#emotionregulation — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #emotionregulation, aggregated by home.social.
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DATE: September 10, 2026 at 06:00PM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **
-------------------------------------------------TITLE: Chronic shame may drive destructive thought patterns in abuse survivors
URL: https://www.psypost.org/chronic-shame-may-drive-destructive-thought-patterns-in-abuse-survivors/
Adults who experienced emotional abuse as children often struggle with destructive thought patterns, such as ruminating on failures or avoiding negative feelings. A recent study published in the British Journal of Psychology suggests that chronic feelings of shame may link this early maltreatment to these harmful mental habits. By understanding how shame operates, psychologists may be better equipped to help survivors regulate their emotions in healthier ways.
Childhood emotional abuse involves caregivers engaging in non-physical maltreatment. This can include threatening, terrorizing, or constantly belittling a child. These early experiences of humiliation directly attack a child’s developing sense of self-worth.
Survivors of emotional abuse frequently develop difficulties with emotion regulation in adulthood. They often rely on aversive cognitive perseveration. This psychological term describes a tendency to over-engage with negative thoughts while simultaneously trying to reject or avoid negative feelings.
Aversive cognitive perseveration consists of three main components. The first is brooding rumination, which involves getting stuck on self-reproaching thoughts. The second is experiential avoidance, where a person puts effort into suppressing unwanted internal sensations. The third is emotional non-acceptance, which occurs when a person becomes angry or upset at themselves simply for feeling distressed.
These habits represent a type of response-focused emotion regulation. This means the person attempts to manage an emotion after it has already fully emerged, rather than trying to change their perspective beforehand. This late-stage regulation is often exhausting and counterproductive, leaving the individual trapped in a cycle of distress.
Shame is a powerful emotion that centers on a devalued sense of self. Unlike guilt, which focuses on a specific bad action, shame focuses on the idea that the entire person is flawed. Shame can exist as a chronic trait, meaning a person frequently feels inadequate across many situations. It can also occur as a temporary state in response to a specific humiliating event.
Mohammadali Amini-Tehrani, a psychology researcher at the University of Western Australia, led a team to investigate the mechanisms behind these psychological challenges. The researchers wanted to know if shame serves as the bridge between a history of childhood emotional abuse and the use of cognitive perseveration in adulthood.
The study involved 93 undergraduate students. First, the participants completed a series of questionnaires. They reported any history of childhood maltreatment, including emotional abuse. They also answered questions about their general tendencies to experience chronic shame and their usual reliance on cognitive perseveration in daily life.
Next, the participants engaged in a laboratory experiment designed to induce a temporary feeling of shame. They played a computer game called Cyberball, a well-established psychological tool for studying social exclusion. In the game, participants believed they were tossing a virtual ball back and forth with three other real people. In reality, the other players were computerized avatars programmed to eventually stop passing the ball to the participant.
To heighten the feeling of shame, the researchers modified the standard game. The game ended with a direct message informing the participant that they were being removed from the activity for having the lowest performance in the group. After this rejection, the researchers assessed the participants’ immediate feelings of shame and negative affect. Following a brief distraction task, the researchers measured the participants’ immediate use of cognitive perseveration strategies.
The researchers first analyzed the data to see how chronic tendencies related to behavior in the lab. They found that a history of childhood emotional abuse predicted higher levels of chronic shame. This chronic shame then predicted a greater reliance on cognitive perseveration in general life. It also predicted a higher use of these harmful thought patterns immediately following the laboratory rejection.
The team also tested whether an immediate spike in shame during the game would link past abuse to immediate cognitive perseveration. The results were not statistically significant in the expected direction. Participants with a history of emotional abuse did not report higher immediate shame or higher immediate cognitive perseveration right after being rejected in the game.
Looking closer at the data, the researchers noticed an unexpected pattern. For participants who reported moderate to severe levels of childhood emotional abuse, immediate feelings of shame and cognitive perseveration actually decreased after the rejection. The researchers suggest this might reflect a blunted emotional response. People who have experienced severe early stress sometimes develop an emotional numbness or physiological detachment when faced with new stressful situations.
Regardless of abuse history, the study confirmed a robust link between shame and cognitive perseveration. Whether measured as a chronic trait or an immediate reaction, higher feelings of shame consistently accompanied higher levels of brooding, avoidance, and emotional non-acceptance. The researchers suggest that when people feel a deep sense of shame, they try to fix the perceived flaws in themselves through intense overthinking.
Clinically, these findings highlight the need for targeted therapies. Mental health practitioners might need to help clients distinguish between generalized distress and specific feelings of shame. Because shame inherently encourages avoidance, it can be difficult for people to recognize it in themselves.
The study relied on a sample of 93 students, which limits the statistical power of the analyses. The findings based on this sample size provide tentative suggestions rather than definitive answers. Additionally, the participants were university students who were screened to exclude severe depression. This screening means the results might not automatically apply to clinical populations or the broader community.
The experiment also relied entirely on self-reported feelings collected during a single session. Participants might not always have accurate insight into their own emotional responses. The laboratory task might have also induced other emotions, such as fear or shock, which could have influenced the participants’ thought patterns. Researchers cannot be certain that shame was the sole driver of the observed behaviors.
Future studies could incorporate physiological measures, such as heart rate or skin conductance, to track bodily reactions alongside subjective feelings. Observing these physical markers could help clarify whether survivors of emotional abuse experience a physiological shutdown during stressful events. Researchers could also track participants over a longer period to see how immediate feelings of shame might solidify into long-term negative self-views.
The study, “Shame as a mediator of the association of childhood emotional abuse with aversive cognitive perseveration in adults,” was authored by Mohammadali Amini-Tehrani, Michael Weinborn, Kenneth Sim, Jeneva L. Ohan, and Kristin Naragon-Gainey.
URL: https://www.psypost.org/chronic-shame-may-drive-destructive-thought-patterns-in-abuse-survivors/
-------------------------------------------------
Private, vetted email list for mental health professionals: https://www.clinicians-exchange.org
Unofficial Psychology Today Xitter to toot feed at Psych Today Unofficial Bot @PTUnofficialBot
-------------------------------------------------
#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #ChronicShame #EmotionalAbuseRecovery #CognitivePerseveration #Rumination #EmotionRegulation #MentalHealthAwareness #ShameVsGuilt #TraumaHealing #PsychologyResearch # survivorSupport
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DATE: September 10, 2026 at 06:00PM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **
-------------------------------------------------TITLE: Chronic shame may drive destructive thought patterns in abuse survivors
URL: https://www.psypost.org/chronic-shame-may-drive-destructive-thought-patterns-in-abuse-survivors/
Adults who experienced emotional abuse as children often struggle with destructive thought patterns, such as ruminating on failures or avoiding negative feelings. A recent study published in the British Journal of Psychology suggests that chronic feelings of shame may link this early maltreatment to these harmful mental habits. By understanding how shame operates, psychologists may be better equipped to help survivors regulate their emotions in healthier ways.
Childhood emotional abuse involves caregivers engaging in non-physical maltreatment. This can include threatening, terrorizing, or constantly belittling a child. These early experiences of humiliation directly attack a child’s developing sense of self-worth.
Survivors of emotional abuse frequently develop difficulties with emotion regulation in adulthood. They often rely on aversive cognitive perseveration. This psychological term describes a tendency to over-engage with negative thoughts while simultaneously trying to reject or avoid negative feelings.
Aversive cognitive perseveration consists of three main components. The first is brooding rumination, which involves getting stuck on self-reproaching thoughts. The second is experiential avoidance, where a person puts effort into suppressing unwanted internal sensations. The third is emotional non-acceptance, which occurs when a person becomes angry or upset at themselves simply for feeling distressed.
These habits represent a type of response-focused emotion regulation. This means the person attempts to manage an emotion after it has already fully emerged, rather than trying to change their perspective beforehand. This late-stage regulation is often exhausting and counterproductive, leaving the individual trapped in a cycle of distress.
Shame is a powerful emotion that centers on a devalued sense of self. Unlike guilt, which focuses on a specific bad action, shame focuses on the idea that the entire person is flawed. Shame can exist as a chronic trait, meaning a person frequently feels inadequate across many situations. It can also occur as a temporary state in response to a specific humiliating event.
