Date of Graduation

8-2024

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology (PhD)

Degree Level

Graduate

Department

Psychological Science

Advisor/Mentor

Veilleux, Jennifer C.

Committee Member

Beike, Denise R.

Second Committee Member

Ham, Lindsay S.

Keywords

Emotion; Emotion regulation

Abstract

Research suggests that the belief that emotions last for long periods of time is associated with greater self-reported distress intolerance and greater experiential avoidance (Warner, 2022), with limited research examining the causal link between the longevity belief and experiential avoidance. Individuals high in emotional reactivity may tend to hold greater longevity beliefs (Veilleux et al., 2019), with high emotional reactivity linked to both greater experiential avoidance and distress intolerance (Bruns et al., 2019). Thus, the aim of the current study was to examine the influence of the longevity belief about emotions on behavioral avoidance in individuals high in emotional reactivity. Participants (n = 172) who reported high emotional reactivity were recruited and brought into the laboratory to complete measures of emotion and emotion regulation. They were randomly assigned to one of two conditions. Both conditions were given a placebo pill (e.g., sugar pill) which they were told was designed to influence memory. Participants in the experimental condition (n = 85) were told one side effect of the pill included emotions lasting much shorter than is typical; the control condition (n = 87) was told the only side effect was dryness of mouth. Participants were then asked to complete a behavioral index of distress tolerance. Contrary to hypotheses, individuals in the experimental condition showed lower distress tolerance than those in the control condition. There was also a significant interaction of condition and time on count distress, such that participants in the short condition showed a greater decline in count of distress (or the number of images the participant indicated distress on) over time compared the control condition. Exploratory analyses further revealed that beliefs that emotions should be simple (one at a time; complexity beliefs) and are unlike others (uniqueness beliefs) predicted lower self-efficacy and willingness to sit with emotions during the distress tolerance task. Emotion regulation strategies were also associated with self-efficacy, willingness, and distress tolerance variables. Overall, the current study highlights the role of beliefs about emotion in behavioral avoidance and has important clinical implications.

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