Attentional Mechanisms Linking Rejection to Hostile Reactivity: The Role of “Hot” Versus “Cool” Focus

Drawing on the hot-cool systems analysis of self-regulation, we examined whether attentional focus mediates the negativity of cognitive-affective reactions to interpersonal rejection. The hypothesis was that whereas a hot, arousing focus to representing rejection experiences should increase anger-hostility, accessing the cool system through distraction and distancing should attenuate such responses. Participants imagined an autobiographical rejection experience, focusing either on their physiological and emotional reactions (hot focus) or on the physical setting of the experience (cool focus). Participants in a third condition received no specific attentional instructions. Both implicit and explicit measures showed that hostile thoughts and feelings were attenuated in the cool-focus compared with the hot-focus condition. The findings support the adaptive value of activating a cooling strategy under hot, arousing conditions that otherwise elicit automatic, hot-system responses.