Study, 2020
Does how women control disgust change during the menstrual cycle?
In the follicular phase, suppressing disgust worked better than rethinking it. In the luteal phase, both strategies produced similar results.
What they did
Seventy-three naturally cycling women were assigned to either suppress or reappraise disgust while watching a video meant to trigger disgust. Women were tested during either the follicular or luteal phase. Researchers measured self-reported disgust, physical responses during the video, and avoidance behavior afterward.
What they found
In the follicular phase, women who suppressed disgust reported feeling less disgust than those who reappraised it. In the luteal phase, suppression and reappraisal produced similar levels of reported disgust. Physical responses and avoidance behavior did not differ between the two strategies in either phase.
What it means for you
Suppressing disgust might be more effective than rethinking it during the follicular phase, but this advantage disappears during the luteal phase. The main limitation is that researchers did not measure hormone levels to confirm cycle phase, and the sample was relatively small.
73
women
2
emotion regulation strategies tested
About the study
- Original title
- Disgust regulation between menstrual cycle phases: Differential effects of emotional suppression and reappraisal
- Authors
- Olatunji BO, Cox RC, Li I
- Journal
- Journal of behavior therapy and experimental psychiatry
- Year
- 2020
- Study design
- Study
- Participants
- 73
- What was tested
- Suppression vs. reappraisal of disgust while watching a video
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1016/j.jbtep.2019.101543
Topics
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