Physics Commons^™

Compassion-Focused Reappraisal, Benefit-Focused Reappraisal, And Rumination After An Interpersonal Offense: Emotion-Regulation Implications For Subjective Emotion, Linguistic Responses, And Physiology, Charlotte Vanoyen-Witvliet, Ross W. Knoll, Nova G. Hinman, Paul Deyoung

Faculty Publications

This repeated measures psychophysiology experiment studied three responses to a past interpersonal offense (38 females and 33 males). We compared rumination with two offense reappraisal strategies. Compassion-focused reappraisal emphasized the offender's humanity, and interpreted the transgression as evidence of the offender's need for positive transformation. Benefit-focused reappraisal emphasized insights gained or strengths shown in facing the offense. Supporting the manipulations, compassion-focused reappraisal stimulated the most empathy and forgiveness, whereas benefit-focused reappraisal prompted the most benefit language and gratitude. Both reappraisals decreased aroused, negative emotion, and related facial muscle tension at the brow (corrugator). Both reappraisals increased happiness and positive emotion …