Differentiating reactivity and regulation: Evidence for a role of prefrontal asymmetry in affect regulation

Abstract

Prefrontal asymmetry (PFA) has originally been referred to as "affective style" and is said to be associated with an individual's personality. Therefore, previous research has focused on finding a link between PFA and trait variables associated with affective processing, such as the behavioral activation and inhibition systems (BAS/BIS). However, recent evidence suggests that PFA might be involved in regulatory processes rather than initial affective reactions. Here, we investigated if failure-related action orientation (AOF), as a personality variable reflecting the ability to disengage from negative experiences, is related to PFA. Forty-seven participants completed two trait questionnaires to assess BAS/BIS and AOF, followed by 8 min of resting EEG measurement. Results showed that higher AOF scores predicted a higher relative left-hemispheric PFA when BAS/BIS was controlled for. The findings suggest that a suppression effect might account for the inconsistencies in the literature regarding the association between PFA and BAS/BIS.

Keywords: Action orientation; Affect regulation; EEG; Frontal asymmetry; Personality.