Mohammadali Amini-Tehrani, a psychology researcher at the University of Western Australia, led a team to investigate the mechanisms behind these psychological challenges. The researchers wanted to know if shame serves as the bridge between a history of childhood emotional abuse and the use of cognitive perseveration in adulthood.
The study involved 93 undergraduate students. First, the participants completed a series of questionnaires. They reported any history of childhood maltreatment, including emotional abuse. They also answered questions about their general tendencies to experience chronic shame and their usual reliance on cognitive perseveration in daily life.
Next, the participants engaged in a laboratory experiment designed to induce a temporary feeling of shame. They played a computer game called Cyberball, a well-established psychological tool for studying social exclusion. In the game, participants believed they were tossing a virtual ball back and forth with three other real people. In reality, the other players were computerized avatars programmed to eventually stop passing the ball to the participant.
To heighten the feeling of shame, the researchers modified the standard game. The game ended with a direct message informing the participant that they were being removed from the activity for having the lowest performance in the group. After this rejection, the researchers assessed the participants’ immediate feelings of shame and negative affect. Following a brief distraction task, the researchers measured the participants’ immediate use of cognitive perseveration strategies.
The researchers first analyzed the data to see how chronic tendencies related to behavior in the lab. They found that a history of childhood emotional abuse predicted higher levels of chronic shame. This chronic shame then predicted a greater reliance on cognitive perseveration in general life. It also predicted a higher use of these harmful thought patterns immediately following the laboratory rejection.
The team also tested whether an immediate spike in shame during the game would link past abuse to immediate cognitive perseveration. The results were not statistically significant in the expected direction. Participants with a history of emotional abuse did not report higher immediate shame or higher immediate cognitive perseveration right after being rejected in the game.
Looking closer at the data, the researchers noticed an unexpected pattern. For participants who reported moderate to severe levels of childhood emotional abuse, immediate feelings of shame and cognitive perseveration actually decreased after the rejection. The researchers suggest this might reflect a blunted emotional response. People who have experienced severe early stress sometimes develop an emotional numbness or physiological detachment when faced with new stressful situations.
Regardless of abuse history, the study confirmed a robust link between shame and cognitive perseveration. Whether measured as a chronic trait or an immediate reaction, higher feelings of shame consistently accompanied higher levels of brooding, avoidance, and emotional non-acceptance. The researchers suggest that when people feel a deep sense of shame, they try to fix the perceived flaws in themselves through intense overthinking.
Clinically, these findings highlight the need for targeted therapies. Mental health practitioners might need to help clients distinguish between generalized distress and specific feelings of shame. Because shame inherently encourages avoidance, it can be difficult for people to recognize it in themselves.
The study relied on a sample of 93 students, which limits the statistical power of the analyses. The findings based on this sample size provide tentative suggestions rather than definitive answers. Additionally, the participants were university students who were screened to exclude severe depression. This screening means the results might not automatically apply to clinical populations or the broader community.
The experiment also relied entirely on self-reported feelings collected during a single session. Participants might not always have accurate insight into their own emotional responses. The laboratory task might have also induced other emotions, such as fear or shock, which could have influenced the participants’ thought patterns. Researchers cannot be certain that shame was the sole driver of the observed behaviors.
Future studies could incorporate physiological measures, such as heart rate or skin conductance, to track bodily reactions alongside subjective feelings. Observing these physical markers could help clarify whether survivors of emotional abuse experience a physiological shutdown during stressful events. Researchers could also track participants over a longer period to see how immediate feelings of shame might solidify into long-term negative self-views.
The study, “Shame as a mediator of the association of childhood emotional abuse with aversive cognitive perseveration in adults,” was authored by Mohammadali Amini-Tehrani, Michael Weinborn, Kenneth Sim, Jeneva L. Ohan, and Kristin Naragon-Gainey.
URL: https://www.psypost.org/chronic-shame-may-drive-destructive-thought-patterns-in-abuse-survivors/
-------------------------------------------------
Private, vetted email list for mental health professionals: https://www.clinicians-exchange.org
Unofficial Psychology Today Xitter to toot feed at Psych Today Unofficial Bot @PTUnofficialBot
-------------------------------------------------
#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #ChronicShame #EmotionalAbuseRecovery #CognitivePerseveration #Rumination #EmotionRegulation #MentalHealthAwareness #ShameVsGuilt #TraumaHealing #PsychologyResearch # survivorSupport
-
DATE: September 10, 2026 at 06:00PM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **
-------------------------------------------------TITLE: Chronic shame may drive destructive thought patterns in abuse survivors
URL: https://www.psypost.org/chronic-shame-may-drive-destructive-thought-patterns-in-abuse-survivors/
Adults who experienced emotional abuse as children often struggle with destructive thought patterns, such as ruminating on failures or avoiding negative feelings. A recent study published in the British Journal of Psychology suggests that chronic feelings of shame may link this early maltreatment to these harmful mental habits. By understanding how shame operates, psychologists may be better equipped to help survivors regulate their emotions in healthier ways.
Childhood emotional abuse involves caregivers engaging in non-physical maltreatment. This can include threatening, terrorizing, or constantly belittling a child. These early experiences of humiliation directly attack a child’s developing sense of self-worth.
Survivors of emotional abuse frequently develop difficulties with emotion regulation in adulthood. They often rely on aversive cognitive perseveration. This psychological term describes a tendency to over-engage with negative thoughts while simultaneously trying to reject or avoid negative feelings.
Aversive cognitive perseveration consists of three main components. The first is brooding rumination, which involves getting stuck on self-reproaching thoughts. The second is experiential avoidance, where a person puts effort into suppressing unwanted internal sensations. The third is emotional non-acceptance, which occurs when a person becomes angry or upset at themselves simply for feeling distressed.
These habits represent a type of response-focused emotion regulation. This means the person attempts to manage an emotion after it has already fully emerged, rather than trying to change their perspective beforehand. This late-stage regulation is often exhausting and counterproductive, leaving the individual trapped in a cycle of distress.
Shame is a powerful emotion that centers on a devalued sense of self. Unlike guilt, which focuses on a specific bad action, shame focuses on the idea that the entire person is flawed. Shame can exist as a chronic trait, meaning a person frequently feels inadequate across many situations. It can also occur as a temporary state in response to a specific humiliating event.
Mohammadali Amini-Tehrani, a psychology researcher at the University of Western Australia, led a team to investigate the mechanisms behind these psychological challenges. The researchers wanted to know if shame serves as the bridge between a history of childhood emotional abuse and the use of cognitive perseveration in adulthood.
The study involved 93 undergraduate students. First, the participants completed a series of questionnaires. They reported any history of childhood maltreatment, including emotional abuse. They also answered questions about their general tendencies to experience chronic shame and their usual reliance on cognitive perseveration in daily life.
Next, the participants engaged in a laboratory experiment designed to induce a temporary feeling of shame. They played a computer game called Cyberball, a well-established psychological tool for studying social exclusion. In the game, participants believed they were tossing a virtual ball back and forth with three other real people. In reality, the other players were computerized avatars programmed to eventually stop passing the ball to the participant.
To heighten the feeling of shame, the researchers modified the standard game. The game ended with a direct message informing the participant that they were being removed from the activity for having the lowest performance in the group. After this rejection, the researchers assessed the participants’ immediate feelings of shame and negative affect. Following a brief distraction task, the researchers measured the participants’ immediate use of cognitive perseveration strategies.
The researchers first analyzed the data to see how chronic tendencies related to behavior in the lab. They found that a history of childhood emotional abuse predicted higher levels of chronic shame. This chronic shame then predicted a greater reliance on cognitive perseveration in general life. It also predicted a higher use of these harmful thought patterns immediately following the laboratory rejection.
The team also tested whether an immediate spike in shame during the game would link past abuse to immediate cognitive perseveration. The results were not statistically significant in the expected direction. Participants with a history of emotional abuse did not report higher immediate shame or higher immediate cognitive perseveration right after being rejected in the game.
Looking closer at the data, the researchers noticed an unexpected pattern. For participants who reported moderate to severe levels of childhood emotional abuse, immediate feelings of shame and cognitive perseveration actually decreased after the rejection. The researchers suggest this might reflect a blunted emotional response. People who have experienced severe early stress sometimes develop an emotional numbness or physiological detachment when faced with new stressful situations.
