Is there evidence that emotional reasoning processing underlies emotional disorders in adults? A systematic review

The prevalence of emotional disorders has increased in recent times. Emotional Reasoning (ER), which is a transdiagnostic process, occurs when feelings, rather than objective evidence, are used as a source of information to make judgements about the valence of a situation. Differences in ER may explain the existence and maintenance of emotional disorders. The objective is to systematically review the role of ER in the occurrence and severity of emotional disorders. Following PRISMA guidelines, we searched through: PubMed, Psyclnfo, Scopus and The Cochrane Library. Search terms were Emotional Reasoning, ex-consequentia reasoning, Affect-as-information; and emotional disorders, anxiety, depression, depressive. Nine articles were included. An association was demonstrated between ER and a greater degree of anxious symptomatological severity. In depressive symptomatology, no significant differences were found. One study reported the effect of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy on ER bias, finding no changes after the intervention. Finally, another study evaluated the efficacy of computerised experiential training in reducing ER bias, showing significant differences. There are few studies on ER and its evolution in research has not been uniform over time. Encouragingly, though, research to date suggests that ER is a transdiagnostic process involved in several anxiety disorders. More investigation is needed to dilucidate whether ER also underlies the onset and maintenance of depressive disorders.

Automated summary

The prevalence of emotional disorders has increased, and emotional reasoning plays an important role. Research suggests an association between emotional reasoning and severity of anxious symptoms, but no significant differences in depressive symptoms. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy showed no impact on emotional reasoning bias, while computerized experiential training was effective in reducing emotional reasoning bias.