The flow and flux of feeling: relations between attention to emotion and emotion reactivity dynamics

Emotional awareness, which consists of individual differences in attention to emotion and emotional clarity, is likely to matter with respect to dynamic components of emotional reactivity. Attending to emotions, in particular, could give rise to emotional reactions that are more reliable, quicker, and/or more intense at peak amplitude. Such components of emotional reactivity were investigated in two studies (total N = 193) in which participants were asked to indicate momentary feeling changes in response to appetitive and aversive images. Participants who scored higher in attention to emotion exhibited a greater frequency of codable reactions and their reactions were more intense at peak. Such relationships were general in nature rather than valence-specific and they were unique to attention to emotion relative to emotional clarity. The results contribute to several literatures and are discussed with respect to theories emphasising the potential benefits of emotion-related awareness and flexibility.