The effects of irrational, rational, and acceptance beliefs about emotions on the emotional response and perceived control of emotions

The current study aimed at investigating the effect of endorsing different beliefs about emotions (BAEs) on the emotional response and perceived control of emotions. Two hundred and fourteen individuals were randomly assigned to one of four groups. One group was instructed to endorse irrational BAEs, one rational BAEs, one to approach emotions with acceptance, and a control group received no specific instructions. Participants further watched an emotion-provoking film and applied the instructions assigned to their group while their negative emotions, skin conductance, respiratory rate, heart rate, negative meta-emotions, and perceived emotional control were assessed. Results showed that after the film clip, individuals endorsing irrational and rational BAEs showed significant decreases in negative emotions compared to the control group. However, individuals endorsing irrational BAEs reported more negative meta-emotions and poorer perceived emotional control. Further, after a recovery period, only individuals endorsing rational BAEs and those endorsing an acceptance-based approach showed significant decreases in negative emotions. No between-groups differences were observed on physiological measures. Thus, current results show that how individuals evaluate their emotions has important consequences for emotional functioning and instructing them to endorse rational BAEs might be beneficial when encountering emotional situations.