Effortful control of motivation, not withdrawal motivation, relates to greater right frontal asymmetry

Past models of frontal asymmetry have associated greater relative right frontal cortical activity with greater withdrawal motivation and greater relative left frontal cortical activity with greater approach motivation. However, this traditional model of frontal asymmetry leaves little to no room for the control processes that engage and regulate these emotional and motivational systems. A growing body of literature suggests that greater relative right frontal activation may be associated with greater regulatory control (Gable et al. 2018). However, this work confounded regulatory control and motivational direction. The current studies sought to test the competing hypotheses that currently exist in the literature by examining whether greater right frontal activation is more closely associated with regulatory control or withdrawal motivation. In Study 1, participants listened to negative and neutral sounds while suppressing their emotional reactions or listening naturally. Greater relative right frontal activation during the sound clips was associated with participants' reported effort when attempting to suppress their motivational responses to negative stimuli. Greater relative right frontal activation did not relate to experiencing negative affect. In Study 2, participants could win money by looking at a negative or neutral image or escape from looking at them for no reward. Greater relative right frontal activation was associated with looking at the negative pictures longer when there was a possibility of reward, but not when the possibility of reward was absent. Together, these studies suggest that it is the affective control of emotion rather than negative affect driving greater relative right frontal asymmetry. Additionally, these studies suggest that motivational conflicts engage effortful control.