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Abstract
Emotion regulation (ER) is an essential aspect of daily life. Critically, an individual’s ability to implement different ER strategies requires varying levels of cognitive control known as executive functions (EFs). Specifically, EFs such as interference resolution and rerouting cognitive resources should influence the ER strategies individuals choose to implement. However, empirical evidence linking individual differences in these EFs to ER choice is lacking. This study aimed to investigate whether individual differences in interference resolution and rerouting ability are associated with differences in ER strategy choice. One hundred twenty-seven participants completed a dual-task version of the recency-probes task followed by an ER choice task. The dual-task version of the recency-probes task assesses one’s ability to allocate cognitive resources in low and high load interference conditions. Whereas the ER choice task gives participants a choice to implement one of two common ER strategies, distraction and reappraisal, in response to pictures ranging from low to high negative intensity. Analyses were conducted to determine if performance on conditions of the dual-task recency-probes task was associated with reappraisal choice behavior in response to low, moderate, and high negative intensity photos. Results revealed that interference resolution during the dual-task condition was associated with reappraisal choice proportion in response to moderate and high intensity negative pictures. These findings provide empirical evidence linking executive function ability to reappraisal use.