Putting feelings into words: Is positive affect labeling in self-generated approach influenced by the labeling target?

It has been reported that verbalization of emotions (or affect labeling) leads to unintentional emotion regulation. However, the labeling approach (chosen or self-generated) or target (one’s own feelings or the stimulus itself) are not uniform. In previous studies using the self-generated type, the labeling target was only one’s own feelings. In response, in Experiment 1, participants performed affect labeling on the stimulus itself (the stimuli used in this study being positive and neutral images) and subsequently rated their subjective feelings. In Experiment 2, the influence of the labeling target in the self-generated type was examined. Participants performed affect labeling either on the stimulus itself or their own emotions, and subjective feelings as well as pupil diameter were measured. The results suggest that self-generated affect labeling of one’s own feelings or the stimulus itself increases subjective feelings compared to simply viewing the image. In the neutral image condition, pupil diameter dilation was suppressed when the stimulus itself was labeled compared to one’s own feelings. This implies that labeling the stimulus itself to the target may be effective in suppressing immediate emotional responses.