Learning to embrace one's stress: the selective effects of short videos on youth's stress mindsets.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Stress is not inherently negative. As youth will inevitably experience stress when facing the various challenges of adolescence, they can benefit from developing a stress-can-be-enhancing mindset rather than learning to fear their stress responses and avoid taking on challenges. We aimed to verify whether a rapid intervention improved stress mindsets and diminished perceived stress and anxiety sensitivity in adolescents. DESIGN AND METHODS: An online experimental design randomly exposed 233 Canadian youths aged 14-17 (83% female) to four videos of the Stress N' Go intervention (how to embrace stress) or to control condition videos (brain facts). Validated questionnaires assessing stress mindsets, perceived stress, and anxiety sensitivity were administered pre- and post-intervention, followed by open-ended questions. RESULTS: The intervention content successfully instilled a stress-can-be-enhancing mindset compared to the control condition. Although Bayes factor analyses showed no main differences in perceived stress or anxiety sensitivity between conditions, a thematic analysis revealed that the intervention helped participants to live better with their stress. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, these results suggest that our intervention can rapidly modify stress mindsets in youth. Future studies are needed to determine whether modifying stress mindsets is sufficient to alter anxiety sensitivity in certain adolescents and contexts.

When do the effects of single-session interventions persist? Testing the mindset + supportive context hypothesis in a longitudinal randomized trial.

Background: Single-session interventions have the potential to address young people's mental health needs at scale, but their effects are heterogeneous. We tested whether the mindset + supportive context hypothesis could help explain when intervention effects persist or fade over time. The hypothesis posits that interventions are more effective in environments that support the intervention message. We tested this hypothesis using the synergistic mindsets intervention, a preventative treatment for stress-related mental health symptoms that helps students appraise stress as a potential asset in the classroom (e.g., increasing oxygenated blood flow) rather than debilitating. In an introductory college course, we examined whether intervention-consistent messages from instructors sustained changes in appraisals over time, as well as impacts on students' predisposition to try demanding academic tasks that could enhance learning. Methods: We randomly assigned 1675 students in the course to receive the synergistic mindsets intervention (or a control activity) at the beginning of the semester, and subsequently, to receive intervention-supportive messages from their instructor (or neutral messages) four times throughout the term. We collected weekly measures of students' appraisals of stress in the course and their predisposition to take on academic challenges. Trial-registration: OSF.io; DOI: 10.17605/osf.io/fchyn. Results: A conservative Bayesian analysis indicated that receiving both the intervention and supportive messages led to the greatest increases in positive stress appraisals (0.35 SD; 1.00 posterior probability) and challenge-seeking predisposition (2.33 percentage points; 0.94 posterior probability), averaged over the course of the semester. In addition, intervention effects grew larger throughout the semester when complemented by supportive instructor messages, whereas without these messages, intervention effects shrank somewhat over time. Conclusions: This study shows, for the first time, that supportive cues in local contexts can be the difference in whether a single-session intervention's effects fade over time or persist and even amplify.

The effect of Black-White income inequality on perceived interracial psychological outcomes via perceived interracial competition.

This research examined the influence of Black-White income inequality on negative interracial psychological outcomes and the role of perceived interracial competition as a mediational mechanism. The research utilized three different designs across three preregistered experiments to assess the proposed processes. Study 1 (N = 846) used a measurement-of-mediation design and found that participants assigned to the high racial income gap condition reported more perceived interracial competition, discrimination, avoidance, and anxiety relative to those in the low racial income gap condition. Effects were mediated by increased perceptions of interracial competition. Studies 2a (n = 827) and 2b (n = 841) used an experimental-causal-chain design and replicated the effect of the racial income gap condition on increased perceptions of interracial competition (Study 2a) and showed that participants in the high perceived interracial competition condition-the manipulated mechanism-exhibited greater perceived discrimination, anxiety, and mistrust relative to those in the low perceived interracial competition condition (Study 2b). Study 3 (N = 1,583) diversified the sample by recruiting similar numbers of Black (n = 796) and White (n = 787) participants and used a moderation-of-process design by simultaneously manipulating the racial income gap and perceived interracial competition. Competition moderated effects: Inequality effects were stronger for those in the high competition condition. Implications for theory development are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

A synergistic mindsets intervention protects adolescents from stress.

