Fig. 1.

Cognitive reappraisal task. Participants were trained in the use of a reappraisal strategy for emotion regulation. (A) On ‘Experience’ trials, participants viewed an image then received an instruction to experience naturally the emotions evoked by that image. The image then disappeared, but participants continued to experience their emotions throughout a 6-s delay period. At the end of the trial, the participants rated the perceived affective valence of that image using an 8-item Likert scale. (B) ‘Reappraise’ trials had similar timing, save that the cue instructed participants to decrease their emotional response to the image by reappraising the image (e.g. distancing oneself from the scene). Shown are examples of the negative (A) and positive (B) images used in the study.