Experimental Research Of Amusement Emotion Regulation Strategies

Emotion regulation is generally considered as the key psychic mechanism of the individual adapted to the society. Most of extant literatures have dealt much with negative emotion, which neglect positive emotion. Based on previous studies, Subjective reports, biofeedback measurement, and event-related potential (ERP) and other techniques were designed to explore the influence which different emotional regulation strategies on the amusement response of college students. The whole dissertation included four parts.In the first part of the dissertation, a review on the definition, theories of e motion regulation, emotion regulation strategies, and positive emotion were presented. We focused on the definition, research status and the neural mechanism of emotion regulation strategies and positive emotion. Based on these analyses, the research significance and the theoretical assumptions were brought forward in the second part.The third part consists of two studies. The first study used the laboratory experimental measurement to address the emotion regulation of amusement: experiential and autonomic consequences. Study a: the expression and suppression of amusement:experiential and autonomic consequences. Study b the up-and down-regulation of amusement:experiential and autonomic consequences. Results showed that emotion experience was enhanced and autonomic response were decreased in condition of expression, emotion experience decreased and autonomic response enhanced in condition of suppression. Emotion experience and autonomic response were enhanced in condition of up-regulation; emotion experience and autonomic response were decreased in condition of down-regulation. Compared to expression condition, the individual reported more amusement in up-regulation. Compared to suppression condition, the individual reported less amusement in down-regulation.Based on the first study, the second study assessed the electro cortical correlates of the positive emotion regulation. ERPs served as measures of these brain correlates, as we were interested in the question of the temporal dynamics of the processing of emotional pictures. Electro cortical correlates revealed differential early visual activity in response to amusement pictures in different emotion regulation participants. Specifically, in the early stages of visual processing, expression would increase the processing degree for emotional stimuli, as reflected in a bigger PI. Forming suppression, watch amusement, watch neutral pictures would reduce the processing degree for emotional stimuli in the parietal and occipital regions, P1amplitude significantly reduction was its feature. In the later stages of visual processing, up-regulation and expression would lead to bigger mean amplitudes of late positive potential (LPP) than other conditions would. It indicated that the two emotion regulation strategies can increase sustained attentive processing due to the appetitive or defensive motivational significance of the stimuli. According to the occurrence time of regulation, the processing of expressive suppression may be more associated in the parietal and the occipital region. The P1latency in the parietal and occipital region was significantly faster than the frontal. The processing of cognitive reappraisal may be more associated in the frontal region. The P1latency in the parietal and occipital region was significantly slower than the frontal. The late positive potential also first showed in the parietal and the occipital region.The forth part of the dissertation was a general discussion of the whole research. Based on the results of this research and others, the author demonstrated the effect mechanisms of different emotion regulation strategies to regulate amusing responses. We also discussed experience, autonomic responses and the neural mechanisms of amusement emotion regulation. At last, the author analyzed the value and problem of this research and pointed out the future direction of such research.