Regardless of abuse history, the study confirmed a robust link between shame and cognitive perseveration. Whether measured as a chronic trait or an immediate reaction, higher feelings of shame consistently accompanied higher levels of brooding, avoidance, and emotional non-acceptance. The researchers suggest that when people feel a deep sense of shame, they try to fix the perceived flaws in themselves through intense overthinking.
Clinically, these findings highlight the need for targeted therapies. Mental health practitioners might need to help clients distinguish between generalized distress and specific feelings of shame. Because shame inherently encourages avoidance, it can be difficult for people to recognize it in themselves.
The study relied on a sample of 93 students, which limits the statistical power of the analyses. The findings based on this sample size provide tentative suggestions rather than definitive answers. Additionally, the participants were university students who were screened to exclude severe depression. This screening means the results might not automatically apply to clinical populations or the broader community.
The experiment also relied entirely on self-reported feelings collected during a single session. Participants might not always have accurate insight into their own emotional responses. The laboratory task might have also induced other emotions, such as fear or shock, which could have influenced the participants’ thought patterns. Researchers cannot be certain that shame was the sole driver of the observed behaviors.
Future studies could incorporate physiological measures, such as heart rate or skin conductance, to track bodily reactions alongside subjective feelings. Observing these physical markers could help clarify whether survivors of emotional abuse experience a physiological shutdown during stressful events. Researchers could also track participants over a longer period to see how immediate feelings of shame might solidify into long-term negative self-views.
The study, “Shame as a mediator of the association of childhood emotional abuse with aversive cognitive perseveration in adults,” was authored by Mohammadali Amini-Tehrani, Michael Weinborn, Kenneth Sim, Jeneva L. Ohan, and Kristin Naragon-Gainey.
URL: https://www.psypost.org/chronic-shame-may-drive-destructive-thought-patterns-in-abuse-survivors/
-------------------------------------------------
Private, vetted email list for mental health professionals: https://www.clinicians-exchange.org
Unofficial Psychology Today Xitter to toot feed at Psych Today Unofficial Bot @PTUnofficialBot
-------------------------------------------------
#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #ChronicShame #EmotionalAbuseRecovery #CognitivePerseveration #Rumination #EmotionRegulation #MentalHealthAwareness #ShameVsGuilt #TraumaHealing #PsychologyResearch # survivorSupport
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DATE: August 30, 2026 at 12:00PM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **
-------------------------------------------------TITLE: Brain stimulation helps socially anxious individuals control avoidance behaviors
Researchers have found that applying a specific pattern of mild electrical stimulation to the brain can help individuals with high social anxiety better control their automatic avoidance behaviors. By synchronizing the rhythmic activity between the brain’s cognitive control and movement centers, the treatment improved participants’ ability to override their immediate emotional impulses. The findings from this small study were published in The Journal of Neuroscience.
Social anxiety disorder is characterized by an intense fear of social judgment and a strong urge to avoid situations that might cause distress. This behavioral avoidance brings immediate, temporary relief. However, this same avoidance ultimately maintains the psychological condition by preventing individuals from experiencing the situations and learning that they are actually safe.
Standard treatments like exposure therapy require patients to confront their fears directly. People with severe social anxiety often struggle to override their automatic urge to flee, which can limit the effectiveness of such therapies. Overcoming this pattern requires a psychological mechanism called emotional action control, which is the brain’s ability to suppress automatic reactions and execute a different planned response.
Brain regions coordinate this kind of control by communicating through rhythmic electrical impulses, commonly known as brainwaves. When a person needs to override an automatic behavior, an area responsible for cognitive control called the lateral prefrontal cortex must sync its low-frequency rhythms with the high-frequency rhythms of the sensorimotor cortex. The sensorimotor cortex is the brain region that ultimately plans and executes physical movements.
Prior studies demonstrated that artificially enhancing this synchronization could improve emotional control in people without anxiety. A team of researchers from Radboud University in the Netherlands, led by Sjoerd Meijer and Bob Bramson, wanted to test if this intervention could be adapted for a clinical population. They designed an experiment to see if rhythmic stimulation could help individuals who struggle with intense social anxiety.
The researchers recruited 49 adults who were screened using the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale, a standard clinical questionnaire. Because the participant count was less than 50, this is considered a small study. The research team focused entirely on individuals whose anxiety scores indicated a high likelihood of experiencing daily social anxiety disorder symptoms.
During the experiment, participants lay inside a functional magnetic resonance imaging scanner. This machine tracks blood oxygen levels in the brain to measure dynamic changes in neural activity. Participants held a joystick on their abdomen and viewed images of happy and angry faces on a computer screen.
In the standard version of the task, participants were instructed to pull the joystick toward themselves when they saw a happy face and push it away when they saw an angry face. This instruction aligns with natural human tendencies to approach positive stimuli and avoid negative ones.
In the challenging version of the task, the rules were reversed. Participants had to push the joystick away for happy faces and pull it toward themselves for angry faces. This specific setup forced the participants to exert mental effort to override their automatic emotional impulses to pull away from perceived threats.
While the participants performed these tasks, the researchers applied a technique called dual-site transcranial alternating current stimulation. This noninvasive intervention uses specialized, ring-shaped electrodes placed directly on the scalp. The device delivers weak, oscillating electrical currents designed to mimic and influence the brain’s natural internal rhythms.
The researchers tested three different stimulation conditions. The first was an in-phase condition designed to synchronize the lateral prefrontal cortex and the sensorimotor cortex. The second was an anti-phase condition designed to disrupt their synchronization. The third was a sham condition where the stimulation was turned off almost immediately, serving as a placebo baseline to compare against.
The three stimulation conditions alternated in short blocks of about one minute each. Between blocks, the researchers included pause periods to allow the effects of the previous stimulation to wash out. This ensured that each testing block remained independent of the others.
The researchers found that participants performed better at the task during the in-phase stimulation. They made fewer errors on the challenging, reversed-rule task compared to the baseline sham condition. The anti-phase stimulation did not produce statistically significant performance benefits.
The brain imaging data revealed that the in-phase stimulation successfully strengthened the functional connection between the targeted prefrontal and sensorimotor regions. The electrical intervention also altered the activity of the amygdala, a deep and evolutionarily older brain structure that processes raw emotions like fear and generates automatic defensive reactions.
During in-phase stimulation, the amygdala exerted less influence over the participants’ physical joystick movements. The researchers noted that the intervention seemed to strengthen the brain’s goal-directed pathways. This allowed the prefrontal cortex to successfully compete with the emotional signals coming from the amygdala at the level of physical execution.
The behavioral benefits varied from person to person. The improvements were largest in individuals whose prefrontal cortex showed the strongest physiological response to the electrical stimulation. Participants with the highest self-reported trait anxiety tended to show the strongest neural responses to the intervention.
The brain scans also revealed a difference in how highly anxious participants process control compared to general populations. Rather than using the frontal pole to integrate emotions and goals, the anxious participants relied heavily on the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. This specific subregion is known for strict rule-based processing, suggesting that anxious individuals must rely on rigid rules to bypass their easily overwhelmed emotional centers.
The study relies on functional magnetic resonance imaging, which tracks blood oxygen levels rather than direct electrical brainwaves. While the researchers manipulated the electrical phases at the scalp, they could not directly measure the resulting changes in the participants’ actual brainwaves during the task.
There was high individual variation in how strongly the participants’ brains reacted to the stimulation. Standardized stimulation protocols may not work equally well for everyone. Individual differences in head anatomy and natural brain activity alter how the electrical currents travel through the skull and interact with neural tissue.
Future research might use individualized computer models to adjust the electrical currents based on a person’s specific brain structure. Scientists also need to investigate whether this type of intervention can produce lasting changes in avoidance behavior in real-world social settings. This might eventually involve testing the stimulation as a tool to enhance traditional exposure therapy.
The study, “Improving Emotion Control in Social Anxiety by Targeting Rhythmic Brain Circuits,” was authored by Sjoerd Meijer, Bob Bramson, Ivan Toni, and Karin Roelofs.
