Reappraising Negative Emotions Reduces Distress During the COVID-19 Outbreak

In two studies we examined the utility of intrinsic (i.e., self) vs extrinsic (i.e., other) reappraisal training for distress reduction during two consecutive COVID-19 lockdowns. In both Study 1 (n = 104) and Study 2 (n = 192), participants practiced the use of reappraisal for eight sessions across three weeks. Participants were trained to either reappraise a personal event (Self-reappraisal group) or an incident presumably written by another participant (Other-reappraisal group). Study 2 also included a no-training group. Outcome measures were daily negative mood and psychological distress immediately post-training and at a two-month follow-up. The results demonstrate a benefit for training compared to no-training in lowering immediate post-training distress and daily negative emotions. However, this advantage disappeared at two-month follow-up. In both studies, intrinsic reappraisal was associated with a lower post-training distress than extrinsic reappraisal. Findings suggest reappraising one’s own negative experience may lower distress at times of major contextual stress.