Working memory capacity and emotion regulation strategies differentially predict proactive and reactive cognitive control

IntroductionExtensive evidence suggests that both working memory (WM) and emotion regulation shape cognitive control, yet their distinct contributions to proactive and reactive control remain unclear.MethodsGuided by the dual mechanisms of control (DMC) framework, sixty-six healthy participants completed a change detection task to assess working memory capacity (WMC), a modified stop-signal task (SST) to index proactive and reactive control, and the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ) to evaluate habitual regulation strategies.ResultsCorrelation and regression analyses revealed differential predictive patterns. The proactive control (PC effect), quantified as the reaction time difference between Uncertain-Go and Certain-Go trials in the SST task, was significantly related to WMC, with a marginal contribution from expressive suppression. Reactive control, as indexed by stop-signal reaction time (SSRT), was significantly associated with cognitive reappraisal strategy. Expressive suppression strategy emerged as a significant predictor of SSRT only within the regression model, indicating a potential suppressor effect. Furthermore, a positive correlation between the PC effect and SSRT indicated partial interdependence between proactive and reactive control.DiscussionThese results demonstrate that working memory and emotion regulation strategies exert distinct, yet complementary, influences on cognitive control, highlighting a dynamic interplay between cognitive and affective systems in goal-directed behavior.