-------------------------------------------------
Private, vetted email list for mental health professionals: https://www.clinicians-exchange.org
Unofficial Psychology Today Xitter to toot feed at Psych Today Unofficial Bot @PTUnofficialBot
-------------------------------------------------
#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #BrainStimulation #SocialAnxiety #EmotionRegulation #DualSiteStimulation #TranscranialAlternatingCurrentStimulation #PrefrontalCortex #SensorimotorCortex #AmygdalaModulation #ExposureTherapyBoost #RhythmicBrainCircuits
-
DATE: August 30, 2026 at 12:00PM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **
-------------------------------------------------TITLE: Brain stimulation helps socially anxious individuals control avoidance behaviors
Researchers have found that applying a specific pattern of mild electrical stimulation to the brain can help individuals with high social anxiety better control their automatic avoidance behaviors. By synchronizing the rhythmic activity between the brain’s cognitive control and movement centers, the treatment improved participants’ ability to override their immediate emotional impulses. The findings from this small study were published in The Journal of Neuroscience.
Social anxiety disorder is characterized by an intense fear of social judgment and a strong urge to avoid situations that might cause distress. This behavioral avoidance brings immediate, temporary relief. However, this same avoidance ultimately maintains the psychological condition by preventing individuals from experiencing the situations and learning that they are actually safe.
Standard treatments like exposure therapy require patients to confront their fears directly. People with severe social anxiety often struggle to override their automatic urge to flee, which can limit the effectiveness of such therapies. Overcoming this pattern requires a psychological mechanism called emotional action control, which is the brain’s ability to suppress automatic reactions and execute a different planned response.
Brain regions coordinate this kind of control by communicating through rhythmic electrical impulses, commonly known as brainwaves. When a person needs to override an automatic behavior, an area responsible for cognitive control called the lateral prefrontal cortex must sync its low-frequency rhythms with the high-frequency rhythms of the sensorimotor cortex. The sensorimotor cortex is the brain region that ultimately plans and executes physical movements.
Prior studies demonstrated that artificially enhancing this synchronization could improve emotional control in people without anxiety. A team of researchers from Radboud University in the Netherlands, led by Sjoerd Meijer and Bob Bramson, wanted to test if this intervention could be adapted for a clinical population. They designed an experiment to see if rhythmic stimulation could help individuals who struggle with intense social anxiety.
The researchers recruited 49 adults who were screened using the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale, a standard clinical questionnaire. Because the participant count was less than 50, this is considered a small study. The research team focused entirely on individuals whose anxiety scores indicated a high likelihood of experiencing daily social anxiety disorder symptoms.
During the experiment, participants lay inside a functional magnetic resonance imaging scanner. This machine tracks blood oxygen levels in the brain to measure dynamic changes in neural activity. Participants held a joystick on their abdomen and viewed images of happy and angry faces on a computer screen.
In the standard version of the task, participants were instructed to pull the joystick toward themselves when they saw a happy face and push it away when they saw an angry face. This instruction aligns with natural human tendencies to approach positive stimuli and avoid negative ones.
In the challenging version of the task, the rules were reversed. Participants had to push the joystick away for happy faces and pull it toward themselves for angry faces. This specific setup forced the participants to exert mental effort to override their automatic emotional impulses to pull away from perceived threats.
While the participants performed these tasks, the researchers applied a technique called dual-site transcranial alternating current stimulation. This noninvasive intervention uses specialized, ring-shaped electrodes placed directly on the scalp. The device delivers weak, oscillating electrical currents designed to mimic and influence the brain’s natural internal rhythms.
The researchers tested three different stimulation conditions. The first was an in-phase condition designed to synchronize the lateral prefrontal cortex and the sensorimotor cortex. The second was an anti-phase condition designed to disrupt their synchronization. The third was a sham condition where the stimulation was turned off almost immediately, serving as a placebo baseline to compare against.
The three stimulation conditions alternated in short blocks of about one minute each. Between blocks, the researchers included pause periods to allow the effects of the previous stimulation to wash out. This ensured that each testing block remained independent of the others.
The researchers found that participants performed better at the task during the in-phase stimulation. They made fewer errors on the challenging, reversed-rule task compared to the baseline sham condition. The anti-phase stimulation did not produce statistically significant performance benefits.
The brain imaging data revealed that the in-phase stimulation successfully strengthened the functional connection between the targeted prefrontal and sensorimotor regions. The electrical intervention also altered the activity of the amygdala, a deep and evolutionarily older brain structure that processes raw emotions like fear and generates automatic defensive reactions.
During in-phase stimulation, the amygdala exerted less influence over the participants’ physical joystick movements. The researchers noted that the intervention seemed to strengthen the brain’s goal-directed pathways. This allowed the prefrontal cortex to successfully compete with the emotional signals coming from the amygdala at the level of physical execution.
The behavioral benefits varied from person to person. The improvements were largest in individuals whose prefrontal cortex showed the strongest physiological response to the electrical stimulation. Participants with the highest self-reported trait anxiety tended to show the strongest neural responses to the intervention.
The brain scans also revealed a difference in how highly anxious participants process control compared to general populations. Rather than using the frontal pole to integrate emotions and goals, the anxious participants relied heavily on the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. This specific subregion is known for strict rule-based processing, suggesting that anxious individuals must rely on rigid rules to bypass their easily overwhelmed emotional centers.
The study relies on functional magnetic resonance imaging, which tracks blood oxygen levels rather than direct electrical brainwaves. While the researchers manipulated the electrical phases at the scalp, they could not directly measure the resulting changes in the participants’ actual brainwaves during the task.
There was high individual variation in how strongly the participants’ brains reacted to the stimulation. Standardized stimulation protocols may not work equally well for everyone. Individual differences in head anatomy and natural brain activity alter how the electrical currents travel through the skull and interact with neural tissue.
Future research might use individualized computer models to adjust the electrical currents based on a person’s specific brain structure. Scientists also need to investigate whether this type of intervention can produce lasting changes in avoidance behavior in real-world social settings. This might eventually involve testing the stimulation as a tool to enhance traditional exposure therapy.
The study, “Improving Emotion Control in Social Anxiety by Targeting Rhythmic Brain Circuits,” was authored by Sjoerd Meijer, Bob Bramson, Ivan Toni, and Karin Roelofs.
-------------------------------------------------
Private, vetted email list for mental health professionals: https://www.clinicians-exchange.org
Unofficial Psychology Today Xitter to toot feed at Psych Today Unofficial Bot @PTUnofficialBot
-------------------------------------------------
#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #BrainStimulation #SocialAnxiety #EmotionRegulation #DualSiteStimulation #TranscranialAlternatingCurrentStimulation #PrefrontalCortex #SensorimotorCortex #AmygdalaModulation #ExposureTherapyBoost #RhythmicBrainCircuits
-
DATE: August 30, 2026 at 12:00PM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **
-------------------------------------------------TITLE: Brain stimulation helps socially anxious individuals control avoidance behaviors
Researchers have found that applying a specific pattern of mild electrical stimulation to the brain can help individuals with high social anxiety better control their automatic avoidance behaviors. By synchronizing the rhythmic activity between the brain’s cognitive control and movement centers, the treatment improved participants’ ability to override their immediate emotional impulses. The findings from this small study were published in The Journal of Neuroscience.
Social anxiety disorder is characterized by an intense fear of social judgment and a strong urge to avoid situations that might cause distress. This behavioral avoidance brings immediate, temporary relief. However, this same avoidance ultimately maintains the psychological condition by preventing individuals from experiencing the situations and learning that they are actually safe.
Standard treatments like exposure therapy require patients to confront their fears directly. People with severe social anxiety often struggle to override their automatic urge to flee, which can limit the effectiveness of such therapies. Overcoming this pattern requires a psychological mechanism called emotional action control, which is the brain’s ability to suppress automatic reactions and execute a different planned response.
Brain regions coordinate this kind of control by communicating through rhythmic electrical impulses, commonly known as brainwaves. When a person needs to override an automatic behavior, an area responsible for cognitive control called the lateral prefrontal cortex must sync its low-frequency rhythms with the high-frequency rhythms of the sensorimotor cortex. The sensorimotor cortex is the brain region that ultimately plans and executes physical movements.
Prior studies demonstrated that artificially enhancing this synchronization could improve emotional control in people without anxiety. A team of researchers from Radboud University in the Netherlands, led by Sjoerd Meijer and Bob Bramson, wanted to test if this intervention could be adapted for a clinical population. They designed an experiment to see if rhythmic stimulation could help individuals who struggle with intense social anxiety.
