(provided by candidate): Emotion regulation, specifically suppression of negative emotion, plays an integral role in psychological health. There are four specific aims of the proposed research. First, the role of introversion-extraversion and emotional inhibition in the experience of positive emotion will be examined. Second, the role of cognitive appraisal in the experience of emotion will be assessed through the development and testing of a modified, Context-Enriched Emotion Elicitation Protocol designed to elicit positive emotion. Third, the proposed research will investigate whether suppressing the experience of negative emotion generalizes to the experience of positive emotion or remains specific to negative emotion. Finally, the effects of introversion-extraversion and emotional inhibition in mediating the role of suppression on positive emotion will be examined. Two experiments, both using college student volunteers, will be undertaken. The first experiment will examine the role of introversion-extraversion and emotional inhibition in the cognitive appraisal of emotional experience, and will test the efficacy of a modified, Context-Enriched Emotion Elicitation Protocol in eliciting positive emotion. The second experiment will use the Context-Enriched Emotion Elicitation Protocol to investigate the effects of suppression of negative emotion on positive emotion, with introversion-extraversion as predictors. The dependent variable in each experiment will be the startle eyeblink response. Results are integral to understanding the role of suppressing negative emotion in psychological health through its effects on the experience of positive emotion.
