Erschienen:
[Erscheinungsort nicht ermittelbar]: [Verlag nicht ermittelbar], 2017
Sprache:
Nicht zu entscheiden
Identifikator:
Entstehung:
Hochschulschrift:
Dissertation, 2017
Anmerkungen:
Beschreibung:
Envy is a toxic emotion detrimental to one's health and wellbeing (Smith, Combs, & Thielke, 2008), yet few studies have suggested and none have evaluated possible envy-reducing strategies. Self-affirmation has been shown to reduce the impact of self-integrity threats and defensive processing (Cohen & Sherman, 2014), suggesting likely benefit when applied to envy. The present study (N = 209) examined whether completing a brief self-affirmation value essay (Cohen, Aronson, & Steele, 2000) attenuated student participants' self-reported envy feelings and potentially envy-motivated aggressive behaviour (non-cooperation) toward an ostensibly smarter and financially advantaged rival student in the laboratory, relative to a no-affirmation control condition. A one-month follow-up study (N = 169) investigated whether the self-affirmation intervention (vs. control) promoted durable effects in daily life, such as when recalling an intense past-month instance of envy. Potential mediators (self-construal, mood) were examined to illuminate mechanisms underlying self-affirmation effects. Prospective moderators (dispositional envy, self-compassion, vulnerable and grandiose narcissism, self-esteem, entitlement, and sex) were assessed to determine whether individuals most psychologically vulnerable to envy threat derived greater benefit from the intervention. Results demonstrated that self-affirmation significantly curbed students' self-reported envy feelings toward an advantaged rival relative to controls, particularly for students with elevated dispositional envy or low dispositional self-compassion. Affirmed participants also reported greater use of two recommended coping strategies in daily life and having found these to be more helpful, relative to controls. However, self-affirmation did not promote higher rates of cooperation with a rival student or insulate students against experiences of envy at one-month follow-up. Overall, the findings support the utility of a brief self-affirmation intervention in reducing situational feelings of envy. Research considerations involving assessment and reduction of potentially envy-driven behaviours, promoting durable self-affirmation effects, and investigate intermediary variables to explain treatment effects are discussed. Future directions for self-affirmation research are proposed for social and clinical psychology domains. ; October 2017