Publication Type
Journal Article
Version
acceptedVersion
Publication Date
9-2021
Abstract
Cognitive reappraisal is an emotion-regulation strategy that positively impacts various facets of adaptive functioning (e.g., interpersonal relations, subjective well-being). Although reappraisal implicates cognitive processing, no clear consensus has been reached regarding its cognitive correlates. Therefore, we examined how executive function (EF)-i. e., a group of general-purpose control abilities comprising working memory, inhibition, and shifting-would be associated with task-based reappraisal ability and self-reported reappraisal frequency. Using a latent-variable approach, we found that the shared variance among EF facets (i.e., common EF)-a general goal-management ability that facilitates the activation and maintenance of task-relevant goals-was positively related to reappraisal ability but not reappraisal frequency. However, the three EF components were not uniquely associated with either reappraisal ability or frequency. Further, when EF was conceptualized at the individual-task level, we found inconsistent patterns of associations between EF constituents and reappraisal. This underscores the need to measure all aspects of EF using multiple indicators at the latent-variable level. Our findings provide vital theoretical, methodological, and empirical insights into the cognitive correlates of reappraisal.
Keywords
reappraisal;emotion regulation;executive function;working memory;inhibition
Discipline
Cognitive Psychology | Industrial and Organizational Psychology
Research Areas
Psychology
Publication
Journal of Experimental Psychology: General
First Page
1
Last Page
23
ISSN
0096-3445
Identifier
10.1037/xge0001099
Publisher
American Psychological Association
Citation
TOH, Wei Xing, & YANG, Hwajin.(2021). Common executive function predicts reappraisal ability but not frequency. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, , 1-23.
Available at: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soss_research/3573
Copyright Owner and License
Authors
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Additional URL
https://doi.org/10.1037/xge0001099