The researchers recruited 49 adults who were screened using the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale, a standard clinical questionnaire. Because the participant count was less than 50, this is considered a small study. The research team focused entirely on individuals whose anxiety scores indicated a high likelihood of experiencing daily social anxiety disorder symptoms.
During the experiment, participants lay inside a functional magnetic resonance imaging scanner. This machine tracks blood oxygen levels in the brain to measure dynamic changes in neural activity. Participants held a joystick on their abdomen and viewed images of happy and angry faces on a computer screen.
In the standard version of the task, participants were instructed to pull the joystick toward themselves when they saw a happy face and push it away when they saw an angry face. This instruction aligns with natural human tendencies to approach positive stimuli and avoid negative ones.
In the challenging version of the task, the rules were reversed. Participants had to push the joystick away for happy faces and pull it toward themselves for angry faces. This specific setup forced the participants to exert mental effort to override their automatic emotional impulses to pull away from perceived threats.
While the participants performed these tasks, the researchers applied a technique called dual-site transcranial alternating current stimulation. This noninvasive intervention uses specialized, ring-shaped electrodes placed directly on the scalp. The device delivers weak, oscillating electrical currents designed to mimic and influence the brain’s natural internal rhythms.
The researchers tested three different stimulation conditions. The first was an in-phase condition designed to synchronize the lateral prefrontal cortex and the sensorimotor cortex. The second was an anti-phase condition designed to disrupt their synchronization. The third was a sham condition where the stimulation was turned off almost immediately, serving as a placebo baseline to compare against.
The three stimulation conditions alternated in short blocks of about one minute each. Between blocks, the researchers included pause periods to allow the effects of the previous stimulation to wash out. This ensured that each testing block remained independent of the others.
The researchers found that participants performed better at the task during the in-phase stimulation. They made fewer errors on the challenging, reversed-rule task compared to the baseline sham condition. The anti-phase stimulation did not produce statistically significant performance benefits.
The brain imaging data revealed that the in-phase stimulation successfully strengthened the functional connection between the targeted prefrontal and sensorimotor regions. The electrical intervention also altered the activity of the amygdala, a deep and evolutionarily older brain structure that processes raw emotions like fear and generates automatic defensive reactions.
During in-phase stimulation, the amygdala exerted less influence over the participants’ physical joystick movements. The researchers noted that the intervention seemed to strengthen the brain’s goal-directed pathways. This allowed the prefrontal cortex to successfully compete with the emotional signals coming from the amygdala at the level of physical execution.
The behavioral benefits varied from person to person. The improvements were largest in individuals whose prefrontal cortex showed the strongest physiological response to the electrical stimulation. Participants with the highest self-reported trait anxiety tended to show the strongest neural responses to the intervention.
The brain scans also revealed a difference in how highly anxious participants process control compared to general populations. Rather than using the frontal pole to integrate emotions and goals, the anxious participants relied heavily on the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. This specific subregion is known for strict rule-based processing, suggesting that anxious individuals must rely on rigid rules to bypass their easily overwhelmed emotional centers.
The study relies on functional magnetic resonance imaging, which tracks blood oxygen levels rather than direct electrical brainwaves. While the researchers manipulated the electrical phases at the scalp, they could not directly measure the resulting changes in the participants’ actual brainwaves during the task.
There was high individual variation in how strongly the participants’ brains reacted to the stimulation. Standardized stimulation protocols may not work equally well for everyone. Individual differences in head anatomy and natural brain activity alter how the electrical currents travel through the skull and interact with neural tissue.
Future research might use individualized computer models to adjust the electrical currents based on a person’s specific brain structure. Scientists also need to investigate whether this type of intervention can produce lasting changes in avoidance behavior in real-world social settings. This might eventually involve testing the stimulation as a tool to enhance traditional exposure therapy.
The study, “Improving Emotion Control in Social Anxiety by Targeting Rhythmic Brain Circuits,” was authored by Sjoerd Meijer, Bob Bramson, Ivan Toni, and Karin Roelofs.
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DATE: August 24, 2026 at 06:00AM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **
-------------------------------------------------TITLE: Psychology researchers uncover an unexpected benefit of dance training
Individuals who practice dance may be better at regulating their physical actions when they encounter positive emotional situations. A recent experiment found that dancers were faster at stopping an ongoing movement when shown happy faces, an advantage not seen in people without dance experience. The research was published in the Psychology of Sport & Exercise.
The ability to stop a physical action you have already started is known as response inhibition. This is a core executive function of the brain that people use every day. For example, you use response inhibition when you suddenly stop yourself from stepping into a crosswalk because a car runs a red light.
Psychologists generally divide this ability into two categories. Proactive inhibition involves anticipating that you might need to stop based on your surroundings. Reactive inhibition, which is the focus of this research, involves abruptly canceling a physical movement in reaction to an unexpected external signal.
In daily life, people often have to inhibit their responses while dealing with emotionally charged situations. Emotional information can easily capture human attention. Sometimes this emotional distraction helps the brain process information faster, and other times it disrupts our physical focus.
Dance offers a unique way to study how the brain handles movement and emotion at the same time. Unlike running or weightlifting, dance requires precise musical coordination and active emotional expression. Dancers must constantly adjust their physical movements while conveying feelings and responding to the emotions of their audience or partners.
Researchers wanted to know if this combination of physical and emotional training gives dancers an edge in controlling their actions. Stuti Mehta and Rashmi Gupta of the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay designed a study to test whether emotional distractions affect dancers differently than non-dancers.
The researchers recruited 83 young adults for the experiment. This group included 45 dancers and 38 people with no dance experience. The dancers had at least six months of formal training and currently practiced for at least six hours a week.
To ensure that general fitness was not the cause of any observed differences, the researchers only included participants who reported low to moderate levels of regular physical activity. The two groups were matched in terms of their overall physical exercise habits.
Participants completed two computer-based tests designed to measure reactive response inhibition. In the first test, participants watched a screen and pressed a specific keyboard key when they saw the letter X or O. They were instructed to respond as quickly as possible.
Occasionally, a green circle appeared over the letter immediately after it was shown. This green circle was a signal to stop and withhold the key press. The computer constantly adjusted the timing of this circle in 50-millisecond increments to keep the task challenging, measuring exactly how fast the participant could hit their mental brakes.
The second test followed the exact same rules, but it used emotional distractions instead of a simple green circle. When it was time to stop the key press, a photograph of a face from a standardized psychological database appeared over the letter. These faces displayed happy, angry, or neutral expressions.
The emotional faces were entirely irrelevant to the core task of identifying the letters. The researchers used them specifically to see if background emotional information would unconsciously alter the participants’ ability to stop their physical actions.
After finishing the computer tasks, participants filled out several questionnaires. These surveys measured their current moods, their typical levels of stress and depression, and their general sensitivity to rewards and punishments in life.
On the first test featuring the green circle, the dancers and non-dancers performed identically. The researchers observed no statistically significant differences in their ability to stop their responses. Without emotional information present, dance training provided no measurable advantage for physical response inhibition.
Different patterns emerged during the second test featuring the human faces. Dancers were much better at stopping their actions when the stop signal was a happy face. They made fewer errors when viewing happy expressions compared to when they saw angry or neutral expressions.
The participants without dance experience performed the exact same way across all face types. The happy faces did not give them any advantage or disadvantage in stopping their physical responses. The emotional content of the faces simply did not alter their physical control.
The questionnaire results aligned with the performance data. Dancers reported lower levels of stress and depression than the non-dancers. They also reported experiencing positive emotions more often and showed a more regulated sensitivity to rewards.
Within the dancer group, the researchers found that more years of dance experience correlated with better mental health. The longer a participant had been engaged in formal dance training, the lower their reported levels of depression and stress tended to be.
The study authors suggest that dance training might make people more sensitive to positive emotions. Dance is often associated with expressing joy and experiencing a sense of meaningful contentment. This repeated engagement with positive feelings might train the brain to process happy stimuli more efficiently.
According to psychological models of attention, positive emotions tend to broaden our mental focus. Negative emotions, on the other hand, tend to narrow our focus onto specific threats. Because dancers are highly attuned to positive expression, a happy face might require fewer mental resources for them to process, leaving more brain power available to successfully stop their physical movement.
