W. 1997; 106 (1): 95-103

  Abstract

  Emotion regulation plays a central role in mental health and illness, but little is known about even the most basic forms of emotion regulation. To examine the acute effects of inhibiting negative and positive emotion, we asked 180 female participants to watch sad, neutral, and amusing films under 1 of 2 conditions. Suppression participants (N = 90) inhibited their expressive behavior while watching the films; no suppression participants (N = 90) simply watched the films. Suppression diminished expressive behavior in all 3 films and decreased amusement self-reports in sad and amusing films. Physiologically, suppression had no effect in the neutral film, but clear effects in both negative and positive emotional films, including increased sympathetic activation of the cardiovascular system. On the basis of these findings, we suggest several ways emotional inhibition may influence psychological functioning.

  View details for Web of Science ID A1997WF06400009

  View details for PubMedID 9103721

• Revealing feelings: Facets of emotional expressivity in self-reports, peer ratings, and behavior JOURNAL OF PERSONALITY AND SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY Gross, J. J., John, O. P. 1997; 72 (2): 435-448

  Abstract

  Drawing on an explicit model of emotion, we propose a multifaceted approach to emotional expressivity, defined as the behavioral (e.g., facial, postural) changes associated with emotion. Study 1 shows that self-reported expressivity has 3 facets (Impulse Strength, Negative Expressivity, Positive Expressivity). Study 2 shows that the same 3 facets emerge in peer ratings and that there are robust relations between self- and peer-rated expressivity. In Study 3, emotion-expressive behavior was videotaped and related to expressivity self-reports obtained several months earlier. As expected, Negative Expressivity predicted behavioral expressions of sadness (but not amusement), whereas Positive Expressivity predicted amusement (but not sadness). These relations remained even when subjective emotional experience and physiological response were controlled. These studies demonstrate the importance of a multifaceted approach to emotional expressivity and have implications for the understanding of personality and emotion.

  View details for PubMedID 9107009

• Psychodynamic therapists' reservations about cognitive-behavioral therapy : implications for training and practice. The Journal of psychotherapy practice and research Persons, J. B., Gross, J. J., Etkin, M. S., Madan, S. K. 1996; 5 (3): 202-212

  Abstract

  This article offers suggestions for psychodynamic therapists who encounter obstacles while learning cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) or working in settings where CBT is used. The authors discuss three types of questions commonly raised by psychodynamic therapists about CBT. These concern 1) the therapeutic relationship, 2) the focus of therapeutic interventions, and 3) the depth of change. To help psychodynamic therapists overcome obstacles to learning CBT, the authors focus on similarities between psychodynamic and cognitive-behavioral models in these three areas. They also examine differences between the models, including differences dependent on value judgments, and offer suggestions for making productive use of differences between the models in the training process.

  View details for PubMedID 22700289

• FACETS OF EMOTIONAL EXPRESSIVITY - 3 SELF-REPORT FACTORS AND THEIR CORRELATES PERSONALITY AND INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES Gross, J. J., John, O. P. 1995; 19 (4): 555-568

  View details for Web of Science ID A1995RV42500016

• EMOTION REGULATION AND MENTAL-HEALTH CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY-SCIENCE AND PRACTICE Gross, J. J., Munoz, R. F. 1995; 2 (2): 151-164

  View details for Web of Science ID A1995QZ95000003

• EMOTION ELICITATION USING FILMS COGNITION & EMOTION Gross, J. J., Levenson, R. W. 1995; 9 (1): 87-108

  View details for Web of Science ID A1995QG85700006

• THE PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGY OF CRYING PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGY Gross, J. J., Fredrickson, B. L., Levenson, R. W. 1994; 31 (5): 460-468

  Abstract

  Two conflicting views have emerged as to why people cry when they are sad. One suggests that crying serves homeostasis by facilitating recovery; the other suggests that crying produces an aversive high-arousal state that motivates behavior aimed at ending the tears. To test hypotheses drawn from these views, we showed a short film known to elicit sadness to 150 women. During this film, 33 subjects spontaneously cried and 117 did not. Subjects who cried exhibited more expressive behavior and reported feeling more sadness and pain than did subjects who did not cry. Crying also was associated with increases in somatic and autonomic nervous system activity. The increases in autonomic activity could not be accounted for solely by the increases in somatic activity. Crying is thus associated with an aversive state, including negative emotion and a complex mixture of sympathetic, parasympathetic, and somatic activation, and we speculate about the functional implications of these findings.

  View details for Web of Science ID A1994PD74700005

  View details for PubMedID 7972600

• EMOTIONAL SUPPRESSION - PHYSIOLOGY, SELF-REPORT, AND EXPRESSIVE BEHAVIOR JOURNAL OF PERSONALITY AND SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY Gross, J. J., Levenson, R. W. 1993; 64 (6): 970-986

  Abstract

  This study examined the effects of emotional suppression, a form of emotion regulation defined as the conscious inhibition of emotional expressive behavior while emotionally aroused. Ss (43 men and 42 women) watched a short disgust-eliciting film while their behavioral, physiological, and subjective responses were recorded. Ss were told to watch the film (no suppression condition) or to watch the film while behaving "in such a way that a person watching you would not know you were feeling anything" (suppression condition). Suppression reduced expressive behavior and produced a mixed physiological state characterized by decreased somatic activity and decreased heart rate, along with increased blinking and indications of increased sympathetic nervous system activity (in other cardiovascular measures and in electrodermal responding). Suppression had no impact on the subjective experience of emotion. There were no sex differences in the effects of suppression.

  View details for Web of Science ID A1993LE94100008

  View details for PubMedID 8326473

• PROFOUND PACEMAKER SYNDROME IN HYPERTROPHIC CARDIOMYOPATHY AMERICAN JOURNAL OF CARDIOLOGY Gross, J. N., Keltz, T. N., Cooper, J. A., Breitbart, S., Furman, S. 1992; 70 (18): 1507-1511

  View details for Web of Science ID A1992KA27200030

  View details for PubMedID 1442632

• EMOTIONAL EXPRESSION IN CANCER ONSET AND PROGRESSION SOCIAL SCIENCE & MEDICINE GROSS, J. 1989; 28 (12): 1239-1248

  Abstract

  Despite the intensive biomedical research in oncology since World War II, recent studies show a steady increase in age-adjusted mortality for all kinds of cancer. This findings gives impetus to the efforts of researchers who have adopted the biopsychosocial model. Systematic research using such a model has shown several psychosocial factors to be associated with cancer onset and progression, and Temoshok has recently suggested a theoretical model which unifies these findings. In this paper, I consider the evidence that one of these psychosocial factors, emotional expression, may be directly involved in cancer onset and progression. I review 18 relevant studies, discuss how one might operationalize the term 'emotional expression', and make 12 suggestions for future research.

  View details for Web of Science ID A1989U563800004

  View details for PubMedID 2660280