What is Cognitive reappraisal?
Cognitive reappraisal is the deliberate reinterpretation of an emotional situation to change its emotional impact. It intervenes early in the emotion generation process by changing the meaning of the event rather than suppressing the emotional response.
How it works
Gross’s process model of emotion regulation identifies reappraisal as an antecedent-focused strategy (changing the interpretation before the emotion fully forms) versus suppression (an response-focused strategy that inhibits the expression after the emotion is felt). Research consistently shows that reappraisal is more effective than suppression: it reduces the subjective experience of negative emotion, has no negative cognitive costs, and does not impair social functioning.
Applied example
A person who is passed over for a promotion reappraises: ‘This means I have more time to develop skills and build a stronger case for the next round’ instead of ‘I am a failure.’ The reappraisal changes the emotional experience from devastation to disappointment-with-a-plan.
Why it matters
Cognitive reappraisal is one of the most adaptive emotion regulation strategies because it changes the emotional experience itself rather than just masking it.
