Depressed individuals often use emotion regulation strategies that decrease pleasant emotions (e.g., distraction from positive stimuli, reduced positive rumination) or increase unpleasant emotions (e.g., negative rumination). These patterns predict anhedonia and depressive episodes. Examining distraction and rumination is crucial for understanding disrupted affect in depression.
Key Points
Rationale
Emotion regulation strategy use exists on a spectrum from involuntary reflexive reactions to deliberate, conscious choices between strategies (O’Doherty et al., 2017).
Prior research demonstrates that depressed individuals implementemotion regulation strategieslike distraction from positive stimuli and negative rumination more often than healthy people (Yoon & Rottenberg, 2020).
However, most research relies on self-report, which memory biases can influence (Marchetti et al., 2018). When depressed individuals self-report on emotion regulation strategy use retrospectively, it is unclear what processes these reports reflect.
Therefore, when emotion regulation strategy selection has been assessed via self-report in past depression research, it remains ambiguous whether findings reflect deliberate, actively made choices or other processes (Liu & Thompson, 2017).
There is a need to behaviorally measure active choices between emotion regulation strategies in depression to clarify what is driving strategy selection and implementation. This can determine if certain strategies are preferentially chosen versus involuntarily used.
The key issue is that the degree of conscious, deliberate control depressed individuals can exert over emotion regulation strategy use has been unclear up till now. Assessing active choices instead of self-reported use can elucidate issues of selection versus involuntary implementation in depression.
The research also examined if strategy choices are related to motivations for pleasant or unpleasant emotions. Understanding patterns of strategy selection in depression can clarify whether certain regulatory responses are deliberately chosen versus involuntary.
Method
Results
Insight
The studies suggest that depressed individuals may actively choose to use emotion regulation strategies like distraction that reduce pleasant emotions, even when alternatives are available.
A key insight from this research is that depressed individuals seem to avoid positive rumination in response to positive events, even when they could choose more adaptive emotion regulation strategies.
The fact that instructions to improve feelings changed strategy selections highlights that knowledge about helpful regulation is retained in depression – spontaneous choices just tend not to access it.
Another notable finding is that increased motivation for unpleasant emotions has downstream effects in predicting the type of regulation individuals select on a daily basis.
Strengths
Limitations
Implications
Clinically, the findings suggest that interventions aiming to alter maladaptive emotion regulation in depression may benefit from addressing underlying motivations that drive choices. Activating goals for pleasant emotions could encourage better spontaneous strategy picks.
Training could also focus on accessing knowledge individuals retain about adaptive regulation techniques. Ultimately, helping depressed persons implement helpful regulation in daily life could improve clinical outcomes and functioning.
Theoretically, the research bridges perspectives on deficits in regulation selection in depression being either deliberate choices or involuntary habits.
By demonstrating some active, motivation-influenced choices are made, the field better appreciates the complexity of dysregulated emotions in depression.
References
Primary reference
Millgram, Y., Mizrahi Lakan, S., Joormann, J., Nahum, M., Shimony, O., & Tamir, M. (2023). Choosing to avoid the positive? Emotion regulation strategy choice in depression.Journal of Psychopathology and Clinical Science, 132(6), 669–680.https://doi.org/10.1037/abn0000835
Other references
Liu, D. Y., & Thompson, R. J. (2017). Selection and implementation of emotion regulation strategies in major depressive disorder: An integrative review.Clinical Psychology Review, 57, 183–194.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2017.07.004
Marchetti, I., Everaert, J., Dainer-Best, J., Loeys, T., Beevers, C. G., & Koster, E. H. W. (2018). Specificity and overlap of attention and memory biases in depression.Journal of Affective Disorders, 225, 404–412.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2017.08.037
O’Doherty, J. P., Cockburn, J., & Pauli, W. M. (2017). Learning, reward, and decision making.Annual Review of Psychology, 68(1), 73–100.https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-010416-044216
Yoon, S., & Rottenberg, J. (2020). Why do people with depression use faulty emotion regulation strategies?Emotion Review, 12(2), 118–128.https://doi.org/10.1177/1754073919890670
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Olivia Guy-Evans, MSc
BSc (Hons) Psychology, MSc Psychology of Education
Olivia Guy-Evans is a writer and associate editor for Simply Psychology. She has previously worked in healthcare and educational sectors.
Saul McLeod, PhD
BSc (Hons) Psychology, MRes, PhD, University of Manchester
Saul McLeod, PhD., is a qualified psychology teacher with over 18 years of experience in further and higher education. He has been published in peer-reviewed journals, including the Journal of Clinical Psychology.