Social-evaluative stressors-experiences in which people feel they could be judged negatively-pose a major threat to adolescent mental health1-3 and can cause young people to disengage from stressful pursuits, resulting in missed opportunities to acquire valuable skills. Here we show that replicable benefits for the stress responses of adolescents can be achieved with a short (around 30-min), scalable 'synergistic mindsets' intervention. This intervention, which is a self-administered online training module, synergistically targets both growth mindsets4 (the idea that intelligence can be developed) and stress-can-be-enhancing mindsets5 (the idea that one's physiological stress response can fuel optimal performance). In six double-blind, randomized, controlled experiments that were conducted with secondary and post-secondary students in the United States, the synergistic mindsets intervention improved stress-related cognitions (study 1, n = 2,717; study 2, n = 755), cardiovascular reactivity (study 3, n = 160; study 4, n = 200), daily cortisol levels (study 5, n = 118 students, n = 1,213 observations), psychological well-being (studies 4 and 5), academic success (study 5) and anxiety symptoms during the 2020 COVID-19 lockdowns (study 6, n = 341). Heterogeneity analyses (studies 3, 5 and 6) and a four-cell experiment (study 4) showed that the benefits of the intervention depended on addressing both mindsets-growth and stress-synergistically. Confidence in these conclusions comes from a conservative, Bayesian machine-learning statistical method for detecting heterogeneous effects6. Thus, our research has identified a treatment for adolescent stress that could, in principle, be scaled nationally at low cost.

Trait attributions and threat appraisals explain why an entity theory of personality predicts greater internalizing symptoms during adolescence.

Adolescents who hold an entity theory of personality - the belief that people cannot change - are more likely to report internalizing symptoms during the socially stressful transition to high school. It has been puzzling, however, why a cognitive belief about the potential for change predicts symptoms of an affective disorder. The present research integrated three models - implicit theories, hopelessness theories of depression, and the biopsychosocial model of challenge and threat - to shed light on this issue. Study 1 replicated the link between an entity theory and internalizing symptoms by synthesizing multiple datasets (N = 6,910). Study 2 examined potential mechanisms underlying this link using 8-month longitudinal data and 10-day diary reports during the stressful first year of high school (N = 533, 3,199 daily reports). The results showed that an entity theory of personality predicted increases in internalizing symptoms through tendencies to make fixed trait causal attributions about the self and maladaptive (i.e., "threat") stress appraisals. The findings support an integrative model whereby situation-general beliefs accumulate negative consequences for psychopathology via situation-specific attributions and appraisals.

Reappraising stress arousal improves affective, neuroendocrine, and academic performance outcomes in community college classrooms.

The field experiment presented here applied a stress regulation technique to optimize affective and neuroendocrine responses and improve academic and psychological outcomes in an evaluative academic context. Community college students (N = 339) were randomly assigned to stress reappraisal or active control conditions immediately before taking their second in-class exam. Whereas stress is typically perceived as having negative effects, stress reappraisal informs individuals about the functional benefits of stress and is hypothesized to reduce threat appraisals, and subsequently, improve downstream outcomes. Multilevel models indicated that compared with controls, reappraising stress led to less math evaluation anxiety, lower threat appraisals, more adaptive neuroendocrine responses (lower cortisol and higher testosterone levels on testing days relative to baseline), and higher scores on Exam 2 and on a subsequent Exam 3. Reappraisal students also persisted in their courses at a higher rate than controls. Targeted mediation models suggested stress appraisals partially mediated effects of reappraisal. Notably, procrastination and performance approach goals (measured between exams) partially mediated lagged effects of reappraisal on subsequent performance. Implications for the stress, emotion regulation, and mindsets literatures are discussed. Moreover, alleviating negative effects of acute stress in community college students, a substantial but understudied population, has potentially important applied implications. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

The effects of COVID-19 on perceived intergroup competition and negative intergroup outcomes.

