TY - JOUR
T1 - Affective processing in overwhelmed individuals
T2 - Strategic and task considerations
AU - Kerns, John G.
AU - Berenbaum, Howard
N1 - Funding Information:
Correspondence should be addressed to: John G. Kerns, University of Missouri, Department of Psychological Sciences, 214 McAlester Hall, Columbia, MO, 65211, USA. E-mail: KernsJ@missouri.edu Work on this article was supported by National Institute of Mental Health Grants MH012166 and MH072706, National Institute on Drug Abuse Grant DA022405, and a MU Research Board Grant.
PY - 2010/6
Y1 - 2010/6
N2 - Previous research suggests that emotionally overwhelmed individuals (high affect intensity, intermediate attention to emotions, low clarity of emotions) attempt to counteract the influence of affective information. In five studies (ns = 129, 177, 119, 339, 261), the current research found that task performance in overwhelmed individuals varied by current arousal and by whether affective influence occurred on evaluative versus non evaluative tasks. Overwhelmed high current arousal participants exhibited decreased affective influence on evaluative tasks but increased affective influence on non-evaluative tasks. These results are consistent with the effects of active suppression of affective information, including ironic effects of monitoring for affective information. In contrast, overwhelmed low current arousal participants exhibited increased affective influence on evaluative tasks but decreased affective influence on non-evaluative tasks. These results are consistent with attentional avoidance of affective information. Overall, these results further suggest that overwhelmed individuals attempt to counteract the influence of affective information. Whether they are successful depends on their current arousal and how affect can influence performance.
AB - Previous research suggests that emotionally overwhelmed individuals (high affect intensity, intermediate attention to emotions, low clarity of emotions) attempt to counteract the influence of affective information. In five studies (ns = 129, 177, 119, 339, 261), the current research found that task performance in overwhelmed individuals varied by current arousal and by whether affective influence occurred on evaluative versus non evaluative tasks. Overwhelmed high current arousal participants exhibited decreased affective influence on evaluative tasks but increased affective influence on non-evaluative tasks. These results are consistent with the effects of active suppression of affective information, including ironic effects of monitoring for affective information. In contrast, overwhelmed low current arousal participants exhibited increased affective influence on evaluative tasks but decreased affective influence on non-evaluative tasks. These results are consistent with attentional avoidance of affective information. Overall, these results further suggest that overwhelmed individuals attempt to counteract the influence of affective information. Whether they are successful depends on their current arousal and how affect can influence performance.
KW - Affective priming
KW - Affective processing
KW - Attentional avoidance
KW - Emotionally overwhelmed
KW - Suppression
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U2 - 10.1080/02699930902927664
DO - 10.1080/02699930902927664
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:77952363708
SN - 0269-9931
VL - 24
SP - 638
EP - 660
JO - Cognition and Emotion
JF - Cognition and Emotion
IS - 4
ER -