The Benefits of Drawing to Regulate Sadness and Anger

Previous research has demonstrated that using drawing to distract is an effective means of regulating sadness, more effective than using drawing to express, and more effective than other distracting activities. However, less is known about how drawing may be used to regulate anger. This study compared the benefits of using drawing to regulate sadness and anger. Participants were 83 undergraduates who experienced a sadness or anger mood induction. After the mood induction, we randomly assigned participants to draw to distract or draw to express. Mood improvement and arousal were measured before and after the mood induction and after drawing. Finally, participants completed a flow and enjoyment questionnaire. Those in the draw to distract condition experienced greater mood improvement after drawing than those in the draw to express condition, regardless of emotion induced (sadness or anger). We found that drawing decreased arousal with no differences between emotions induced or between emotion regulation strategies. The draw to distract condition experienced greater flow (specifically a greater balance between challenge-skill and autotelic experience) and more enjoyment than those in the express condition. This study replicates previous findings that drawing to distract regulates sadness and extends these findings to the regulation of anger.