Emotion response coherence: A dual-process perspective

•This study tested a dual-process view on emotional response coherence.•Coherence may be conditional upon the type of emotion response under consideration.•Automatic responses (anger accessibility and physiology) cohered.•Reflective responses (experience and instrumental behavior) cohered.•Across the automatic and reflective systems no coherence appeared.

Emotions are widely thought to involve coordinated responses across multiple responses (e.g., experiential, behavioral, and physiological). However, empirical support for this general “response coherence” postulate is inconsistent. The present research takes a dual-process perspective, suggesting that response coherence might be conditional upon response system (i.e., automatic versus reflective). In particular, we tested the hypothesis that response coherence should be maximal within each system and minimal across the two systems. To test this prediction, 36 participants underwent an anger provocation while two relatively automatic (anger accessibility and physiology) and two relatively reflective (anger experience and instrumental behavior) responses were measured. As predicted, coherence was found within the automatic and reflective systems, but not across them. Implications for emotion response coherence, dual-process frameworks, and the functions of emotions are discussed.