Temporal dynamics of negative emotion regulation: Insights from facial electromyography

Emotion regulation (ER) is a multifaceted process that unfolds over time. This study investigated the temporal dynamics of ER on negative affect (NA) and positive affect (PA). We examined whether NA and PA changes occur sequentially or concurrently. After participants had been exposed to unpleasant pictures for 8000 ms, they received instructions to either continue viewing the picture (no regulation) or reappraise it with a neutral meaning (neutralize goal) or positive meaning (transform goal) for another 8000 ms. We obtained corrugator supercilii and zygomaticus major electromyography (EMG) as objective measures of NA and PA. For the no-regulation condition, upon instruction onset, we observed maintained high corrugator and low zygomaticus EMG reactivity, indicating sustained NA activation. Compared to no-regulation, for the neutralize goal, we observed corrugator reduction starting at 1500 ms after instruction onset and no change in zygomaticus, indicating decreased NA and generation of neutral emotion. For the transform goal, we observed corrugator reduction starting at 1000 ms and zygomaticus increase at 3500 ms after instruction onset, indicating decreased NA and increased PA and generation of positive emotion. Model-fitting analyses showed that the best-fitting trajectory for the transform goal's pattern of change was initial NA reduction that turns into PA increase at 2000 ms. These distinct temporal patterns highlight the possibility of effecting one-dimensional NA change with the neutralize goal and sequential two-dimensional change (first decreasing NA, then increasing PA) with the transform goal. This research sheds light on the time course of emotional change generated by different emotion goals.