Prior brain imaging research supports this idea. Studies have shown that dance training increases activity in areas of the brain like the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and the amygdala. These regions are highly involved in managing emotion regulation and executive functions, which might explain the dancers’ rapid processing of the happy faces.
The study compared two different groups of people at a single point in time. This type of research cannot prove that dance training actually caused the improved response control. It is entirely possible that people who are naturally better at processing positive emotions are simply more likely to pursue dance.
The participants were also mostly young adults, which limits how these findings apply to children or older adults. The dancers practiced a variety of different dance styles. This variety makes it difficult to know if specific types of dance, like ballet or hip-hop, provide different cognitive benefits.
Future research could track individuals over time, testing their cognitive control before and after they enroll in a dance program. Researchers could also use brain imaging technology to see exactly which neural pathways activate when dancers process happy expressions during these tasks.
The study, “Happy faces, faster stops: The cognitive benefits of dance in emotional contexts,” was authored by Stuti Mehta and Rashmi Gupta.
-------------------------------------------------
Private, vetted email list for mental health professionals: https://www.clinicians-exchange.org
Unofficial Psychology Today Xitter to toot feed at Psych Today Unofficial Bot @PTUnofficialBot
-------------------------------------------------
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-
DATE: August 24, 2026 at 06:00AM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **
-------------------------------------------------TITLE: Psychology researchers uncover an unexpected benefit of dance training
Individuals who practice dance may be better at regulating their physical actions when they encounter positive emotional situations. A recent experiment found that dancers were faster at stopping an ongoing movement when shown happy faces, an advantage not seen in people without dance experience. The research was published in the Psychology of Sport & Exercise.
The ability to stop a physical action you have already started is known as response inhibition. This is a core executive function of the brain that people use every day. For example, you use response inhibition when you suddenly stop yourself from stepping into a crosswalk because a car runs a red light.
Psychologists generally divide this ability into two categories. Proactive inhibition involves anticipating that you might need to stop based on your surroundings. Reactive inhibition, which is the focus of this research, involves abruptly canceling a physical movement in reaction to an unexpected external signal.
In daily life, people often have to inhibit their responses while dealing with emotionally charged situations. Emotional information can easily capture human attention. Sometimes this emotional distraction helps the brain process information faster, and other times it disrupts our physical focus.
Dance offers a unique way to study how the brain handles movement and emotion at the same time. Unlike running or weightlifting, dance requires precise musical coordination and active emotional expression. Dancers must constantly adjust their physical movements while conveying feelings and responding to the emotions of their audience or partners.
Researchers wanted to know if this combination of physical and emotional training gives dancers an edge in controlling their actions. Stuti Mehta and Rashmi Gupta of the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay designed a study to test whether emotional distractions affect dancers differently than non-dancers.
The researchers recruited 83 young adults for the experiment. This group included 45 dancers and 38 people with no dance experience. The dancers had at least six months of formal training and currently practiced for at least six hours a week.
To ensure that general fitness was not the cause of any observed differences, the researchers only included participants who reported low to moderate levels of regular physical activity. The two groups were matched in terms of their overall physical exercise habits.
Participants completed two computer-based tests designed to measure reactive response inhibition. In the first test, participants watched a screen and pressed a specific keyboard key when they saw the letter X or O. They were instructed to respond as quickly as possible.
Occasionally, a green circle appeared over the letter immediately after it was shown. This green circle was a signal to stop and withhold the key press. The computer constantly adjusted the timing of this circle in 50-millisecond increments to keep the task challenging, measuring exactly how fast the participant could hit their mental brakes.
The second test followed the exact same rules, but it used emotional distractions instead of a simple green circle. When it was time to stop the key press, a photograph of a face from a standardized psychological database appeared over the letter. These faces displayed happy, angry, or neutral expressions.
The emotional faces were entirely irrelevant to the core task of identifying the letters. The researchers used them specifically to see if background emotional information would unconsciously alter the participants’ ability to stop their physical actions.
After finishing the computer tasks, participants filled out several questionnaires. These surveys measured their current moods, their typical levels of stress and depression, and their general sensitivity to rewards and punishments in life.
On the first test featuring the green circle, the dancers and non-dancers performed identically. The researchers observed no statistically significant differences in their ability to stop their responses. Without emotional information present, dance training provided no measurable advantage for physical response inhibition.
Different patterns emerged during the second test featuring the human faces. Dancers were much better at stopping their actions when the stop signal was a happy face. They made fewer errors when viewing happy expressions compared to when they saw angry or neutral expressions.
The participants without dance experience performed the exact same way across all face types. The happy faces did not give them any advantage or disadvantage in stopping their physical responses. The emotional content of the faces simply did not alter their physical control.
The questionnaire results aligned with the performance data. Dancers reported lower levels of stress and depression than the non-dancers. They also reported experiencing positive emotions more often and showed a more regulated sensitivity to rewards.
Within the dancer group, the researchers found that more years of dance experience correlated with better mental health. The longer a participant had been engaged in formal dance training, the lower their reported levels of depression and stress tended to be.
The study authors suggest that dance training might make people more sensitive to positive emotions. Dance is often associated with expressing joy and experiencing a sense of meaningful contentment. This repeated engagement with positive feelings might train the brain to process happy stimuli more efficiently.
According to psychological models of attention, positive emotions tend to broaden our mental focus. Negative emotions, on the other hand, tend to narrow our focus onto specific threats. Because dancers are highly attuned to positive expression, a happy face might require fewer mental resources for them to process, leaving more brain power available to successfully stop their physical movement.
Prior brain imaging research supports this idea. Studies have shown that dance training increases activity in areas of the brain like the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and the amygdala. These regions are highly involved in managing emotion regulation and executive functions, which might explain the dancers’ rapid processing of the happy faces.
The study compared two different groups of people at a single point in time. This type of research cannot prove that dance training actually caused the improved response control. It is entirely possible that people who are naturally better at processing positive emotions are simply more likely to pursue dance.
The participants were also mostly young adults, which limits how these findings apply to children or older adults. The dancers practiced a variety of different dance styles. This variety makes it difficult to know if specific types of dance, like ballet or hip-hop, provide different cognitive benefits.
Future research could track individuals over time, testing their cognitive control before and after they enroll in a dance program. Researchers could also use brain imaging technology to see exactly which neural pathways activate when dancers process happy expressions during these tasks.
The study, “Happy faces, faster stops: The cognitive benefits of dance in emotional contexts,” was authored by Stuti Mehta and Rashmi Gupta.
-------------------------------------------------
Private, vetted email list for mental health professionals: https://www.clinicians-exchange.org
Unofficial Psychology Today Xitter to toot feed at Psych Today Unofficial Bot @PTUnofficialBot
-------------------------------------------------
#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #DanceCognition #EmotionRegulation #ResponseInhibition #HappyFaces #DancersBenefit #ExecutiveFunction #DancePsychology #CognitiveControl #PositiveEmotions #NeuroscienceOfDance
-
DATE: August 24, 2026 at 06:00AM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **
-------------------------------------------------TITLE: Psychology researchers uncover an unexpected benefit of dance training
Individuals who practice dance may be better at regulating their physical actions when they encounter positive emotional situations. A recent experiment found that dancers were faster at stopping an ongoing movement when shown happy faces, an advantage not seen in people without dance experience. The research was published in the Psychology of Sport & Exercise.
The ability to stop a physical action you have already started is known as response inhibition. This is a core executive function of the brain that people use every day. For example, you use response inhibition when you suddenly stop yourself from stepping into a crosswalk because a car runs a red light.
Psychologists generally divide this ability into two categories. Proactive inhibition involves anticipating that you might need to stop based on your surroundings. Reactive inhibition, which is the focus of this research, involves abruptly canceling a physical movement in reaction to an unexpected external signal.
In daily life, people often have to inhibit their responses while dealing with emotionally charged situations. Emotional information can easily capture human attention. Sometimes this emotional distraction helps the brain process information faster, and other times it disrupts our physical focus.
Dance offers a unique way to study how the brain handles movement and emotion at the same time. Unlike running or weightlifting, dance requires precise musical coordination and active emotional expression. Dancers must constantly adjust their physical movements while conveying feelings and responding to the emotions of their audience or partners.
Researchers wanted to know if this combination of physical and emotional training gives dancers an edge in controlling their actions. Stuti Mehta and Rashmi Gupta of the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay designed a study to test whether emotional distractions affect dancers differently than non-dancers.
