'Distant' Pictures Benefit Emotion Regulation in Emotion Disclosure on WeChat Moments

摘要

The present study was conducted to answer a single question: What is the role of picture-posting activities on social networking sites in emotion regulation? Across three studies, we find evidence suggesting that posting “psychologically distant” pictures is related to online negative emotional disclosure and could be a strategy for reducing negative affect by promoting cognitive reappraisal. We discuss important theoretical and practical implications of our study.