Research suggests that efforts to actively suppress emotions result in
a. increased autonomic arousal
b. more efficient time management
c. inevitable outbursts of physical aggression
d. deficiencies in one’s ability to deal with others
The Correct Answer and Explanation is:
The correct answer is a. increased autonomic arousal.
Explanation
Research into emotion regulation has revealed that actively suppressing emotions can lead to various physiological and psychological consequences, one of which is increased autonomic arousal. The autonomic nervous system (ANS) controls bodily functions that are not consciously directed, such as heart rate, blood pressure, and the fight-or-flight response. When individuals attempt to suppress their emotions, particularly negative ones like anger or sadness, they often experience heightened levels of physiological stress.
This stress response occurs because emotional suppression requires considerable cognitive effort and can create internal conflict. The individual is not only trying to manage their emotional experience but also facing the physiological consequences of that emotion, which leads to an increase in arousal. For instance, when someone feels anger but decides not to express it, their body may still react with elevated heart rate and blood pressure, as the underlying emotion persists.
Moreover, studies have shown that this increased autonomic arousal can result in negative outcomes for mental health. It has been linked to anxiety, depression, and other stress-related disorders. Chronic suppression can impair emotional awareness, leading to a disconnect from one’s feelings and making it challenging to engage in healthy emotional processing. This, in turn, can affect interpersonal relationships, as the inability to express emotions may hinder effective communication and emotional bonding with others.
On the contrary, attempts to suppress emotions do not correlate with more efficient time management (option b), are not directly related to physical aggression (option c), and do not inherently lead to deficiencies in social interactions (option d). While social functioning may be impaired due to emotional suppression, it is primarily the increase in autonomic arousal that serves as the direct physiological consequence of such suppression. Thus, actively suppressing emotions is more likely to lead to increased stress and physiological arousal rather than effective emotional or interpersonal functioning.