Emotion regulation and memory: the cognitive costs of keeping one's cool.
Level 2 - randomized trial
Level 2 by design analogy (individual randomized laboratory experiments and an individual-differences study)
PubMed 10981843 · doi:10.1037//0022-3514.79.3.410
What was done
Three studies tested the cognitive consequences of emotion regulation strategies on memory. Study 1 experimentally manipulated expressive suppression during film viewing and assessed memory for film details. Study 2 experimentally manipulated both expressive suppression and cognitive reappraisal during slide viewing and measured slide memory. Study 3 examined individual differences in habitual expressive suppression and reappraisal in relation to self-reported and objective memory measures.
What was found
The abstract reports no numerical values, sample sizes, or effect sizes. Expressive suppression significantly reduced memory for film details in Study 1 and slide details in Study 2, whereas cognitive reappraisal did not impair memory in Study 2. In Study 3, habitual expressive suppression was associated with poorer self-reported and objective memory, whereas reappraisal was not associated with memory decrements.
Why it matters
This paper demonstrates that the cognitive costs of emotion regulation depend on the specific strategy used: keeping one's cool via expressive suppression impairs subsequent memory, whereas cognitive reappraisal preserves it.
Limits
The abstract provides no sample sizes, demographic characteristics, or quantitative statistical results (such as effect sizes or test statistics). Furthermore, laboratory-based film and slide paradigms may not fully capture complex real-world emotional events, and Study 3 relied partially on self-reported memory.
Cited by
- supports Suppressing or repressing emotions acts as a major cognitive drain on willpower and mental energy.