This research examined the effects of the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic on perceived Black-White intergroup competition and negative intergroup psychological outcomes. Two datasets (collected before [2018] and after the onset of [April, 2020] COVID-19) were combined (N = 2,131) for this research. The data provided support for the hypothesis that perceptions of Black-White intergroup competition, and subsequently perceptions of discrimination, behavioral avoidance, intergroup anxiety, and interracial mistrust would be higher after the onset of COVID-19. Three additional predictors, a perceived interracial competition manipulation, political orientation, and population density at the ZIP-code level were examined to test for main effects and moderation of COVID-19 effects. All three predictors exhibited main effects on focal outcomes, and political orientation moderated COVID-19 onset effects: effects were stronger for conservatives. Lastly, perceived intergroup competition mediated the effect of COVID-19 onset on the four focal outcomes.

The effect of perceived interracial competition on psychological outcomes.

There remains a dearth of research on causal roles of perceived interracial competition on psychological outcomes. Towards this end, this research experimentally manipulated perceptions of group-level competition between Black and White individuals in the U.S. and tested for effects on negative psychological outcomes. In Study 1 (N = 899), participants assigned to the high interracial competition condition (HRC) reported perceiving more discrimination, behavioral avoidance, intergroup anxiety, and interracial mistrust relative to low interracial competition (LRC) participants. Study 2 -a preregistered replication and extension-specifically recruited similar numbers of only Black and White participants (N = 1,823). Consistent with Study 1, Black and White participants in the HRC condition reported more discrimination, avoidance, anxiety, and mistrust. Main effects for race also emerged: Black participants perceived more interracial competition and negative outcomes. Racial income inequality moderated effects; competition effects were stronger in areas with higher levels of inequality. Implications for theory development are discussed.

Fast Foes: the physiological and behavioral consequences of interacting in an immersive negative social context.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Social interactions involving personal disclosures are ubiquitous in social life and have important relational implications. A large body of research has documented positive outcomes from fruitful social interactions with amicable individuals, but less is known about how self-disclosing interactions with inimical interaction partners impacts individuals. DESIGN AND METHODS: Participants engaged in an immersive social interaction task with a confederate (thought to be another participant) trained to behave amicably (Fast Friends) or inimically (Fast Foes). Cardiovascular responses were measured during the interaction and behavioral displays coded. Participants also reported on their subjective experiences of the interaction. RESULTS: Participants assigned to interact in the Fast Foes condition reported more negative affect and threat appraisals, displayed more negative behaviors (i.e., agitation and anxiety), and exhibited physiological threat responses (and lower cardiac output in particular) compared to participants assigned to the Fast Friends condition. CONCLUSIONS: The novel paradigm demonstrates differential stress and affective outcomes between positive and negative self-disclosure situations across multiple channels, providing a more nuanced understanding of the processes associated with disclosing information about the self in social contexts.

Attachment anxiety and the curvilinear effects of expressive suppression on individuals' and partners' outcomes.

Suppressing the expression of negative emotions tends to undermine individuals' and their partners' wellbeing. However, sometimes expressive suppression may be relatively innocuous given that individuals commonly withhold negative emotions in order to maintain close relationships, and this may be especially the case when expressive suppression is enacted by people who exhibit amplified expressions of negative emotions, such as those high in attachment anxiety. The current research examined when and for whom expressive suppression may be more or less costly by testing whether the curvilinear effect of individuals' expressive suppression on individuals' and partners' outcomes is moderated by individuals' attachment anxiety. Our results across 3 dyadic studies revealed a linear effect of expressive suppression when predicting individuals' outcomes: greater expressive suppression had costs for individuals (lower relationship satisfaction, reported responsiveness and discussion success, and greater discussion threat). Furthermore, in 4 of the 5 models, a moderated curvilinear effect of expressive suppression emerged when predicting partners' outcomes. For individuals low in attachment anxiety, low levels of expressive suppression did not incur costs for their partners' relationship satisfaction, perceptions of individuals' responsiveness, discussion success, and discussion threat. Once expressive suppression surpassed moderate levels, however, greater expressive suppression had a detrimental effect on partners' outcomes. In contrast, for individuals high in attachment anxiety, the negative effect of moderate-to-high levels of expressive suppression on partners' outcomes was attenuated. These novel results demonstrate how considering curvilinear methods can uncover when and for whom expressive suppression may be more or less costly in intimate relationships. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Getting Fewer "Likes" Than Others on Social Media Elicits Emotional Distress Among Victimized Adolescents.

