Emotion regulation strategies such as cognitive reappraisal have shown to be effective but require cognitive effort. Research suggests that third person self-talk (TPST) - which is defined as using one's name to reflect on one's thoughts and feelings during introspection (Kross et al., 2014; Moser et al., 2017) - as a relatively effortless form of emotion regulation that has the potential to be more broadly applicable across contexts. Although initial research is promising, TPST has yet to be directly compared to another emotion regulation technique. Thus, the primary aim of the current study was to test the hypothesis that TPST is at least as effective as reappraisal at decreasing negative emotion while also recruiting fewer cognitive resources. In this study, 67 participants completed an emotion regulation picture-viewing task while event-related potentials were measured via EEG. Emotional arousal was measured using self-report and the Late Positive Potential (LPP). Cognitive effort was measured using self-report and the Stimulus Preceding Negativity (SPN). Findings indicated that TPST was associated with decreased self-reported emotional arousal and, although the effect was small, a reduction in the LPP relative to control. Although reappraisal resulted in decreased self-reported emotional arousal, results indicated no significant reduction in LPP relative to control. Results also indicated that despite greater self-reported effort, both TPST and reappraisal did not result in a significant increase in SPN relative to control. These results bolster support for TPST as an effective and relatively effortless emotion regulation strategy.
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