Browsing by Author "Shahane, Anoushka D."

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    Examining risk of cardiovascular disease with lexical mechanisms of cognitive reappraisal
    (2022-03-04) Shahane, Anoushka D.; Denny, Bryan T
    The ability to regulate emotion effectively is vital for health and well-being. One adaptive emotion regulation strategy called cognitive reappraisal, which involves changing one’s appraisal of an aversive situation, has been shown to be associated with cardiovascular disease-related risk. However, the mechanisms underlying why this relationship exists remains unknown. I examined linguistic mechanisms of cognitive reappraisal and how they relate to cardiovascular disease-related inflammation and health in the laboratory and in the real world across three studies (Aim A). I developed novel machine learning algorithms to index lexical markers of sub-tactics of cognitive reappraisal and examined their relationship to emotion regulation efficacy—a measure of well-being associated with decreased risk of cardiovascular disease—across two studies (Aim B). The aims shed light into mechanisms of cognitive reappraisal and the impact they have on cardiovascular disease-related risk.
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    Lexical markers of cognitive reappraisal, bereavement, and proinflammatory cytokine production
    (American Psychological Association, 2023) Shahane, Anoushka D.; Brown, Ryan L.; Denny, Bryan T.; Fagundes, Christopher P.
    Objective: The loss of a spouse is considered one of the most significant life change-related stressors. Bereaved spouses have significantly increased risk of chronic inflammation, and ultimately greater morbidity and mortality. High levels of proinflammatory cytokines are related to negative health outcomes. In bereavement, the ability to successfully regulate emotion is a vital skill for healthy coping and may represent a key psychological mechanism accounting for varying degrees of resilience. Psychological distancing is a frequently adaptive emotion regulation strategy in which an individual appraises a negative situation by taking a step back and distancing oneself, and coolly evaluates what is happening. The objective of the present work was to investigate whether psychological distancing, implemented implicitly via natural language use (i.e., linguistic distancing [LD]), is related to inflammation and bereavement-related health indicators. Method: Participants (N = 144) underwent a blood draw for the inflammation assay, completed questionnaire measures evaluating grief symptoms and health, and completed an oral task describing their relationship with their deceased spouse, which was used for the lexical analyses. Results: We found that LD was significantly associated with a panel of a priori proinflammatory stimulated cytokines (TNF-α, IL-6, IFN-γ, IL-17A, and IL-2), bereavement-related health indices, and the relationship between grief symptoms and inflammation varied depending on the participants’ implementation of LD. Conclusions: LD may have a buffering effect for this vulnerable population. This work elucidates novel dependencies among language, emotion, and health. This work identifies resilience factors and probes the translational value of LD.
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    Predicting emotional health indicators from linguistic evidence of psychological distancing
    (Wiley, 2019) Shahane, Anoushka D.; Denny, Bryan T.
    Psychological distancing, a form of cognitive reappraisal, involves construal of emotionally valenced stimuli in an objective manner, or with perceived spatial and temporal distance. Prior work suggests that in appropriate contexts, reappraisal broadly, and distancing specifically, is related to adaptive mental and physical health outcomes. Additionally, recent research suggests that shifting language to be more distant (i.e., linguistic distancing [LD]) can have adaptive emotion regulatory effects. The present study addressed whether LD is also associated with adaptive health indicators. Participants transcribed their thoughts while viewing negative or neutral stimuli in one of three ways: (a) by implementing objective language, (b) by implementing spatially and/or temporally far away language, or (c) by responding naturally. Across psychological distancing groups, LD was associated with lower negative affectivity (lower perceived stress and depression symptoms), better general well‐being (better emotional well‐being and energy and vitality), and better emotion regulation (ER; greater reappraisal frequency and fewer difficulties in implementing ER). Participants who used more LD in the objective group had lower negative affectivity, better general well‐being, and better ER, and those in the far group had better ER. The results reveal linguistic mechanisms underlying ER and its relationship to health indicators, suggesting future examination of LD interventions.