Situation selection consists in choosing an upcoming emotional situation in order to regulate emotions. It was found to be a strategy with powerful effects on emotional negative experience and physiological arousal. Situation selection is supposed to be efficient through the empowering effect of choice itself. In the present study, we wanted to replicate results on Situation selection efficiency and explore its limits by examining the implications of a non-meaningful choice procedure preceding the emotional trigger, expecting that even this non-meaningful choice would be regulatory. Sixty-one participants (40 females, mean age 21.4 years) were presented with emotional pictures, either with no particular instruction (no regulation) or with the task to make a choice between two options. This task was either a classical Situation selection task, with the label corresponding to the image that could be later seen (Word Situation selection), or non-meaningful options (Non-word Situation selection). The effect of Situation selection for negative experience was replicated. Effects on physiological arousal showed reduced heart rate and respiratory rate at the end of the viewing period, particularly for positive viewing. In negative viewing, Non-word Situation selection did not reduce negative experience, but did reinforce the calming effect of Situation selection on heart and respiratory rate. These results confirm Situation selection as a valid emotion regulation strategy, particularly regarding physiological arousal. Significant understanding of the options seems to constitute a strategic part of the regulation on the full spectrum of emotion responses but is not mandatory if only some specific physiological responses are targeted.

情境选择包括选择即将到来的情绪情境以调节情绪。它被发现是一种对情绪消极体验和生理唤醒具有强大影响的策略。通过选择本身的授权效应，情境选择应该是有效的。在本研究中，我们想复制情境选择的结果通过检查情绪触发之前的无意义选择程序的含义来探索其局限性，并期望即使是这种无意义的选择也会受到监管。61 名参与者（40 名女性，平均年龄 21.4 岁）被展示了情感图片，要么没有特别的指导（没有规定），要么有在两个选项之间做出选择的任务。这个任务要么是经典的情境选择任务，标签对应于稍后可以看到的图像（词情境选择），要么是无意义的选项（非词情境选择）。情境选择的效果因为负面经验被复制。对生理唤醒的影响显示在观看期结束时心率和呼吸频率降低，特别是对于积极观看。在消极观看中，非词情景选择并没有减少消极体验，但确实加强了情景选择对心率和呼吸频率的镇静作用。这些结果证实情境选择是一种有效的情绪调节策略，特别是在生理唤醒方面。对选项的重要理解似乎构成了对全方位情绪反应的监管的战略部分，但如果仅针对某些特定的生理反应，则不是强制性的。