The Effect Of Emotional Motivation Intensity On Strategy Choice Of Cognitive Reappraisal Subtypes

Healthy adaptation is the result of flexible choice of regulation strategies to adapt to different situational demands,and it is important to investigate the influence of individual emotion regulation strategy choice on individual mental health development and to understand individual emotion regulation strategy choice to help people better regulate their emotions through cognitive interventions in the future.Research has shown that emotional motivation affects individuals’ emotion regulation strategy choice,but the effect of emotional motivation intensity on the choice of more adaptive and non-homogeneous cognitive reappraisal subtype strategies has yet to be systematically explored.Therefore,the present study of five behavioral experiments explored the effect of emotional motivation intensity on the choice of cognitive reappraisal subtype strategies.Study 1 explored the effect of emotional motivation intensity on the preference for cognitive reappraisal subtype strategy choice.Using the emotion regulation strategy choice paradigm proposed by Sheppes and others,individuals’ tendency to choose self-focused reappraisal strategies and situation-focused reappraisal strategies when increasing and decreasing their emotional response was compared by eliciting different emotional motivation strengths through pictures.The results showed that emotional motivation intensity influenced individuals’ choice of cognitive reappraisal subtype strategies,with individuals preferring self-focused reappraisal strategies at low emotional motivation intensity and preferring situation-focused reappraisal strategies at high emotional motivation intensity.Based on the theoretical framework of decision strategy selection,Study 2 and Study 3 tested Study 1 from two internal and external levels,motivational,situational,individual,and cognitive perspectives.Study 2 further explored the role of external factors in the effect of emotional motivation intensity on strategy choice for the cognitive reappraisal subtype.Experiments 2a and 2b examined the role of monetary reward magnitude and picture presentation time in the effect of emotional motivation intensity on strategy choice from motivational and contextual perspectives,respectively.It was found that the effect of emotional motivation intensity on strategy choice for the cognitive reappraisal subtype was not influenced by monetary reward.The magnitude of monetary reward did not affect individuals’ preference for self-focused reappraisal strategies at low emotional motivation intensity and preference for the choice of situation-focused reappraisal strategies at high emotional motivation intensity.However,picture presentation time had an influential effect,specifically,when increasing emotional response-picture presentation time to 1000 ms,individuals’ preference for the choice of cognitive reappraisal subtype strategies at different emotional motivation intensities disappeared,and there was no significant difference in the choice share of the two strategies.Study 3 further explored the role of internal factors in the effect of emotional motivation intensity on the choice of cognitive reappraisal subtype strategies.Experiments 3a and 3b examined the role of individual anxiety and cognitive resources in the influence of emotional motivation intensity on strategy choice from individual and cognitive perspectives,respectively.The results found that the effect of emotional motivation intensity on strategy choice for the cognitive reappraisal subtype was not influenced by individual anxiety.Individual anxiety did not affect individuals’ preference for self-focused reappraisal strategies at low emotional motivation intensity and preference for the choice of situation-focused reappraisal strategies at high emotional motivation intensity.However,cognitive resource depletion had an influential effect,specifically,individuals with different cognitive resource depletion still had a preference for the choice of the two cognitive reappraisal subtypes of strategies at different emotional motivation intensities,and only in the low depletion-reduced emotional response condition,individuals’ choice preference was not significant.In summary,the present study draws the important conclusion that emotional motivation intensity affects individuals’ choice of cognitive reappraisal subtype strategies,and this effect is not influenced by external monetary reward motivation factors and internal individual anxiety factors,but is influenced by external contextual picture presentation time and internal cognitive resource factors.The mechanisms responsible for this choice preference can be further explored in the future.