Debriefing Form
Information about the Exploration of Emotions, Personality, and Behavior study
Objective:
This study examined specific personality traits and behaviors and their relationships with other factors such as
how people regulate their emotions and how they express these emotions. Specifically, we were interested in a
phenomenon known as alexithymia, which can be thought of consistent difficulties in identifying and
expressing emotions. Research suggests that alexithymia is correlated with a specific personality pattern that is
characterized by aggressive behavior, impulsivity, and a propensity to experience negative emotions. The
purpose of this study was to determine what factors may account for this relationship. Additionally, we are
interested in the specific techniques people use to regulate their emotions such as reappraisal (i.e., reframing a
negative situation to make it more positive) and emotional suppression (i.e., suppressing emotionally-painful
feelings).
Please note that some of the questions we asked could have caused distress in some participants. Some sample
items suggest a problem of poor anger management (e.g., “My anger gets out of control easily), a high risk of
hurting oneself (e.g., “More than once, I have hurt myself badly on purpose, like cutting my wrists or smashing
my fist against a wall”), or a significant substance abuse problem (e.g., “I have gotten into trouble because of
my drinking or drug problem”). If you endorsed any of these items or similar items, you may benefit from
counseling and should consider contacting the University of Dayton Counseling Center at (937) 229-3141.
Additionally, if you endorsed certain questions relating to suicide such as “Recently, I have felt like
killing myself” and “I have said I would kill myself, or tried to, more than once in my life,” we very
strongly encourage you to contact the University of Dayton Counseling Center for advice and guidance in
addressing these feelings. The Counseling Center is available free of charge to undergraduate students. If you
find yourself experiencing distress after the Counseling Center is closed for the day, you may call the number
and will be connected to an answering service, and a counselor will return your call.
Hypothesis:
In the current study, we hypothesized that difficulties with emotion regulation will partially explain the link
between alexithymia and the personality pattern described above. We also hypothesized that individuals with
alexithymic tendencies will have more difficulty reframing a negative situation to make it more positive than
other participants. Further, we hypothesized that these individuals will be more likely suppress their painful
emotions than other participants.
Your Contribution:
Because of your participation in this study, we will better able to understand alexithymia and how it relates to
certain personality patterns. We will also be better able to determine what methods people use to control their
negative emotions. Because of your help, we hope that answering these questions will assist other researchers
as they attempt to find answers to their questions related to this topic, and we hope that these answers will assist
some psychologists as they attempt to help their clients who experience such problems as the ones addressed in
this study.
Benefits:
Once we are able to answer the questions posed for this study, we will be able to add to the current field of
psychological research. By bettering our understanding of alexithymia and of people’s emotional regulation
processes in general, clinicians can use this knowledge to help these individuals cope with these difficulties.
Past researchers have developed certain methods and techniques used in clinical settings to treat individuals
with these problems. These treatment methods, such as weekly individual therapy, emotion regulation skills
training, phone coaching, and self-exploration sessions have been shown to be effective in treating people’s
emotional regulation difficulties (Linehan, 1993). Our hope is that the results of the current study will help
researchers to better understand these treatment processes and why they are effective.
Assurance of Privacy:
We are studying specific personality characteristics, behaviors, and emotional regulation and are not evaluating
you personally in any way. Your responses will be kept completely confidential and your responses will only
be identified by a participant number in the data set with other participant numbers. Your name will not be
revealed in any document resulting from this study. As this study is being conducted anonymously, there is
no way for the researchers to contact you if any of your responses on the questionnaires indicate any
potential psychological problems for which you could benefit from counseling; however, the researchers
highly encourage you to follow up with the Counseling Center upon feeling any distress associated with
your participation in this study.
Please note:
 We ask you to kindly refrain from discussing this study with others in order to help us avoid biasing
future participants.
 If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact any of the individuals listed on this page.
 For further information about this area of research, you may consult the references cited on this page.
Contact Information:
Students may contact Leigh Ridings, St. Joseph Hall 313, (937) 229-2175, leridi2@uky.edu or Dr. Catherine
Zois, St. Joseph Hall 308, (937) 229-2164, Catherine.Zois@notes.udayton.edu if you have questions or
problems after the study. If you have questions about your rights as a research participant you may also contact
the chair of the Research Review and Ethics Committee, Dr. Greg Elvers, in SJ 312, (937) 229-2171,
Greg.Elvers@notes.udayton.edu.
If you are experiencing any kind of discomfort as a result of your participation in this study, and would like to
make an appointment at the University of Dayton Counseling Center, please call (937) 229-3141. The
Counseling Center is available free of charge to undergraduate students. If you find yourself experiencing
distress after the Counseling Center is closed for the day, you may call the number and will be connected to an
answering service, and a counselor will return your call.
Thank you for your participation. I will update your research credit on the online system.
References:
Linehan, M. M. (1993). Cognitive-behavioral treatment of borderline personality disorder, New York: Guilford
Press.
Luminet, O., Rim, B., Bagby, R. M., & Taylor, G. J. (2004). A multimodal investigation of emotional
responding in alexithymia. Cognition and Emotion, 18, 741-766.
Modestin, J., Furrer, R., & Malti, T. (2005). Different Traumatic Experiences are Associated with Different
Pathologies. Psychiatric Quarterly, 76, 19-32.
Webb, D., & McMurran, M. (2008). Emotional intelligence, alexithymia and borderline personality disorder
traits in young adults. Personality and Mental Health, 2, 265-273.