Facilitating adaptive emotional analysis: distinguishing distanced-analysis of depressive experiences from immersed-analysis and distraction.
Two studies examined the psychological processes that facilitate adaptive emotional analysis. In Study 1, participants recalled a depression experience and then analyzed their feelings from either a self-immersed (immersed-analysis) or self-distanced (distanced-analysis) perspective. Participants in the distanced-analysis group focused less on recounting their experience and more on reconstruing it, which in turn led to lower levels of depressed affect. Furthermore, comparisons to a distraction group indicated that distanced-analysis was as effective as distraction in reducing depressed affect relative to the immersed-analysis group. Study 2 replicated these findings and showed that both 1 day and 7 days after the experimental manipulations, participants in the distanced-analysis group remained buffered against depressed affect and reported experiencing fewer recurring thoughts about their depression experience over time compared to both the immersed-analysis and distraction groups.
Kross
Ethan
E
Columbia University, USA. ekross@psych.columbia.edu
Ayduk
Ozlem
O
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001288:Attention; D001364:Awareness; D003863:Depression / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007266:Inhibition, Psychological; D008016:Life Change Events; D008297:Male; D011939:Mental Recall; D011340:Problem Solving; D011613:Psychotherapy; D012094:Repression, Psychology; D019455:Self Psychology; D013850:Thinking