TY - JOUR

T1 - Mnemonic emotion regulation: A three-process model

AU - Nørby, Simon

PY - 2019

Y1 - 2019

N2 - Emotion regulation comprises attempts to influence when and how emotions are experienced and expressed. It has mostly been conceived of as proactive (e.g. situation selection) or reactive (e.g. attentional distraction), but it may also be retroactive and involve memory. I term such past-oriented activity mnemonic emotion regulation and propose that it involves increasing or decreasing access to or altering the characteristics of a memory. People may increase access to a memory and make it more likely that it will be retrieved in the future, for example by rehearsing a pleasant memory. They may decrease access to a memory and make it less likely that intrusions will be experienced in the future, for example by repeatedly trying to stop an unpleasant memory from being retrieved. Finally, people may alter the characteristics of a memory and change its content or context, for example by replacing a negative impression with a productive interpretation. I discuss how mnemonic emotion regulation may be instigated (e.g. via elaborate rehearsal) as well as the different motives (e.g. hedonic motives) people may have for engaging in regulation. Also, I discuss possible benefits of, variations in, and improvements of mnemonic emotion regulation.

AB - Emotion regulation comprises attempts to influence when and how emotions are experienced and expressed. It has mostly been conceived of as proactive (e.g. situation selection) or reactive (e.g. attentional distraction), but it may also be retroactive and involve memory. I term such past-oriented activity mnemonic emotion regulation and propose that it involves increasing or decreasing access to or altering the characteristics of a memory. People may increase access to a memory and make it more likely that it will be retrieved in the future, for example by rehearsing a pleasant memory. They may decrease access to a memory and make it less likely that intrusions will be experienced in the future, for example by repeatedly trying to stop an unpleasant memory from being retrieved. Finally, people may alter the characteristics of a memory and change its content or context, for example by replacing a negative impression with a productive interpretation. I discuss how mnemonic emotion regulation may be instigated (e.g. via elaborate rehearsal) as well as the different motives (e.g. hedonic motives) people may have for engaging in regulation. Also, I discuss possible benefits of, variations in, and improvements of mnemonic emotion regulation.

KW - Kognitionspsykologi

KW - Memory

KW - emotion regulation

KW - forgetting

KW - rehearsal

KW - memory distortion

KW - AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL MEMORY

KW - INDIVIDUAL-DIFFERENCES

KW - THOUGHT SUBSTITUTION

KW - DIRECT SUPPRESSION

KW - UNWANTED MEMORIES

KW - FALSE MEMORIES

KW - SELF

KW - RECALL

KW - MOOD

KW - DEPRESSION

U2 - 10.1080/02699931.2018.1523137

DO - 10.1080/02699931.2018.1523137

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 30280965

VL - 33

SP - 959

EP - 975

JO - Cognition and Emotion

JF - Cognition and Emotion

SN - 0269-9931

IS - 5

ER -