Rethinking the link between cognitive control and emotion regulation: a meta-analytic review
Emotion regulation is essential for adaptive behavior and mental health. Dominant theoretical frameworks, together with influential neuroscientific accounts, suggest that emotion regulation is closely linked to cognitive control processes; however, behavioral evidence supporting this link remains in...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article (Journal) |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
September 2026
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| In: |
Neuroscience & biobehavioral reviews
Year: 2026, Volume: 188, Pages: 1-14 |
| ISSN: | 1873-7528 |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2026.106708 |
| Online Access: | Verlag, kostenfrei, Volltext: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2026.106708 Verlag, kostenfrei, Volltext: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S014976342600165X 
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| Author Notes: | Katrin Schulze, Ilka Mueller, Daniel V. Holt, Sam Putz, Sven Barnow, Luise Pruessner |
| Summary: | Emotion regulation is essential for adaptive behavior and mental health. Dominant theoretical frameworks, together with influential neuroscientific accounts, suggest that emotion regulation is closely linked to cognitive control processes; however, behavioral evidence supporting this link remains inconsistent. To quantify these associations, a comprehensive meta-analysis was conducted to examine the relationship between individual differences in cognitive control (updating, inhibition, shifting) and four emotion regulation strategies: reappraisal (k=70 studies, N=10,524), suppression (k=45, N=5,104), rumination (k=109, N=10,637), and worry (k=36, N=3,385). Individuals with stronger cognitive control abilities showed more frequent and more effective use of reappraisal and engaged less in rumination and worry, whereas suppression showed no consistent relation. Component-level analyses suggested associations with inhibition and updating, but not shifting, with stronger effects for regulation ability than for strategy use frequency. While all notable effects were conceptually consistent, their magnitudes were small (all |r| < .15), with estimates showing considerable heterogeneity and uncertainty. Overall, these findings suggest that the behavioral link between cognitive control and emotion regulation is weaker and more specific than commonly assumed, highlighting the need for more ecologically valid assessments of both cognitive control and emotion regulation. |
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| Item Description: | Online verfügbar: 30. April 2026, Artikelversion: 4. Juni 2026 Gesehen am 20.08.2026 |
| Physical Description: | Online Resource |
| ISSN: | 1873-7528 |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2026.106708 |