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Composure at Any Cost? The Cognitive Consequences of Emotion Suppression

Stanford University

James J. Gross

Stanford University, james{at}psych.stanford.edu

We frequently try to appear less emotional than we really are, such as when we are angry with our spouse at a dinner party, disgusted by a boss’s sexist comments during a meeting, or amused by a friend’s embarrassing faux pas in public. Attempts at emotion suppression doubtless have social benefits. However, suppression may do more than change how we look: It also may change how we think. Two studies tested the hypothesis that emotion suppression has cognitive consequences. Study 1 showed that suppression impaired incidental memory for information presented during the suppression period. Study 2 replicated this finding and further showed that suppression increased cardiovascular activation. Mediational analyses indicated that physiological and cognitive effects were independent. Overall, findings suggest that emotion suppression is a cognitively demanding form of self-regulation.

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