Individual differences in executive function and reappraisal: A latent-variable analysis

• Main Author: TOH, Wei Xing
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2019
• Subjects: reappraisal; emotion regulation; executive function; working memory; inhibition; shifting; common EF; Cognitive Psychology; Personality and Social Contexts
• Online Access: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/etd_coll/256; https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1257&context=etd_coll
• Institution: Singapore Management University

Cognitive reappraisal is an adaptive emotion regulation strategy that positively impacts various facets of adaptive functioning (e.g., interpersonal relations, subjective well-being). Although reappraisal implicates cognitive processing, a clear consensus concerning the cognitive underpinnings of reappraisal has not yet been reached. Therefore, we examined how executive function (EF)—i.e., three general-purpose control abilities comprising working memory, inhibition, and shifting—are associated with performance-based reappraisal ability and self-reported reappraisal frequency. Using a latent-variable approach, we found that the shared variance among EF tasks (i.e., common EF)—a general goal-management ability that facilitates the active maintenance of task goals—significantly predicted reappraisal ability, but not reappraisal frequency. However, the three EF components did not uniquely predict reappraisal ability and frequency. Further, when EF was conceptualised at the individual-task level, we found inconsistent patterns of associations of EF constituents with reappraisal, thereby underscoring the need to measure all aspects of EF using multiple indicators at the latent-variable level. In essence, our findings provide vital theoretical, methodological, and empirical advancements towards a better understanding of the cognitive mechanisms underlying reappraisal.