The researchers recruited 83 young adults for the experiment. This group included 45 dancers and 38 people with no dance experience. The dancers had at least six months of formal training and currently practiced for at least six hours a week.
To ensure that general fitness was not the cause of any observed differences, the researchers only included participants who reported low to moderate levels of regular physical activity. The two groups were matched in terms of their overall physical exercise habits.
Participants completed two computer-based tests designed to measure reactive response inhibition. In the first test, participants watched a screen and pressed a specific keyboard key when they saw the letter X or O. They were instructed to respond as quickly as possible.
Occasionally, a green circle appeared over the letter immediately after it was shown. This green circle was a signal to stop and withhold the key press. The computer constantly adjusted the timing of this circle in 50-millisecond increments to keep the task challenging, measuring exactly how fast the participant could hit their mental brakes.
The second test followed the exact same rules, but it used emotional distractions instead of a simple green circle. When it was time to stop the key press, a photograph of a face from a standardized psychological database appeared over the letter. These faces displayed happy, angry, or neutral expressions.
The emotional faces were entirely irrelevant to the core task of identifying the letters. The researchers used them specifically to see if background emotional information would unconsciously alter the participants’ ability to stop their physical actions.
After finishing the computer tasks, participants filled out several questionnaires. These surveys measured their current moods, their typical levels of stress and depression, and their general sensitivity to rewards and punishments in life.
On the first test featuring the green circle, the dancers and non-dancers performed identically. The researchers observed no statistically significant differences in their ability to stop their responses. Without emotional information present, dance training provided no measurable advantage for physical response inhibition.
Different patterns emerged during the second test featuring the human faces. Dancers were much better at stopping their actions when the stop signal was a happy face. They made fewer errors when viewing happy expressions compared to when they saw angry or neutral expressions.
The participants without dance experience performed the exact same way across all face types. The happy faces did not give them any advantage or disadvantage in stopping their physical responses. The emotional content of the faces simply did not alter their physical control.
The questionnaire results aligned with the performance data. Dancers reported lower levels of stress and depression than the non-dancers. They also reported experiencing positive emotions more often and showed a more regulated sensitivity to rewards.
Within the dancer group, the researchers found that more years of dance experience correlated with better mental health. The longer a participant had been engaged in formal dance training, the lower their reported levels of depression and stress tended to be.
The study authors suggest that dance training might make people more sensitive to positive emotions. Dance is often associated with expressing joy and experiencing a sense of meaningful contentment. This repeated engagement with positive feelings might train the brain to process happy stimuli more efficiently.
According to psychological models of attention, positive emotions tend to broaden our mental focus. Negative emotions, on the other hand, tend to narrow our focus onto specific threats. Because dancers are highly attuned to positive expression, a happy face might require fewer mental resources for them to process, leaving more brain power available to successfully stop their physical movement.
Prior brain imaging research supports this idea. Studies have shown that dance training increases activity in areas of the brain like the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and the amygdala. These regions are highly involved in managing emotion regulation and executive functions, which might explain the dancers’ rapid processing of the happy faces.
The study compared two different groups of people at a single point in time. This type of research cannot prove that dance training actually caused the improved response control. It is entirely possible that people who are naturally better at processing positive emotions are simply more likely to pursue dance.
The participants were also mostly young adults, which limits how these findings apply to children or older adults. The dancers practiced a variety of different dance styles. This variety makes it difficult to know if specific types of dance, like ballet or hip-hop, provide different cognitive benefits.
Future research could track individuals over time, testing their cognitive control before and after they enroll in a dance program. Researchers could also use brain imaging technology to see exactly which neural pathways activate when dancers process happy expressions during these tasks.
The study, “Happy faces, faster stops: The cognitive benefits of dance in emotional contexts,” was authored by Stuti Mehta and Rashmi Gupta.
-------------------------------------------------
Private, vetted email list for mental health professionals: https://www.clinicians-exchange.org
Unofficial Psychology Today Xitter to toot feed at Psych Today Unofficial Bot @PTUnofficialBot
-------------------------------------------------
#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #DanceCognition #EmotionRegulation #ResponseInhibition #HappyFaces #DancersBenefit #ExecutiveFunction #DancePsychology #CognitiveControl #PositiveEmotions #NeuroscienceOfDance
-
“I was actually pretty happy about getting the diagnosis, not because I was sick, but because I could finally name it.”
👉 Watch on ACAMH Learn · Free CPD/CME
#ChildMentalHealth #EmotionRegulation -
📸Valeria Vitale shared her research at the International Conference on #EnvironmentalPsychology (ICEP 2025) in Vilnius, Lithuania.
📊She introduced “nature selection” as a new #emotionregulation strategy and validated a scale through studies conducted both in English and Italian.
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📸Valeria Vitale shared her research at the International Conference on #EnvironmentalPsychology (ICEP 2025) in Vilnius, Lithuania.
📊She introduced “nature selection” as a new #emotionregulation strategy and validated a scale through studies conducted both in English and Italian.
-
📸Valeria Vitale shared her research at the International Conference on #EnvironmentalPsychology (ICEP 2025) in Vilnius, Lithuania.
📊She introduced “nature selection” as a new #emotionregulation strategy and validated a scale through studies conducted both in English and Italian.
-
📸Valeria Vitale shared her research at the International Conference on #EnvironmentalPsychology (ICEP 2025) in Vilnius, Lithuania.
📊She introduced “nature selection” as a new #emotionregulation strategy and validated a scale through studies conducted both in English and Italian.
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LIVE, Dammit Bluesky Blog
#YESquote: Building a Life Worth Living/Marsha Linehan- "We should #strive for important #goals, but we must #radicallyaccept that we might not obtain them. It is letting go of having to have. And accepting what is.” #DBT #DistressTolerance #EmotionRegulation #MentalWellness bit.ly/41AZePx
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Brain Signals and Emotion Regulation: What’s Happening Inside?
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Brain Signals and Emotion Regulation: What’s Happening Inside?
