Research indicates that a subtle shift in language—silently referring to oneself using one’s own name and non–first-person-singular pronouns (i.e., distanced self-talk)—promotes emotion regulation. Yet it remains unclear whether the efficacy of distanced self-talk depends on the intensity of the negative experience reflected on and whether the benefits extend to emotionally vulnerable individuals. Two high-powered experiments addressed these issues. Distanced as opposed to immersed self-talk reduced emotional reactivity when people reflected on negative experiences that varied in their emotional intensity. These findings held when participants focused on future and past autobiographical events and when they scored high on individual difference measures of emotional vulnerability. The results also generalized across various types of negative events. These findings illuminate the functionality of language for allowing people to regulate their emotions when reflecting on negative experiences across the spectrum of emotional intensity and highlight the need for future research to examine the clinical implications of this technique.

中文翻译：

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有距离的自言自语是否有助于在一系列情绪激烈的经历中进行情绪调节？

研究表明，语言的微妙转变——用自己的名字和非第一人称的单数代词（即距离较远的自言自语）默默地指代自己——促进情绪调节。然而，目前尚不清楚保持距离的自我对话的效果是否取决于所反映的负面体验的强度，以及这种益处是否会扩展到情绪脆弱的个体。两个高功率实验解决了这些问题。当人们反思情绪强度不同的负面经历时，与沉浸式自我对话相比，疏远与沉浸式自我对话会降低情绪反应。当参与者专注于未来和过去的自传性事件以及当他们在情绪脆弱性的个体差异测量上得分高时，这些发现就成立了。结果还适用于各种类型的负面事件。