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The Neuroscience Behind Empathy, Mood Disorders, and Social Interaction
#Neuroscience #HumanMind #SocialSkills #BrainScience #MentalHealth #Neuropsychology #MindReading #BrainRegions #EmotionRegulation #MentalDisorders #Autism #BipolarDisorder #LieDetection #Neuroimaging #EvolutionOfTheBrain
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The Neuroscience Behind Empathy, Mood Disorders, and Social Interaction
#Neuroscience #HumanMind #SocialSkills #BrainScience #MentalHealth #Neuropsychology #MindReading #BrainRegions #EmotionRegulation #MentalDisorders #Autism #BipolarDisorder #LieDetection #Neuroimaging #EvolutionOfTheBrain
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The Neuroscience Behind Empathy, Mood Disorders, and Social Interaction
#Neuroscience #HumanMind #SocialSkills #BrainScience #MentalHealth #Neuropsychology #MindReading #BrainRegions #EmotionRegulation #MentalDisorders #Autism #BipolarDisorder #LieDetection #Neuroimaging #EvolutionOfTheBrain
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The Neuroscience Behind Empathy, Mood Disorders, and Social Interaction
#Neuroscience #HumanMind #SocialSkills #BrainScience #MentalHealth #Neuropsychology #MindReading #BrainRegions #EmotionRegulation #MentalDisorders #Autism #BipolarDisorder #LieDetection #Neuroimaging #EvolutionOfTheBrain
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Stress may short-circuit your brain’s ability to manage emotions—especially if you live with anxiety or depression. #StressAndTheBrain #MentalHealthScience #EmotionRegulation
https://geekoo.news/when-stress-hijacks-the-brains-emotional-control/
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From Biology to Therapy: Innovative Approaches to Mental Health Based on Neuroscience
#Neuroscience #EmotionalHealth #PolyvagalTheory #BrainBodyConnection #Interoception #PredictiveCoding #EmotionRegulation #MentalHealth #SelfRegulation #NeurovisceralIntegration #Psychology #BiologyOfEmotion #Resilience #MindBody #InnovativeTherapies
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From Biology to Therapy: Innovative Approaches to Mental Health Based on Neuroscience
#Neuroscience #EmotionalHealth #PolyvagalTheory #BrainBodyConnection #Interoception #PredictiveCoding #EmotionRegulation #MentalHealth #SelfRegulation #NeurovisceralIntegration #Psychology #BiologyOfEmotion #Resilience #MindBody #InnovativeTherapies
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From Biology to Therapy: Innovative Approaches to Mental Health Based on Neuroscience
#Neuroscience #EmotionalHealth #PolyvagalTheory #BrainBodyConnection #Interoception #PredictiveCoding #EmotionRegulation #MentalHealth #SelfRegulation #NeurovisceralIntegration #Psychology #BiologyOfEmotion #Resilience #MindBody #InnovativeTherapies
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From Biology to Therapy: Innovative Approaches to Mental Health Based on Neuroscience
#Neuroscience #EmotionalHealth #PolyvagalTheory #BrainBodyConnection #Interoception #PredictiveCoding #EmotionRegulation #MentalHealth #SelfRegulation #NeurovisceralIntegration #Psychology #BiologyOfEmotion #Resilience #MindBody #InnovativeTherapies
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The Morality Compass: Guiding Choices in Our Emotional Landscape
#EmotionRegulation #MentalHealth #Mindfulness #CognitiveBehavioralTherapy #EmotionalWellbeing #PsychoPharmaceuticals #SocialCognitiveExcellence #EmotionalIntelligence #MindfulLiving #MentalWellness #Therapy #Feelings #Morality #SelfDiscovery #EmbraceTheJourney
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The Morality Compass: Guiding Choices in Our Emotional Landscape
#EmotionRegulation #MentalHealth #Mindfulness #CognitiveBehavioralTherapy #EmotionalWellbeing #PsychoPharmaceuticals #SocialCognitiveExcellence #EmotionalIntelligence #MindfulLiving #MentalWellness #Therapy #Feelings #Morality #SelfDiscovery #EmbraceTheJourney
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The Morality Compass: Guiding Choices in Our Emotional Landscape
#EmotionRegulation #MentalHealth #Mindfulness #CognitiveBehavioralTherapy #EmotionalWellbeing #PsychoPharmaceuticals #SocialCognitiveExcellence #EmotionalIntelligence #MindfulLiving #MentalWellness #Therapy #Feelings #Morality #SelfDiscovery #EmbraceTheJourney
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The Morality Compass: Guiding Choices in Our Emotional Landscape
#EmotionRegulation #MentalHealth #Mindfulness #CognitiveBehavioralTherapy #EmotionalWellbeing #PsychoPharmaceuticals #SocialCognitiveExcellence #EmotionalIntelligence #MindfulLiving #MentalWellness #Therapy #Feelings #Morality #SelfDiscovery #EmbraceTheJourney
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My latest #video is about regulating #emotions and #mood
It is part of my series Introduction to #psychology
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My latest #video is about regulating #emotions and #mood
It is part of my series Introduction to #psychology
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Ketamine study unearths surprising insights into PTSD, emotion regulation, and dissociation https://www.psypost.org/ketamine-study-unearths-surprising-insights-into-ptsd-emotion-regulation-and-dissociation/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon #KetamineStudy #PTSD #EmotionRegulation #Dissociation #MentalHealth
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Ketamine study unearths surprising insights into PTSD, emotion regulation, and dissociation https://www.psypost.org/ketamine-study-unearths-surprising-insights-into-ptsd-emotion-regulation-and-dissociation/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon #KetamineStudy #PTSD #EmotionRegulation #Dissociation #MentalHealth
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Ketamine study unearths surprising insights into PTSD, emotion regulation, and dissociation https://www.psypost.org/ketamine-study-unearths-surprising-insights-into-ptsd-emotion-regulation-and-dissociation/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon #KetamineStudy #PTSD #EmotionRegulation #Dissociation #MentalHealth
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New blog post! I wrote about making art as emotion regulation. I connect it to expressive suppression and cognitive reappraisal, from James Gross's work.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/how-do-you-know/202405/art-as-emotion-regulation
@psychology.grup.pe
#Psychology #Research #Emotion #EmotionRegulation #Art #Improv #CognitiveReappraisal #Suppression
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New blog post! I wrote about making art as emotion regulation. I connect it to expressive suppression and cognitive reappraisal, from James Gross's work.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/how-do-you-know/202405/art-as-emotion-regulation
@psychology.grup.pe
#Psychology #Research #Emotion #EmotionRegulation #Art #Improv #CognitiveReappraisal #Suppression
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New blog post! I wrote about making art as emotion regulation. I connect it to expressive suppression and cognitive reappraisal, from James Gross's work.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/how-do-you-know/202405/art-as-emotion-regulation
@psychology.grup.pe
#Psychology #Research #Emotion #EmotionRegulation #Art #Improv #CognitiveReappraisal #Suppression
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New blog post! I wrote about making art as emotion regulation. I connect it to expressive suppression and cognitive reappraisal, from James Gross's work.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/how-do-you-know/202405/art-as-emotion-regulation
@psychology.grup.pe
#Psychology #Research #Emotion #EmotionRegulation #Art #Improv #CognitiveReappraisal #Suppression
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New blog post! I wrote about making art as emotion regulation. I connect it to expressive suppression and cognitive reappraisal, from James Gross's work.
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/how-do-you-know/202405/art-as-emotion-regulation
@psychology.grup.pe
#Psychology #Research #Emotion #EmotionRegulation #Art #Improv #CognitiveReappraisal #Suppression
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#TheMetalDogArticleList
#BLABBERMOUTH
GUNS N' ROSES Bassist DUFF MCKAGAN Talks Mental Health, Love, Sobriety And Martial Arts
For Mental Health Awareness Month, musician, author, composer (GUNS N' ROSES, VELVET REVOLVER) and mental health advocate Duff McKagan joins Dr. Marc Brackett on a new episode of "Dealing With Feelings". The pair discuss Duff's....#DuffMcKagan #MentalHealthAwarenessMonth #Sobriety #MartialArts #EmotionRegulation #GunsNRoses #VelvetRevolver
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#TheMetalDogArticleList
#BLABBERMOUTH
GUNS N' ROSES Bassist DUFF MCKAGAN Talks Mental Health, Love, Sobriety And Martial Arts
For Mental Health Awareness Month, musician, author, composer (GUNS N' ROSES, VELVET REVOLVER) and mental health advocate Duff McKagan joins Dr. Marc Brackett on a new episode of "Dealing With Feelings". The pair discuss Duff's....#DuffMcKagan #MentalHealthAwarenessMonth #Sobriety #MartialArts #EmotionRegulation #GunsNRoses #VelvetRevolver
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#TheMetalDogArticleList
#BLABBERMOUTH
GUNS N' ROSES Bassist DUFF MCKAGAN Talks Mental Health, Love, Sobriety And Martial Arts
For Mental Health Awareness Month, musician, author, composer (GUNS N' ROSES, VELVET REVOLVER) and mental health advocate Duff McKagan joins Dr. Marc Brackett on a new episode of "Dealing With Feelings". The pair discuss Duff's....#DuffMcKagan #MentalHealthAwarenessMonth #Sobriety #MartialArts #EmotionRegulation #GunsNRoses #VelvetRevolver
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#TheMetalDogArticleList
#BLABBERMOUTH
GUNS N' ROSES Bassist DUFF MCKAGAN Talks Mental Health, Love, Sobriety And Martial Arts
For Mental Health Awareness Month, musician, author, composer (GUNS N' ROSES, VELVET REVOLVER) and mental health advocate Duff McKagan joins Dr. Marc Brackett on a new episode of "Dealing With Feelings". The pair discuss Duff's....#DuffMcKagan #MentalHealthAwarenessMonth #Sobriety #MartialArts #EmotionRegulation #GunsNRoses #VelvetRevolver
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#TheMetalDogArticleList
#BLABBERMOUTH
GUNS N' ROSES Bassist DUFF MCKAGAN Talks Mental Health, Love, Sobriety And Martial Arts
For Mental Health Awareness Month, musician, author, composer (GUNS N' ROSES, VELVET REVOLVER) and mental health advocate Duff McKagan joins Dr. Marc Brackett on a new episode of "Dealing With Feelings". The pair discuss Duff's....#DuffMcKagan #MentalHealthAwarenessMonth #Sobriety #MartialArts #EmotionRegulation #GunsNRoses #VelvetRevolver