Three studies examined the effects of receiving fewer signs of positive feedback than others on social media. In Study 1, adolescents (N = 613, Mage  = 14.3 years) who were randomly assigned to receive few (vs. many) likes during a standardized social media interaction felt more strongly rejected, and reported more negative affect and more negative thoughts about themselves. In Study 2 (N = 145), negative responses to receiving fewer likes were associated with greater depressive symptoms reported day-to-day and at the end of the school year. Study 3 (N = 579) replicated Study 1's main effect of receiving fewer likes and showed that adolescents who already experienced peer victimization at school were the most vulnerable. The findings raise the possibility that technology which makes it easier for adolescents to compare their social status online-even when there is no chance to share explicitly negative comments-could be a risk factor that accelerates the onset of internalizing symptoms among vulnerable youth.

Machine learning uncovers the most robust self-report predictors of relationship quality across 43 longitudinal couples studies.

Given the powerful implications of relationship quality for health and well-being, a central mission of relationship science is explaining why some romantic relationships thrive more than others. This large-scale project used machine learning (i.e., Random Forests) to 1) quantify the extent to which relationship quality is predictable and 2) identify which constructs reliably predict relationship quality. Across 43 dyadic longitudinal datasets from 29 laboratories, the top relationship-specific predictors of relationship quality were perceived-partner commitment, appreciation, sexual satisfaction, perceived-partner satisfaction, and conflict. The top individual-difference predictors were life satisfaction, negative affect, depression, attachment avoidance, and attachment anxiety. Overall, relationship-specific variables predicted up to 45% of variance at baseline, and up to 18% of variance at the end of each study. Individual differences also performed well (21% and 12%, respectively). Actor-reported variables (i.e., own relationship-specific and individual-difference variables) predicted two to four times more variance than partner-reported variables (i.e., the partner's ratings on those variables). Importantly, individual differences and partner reports had no predictive effects beyond actor-reported relationship-specific variables alone. These findings imply that the sum of all individual differences and partner experiences exert their influence on relationship quality via a person's own relationship-specific experiences, and effects due to moderation by individual differences and moderation by partner-reports may be quite small. Finally, relationship-quality change (i.e., increases or decreases in relationship quality over the course of a study) was largely unpredictable from any combination of self-report variables. This collective effort should guide future models of relationships.

The effects of dispositional restrictiveness on physiological markers of challenge and threat during a hypothetical transitional period in romantic relationships.

Restrictiveness, a component of relationship dominance associated with monitoring and regulating partners' behavior, is a risk factor and accelerant of Intimate Partner Violence (IPV). Few studies, however, have examined in vivo physiological responses associated with restrictiveness. Toward this end, 105 romantic couples (N = 210) completed measures of restrictiveness and had their physiological responses recorded in anticipation of and during a dyadic interaction in which they discussed a hypothetical transitional period in which one person (the discloser) revealed to their partner (the responder) that they had just gotten into their dream school or was offered their dream job. Individuals high (vs. low) in restrictiveness exhibited physiological responses indicative of greater psychological challenge (e.g., elevated cardiac output and lower peripheral resistance) in anticipation of and during the conversation. In contrast, their partners exhibited greater physiological indicators of psychological threat in anticipation of (but not during) the conversation, particularly when assigned to the discloser role. Exploratory analyses of communication behaviors corroborated the physiological data. This research integrates the biopsychosocial model of challenge and threat with theories of relationship power and dominance to demonstrate the physiological manifestations of a well-known risk factor for IPV in romantic relationships and interpersonal restrictiveness.

Emotion regulation contagion: Stress reappraisal promotes challenge responses in teammates.

The current research examined the interpersonal dynamics of emotion regulation in a stressful collaborative context. Little is known about how regulating one's own stress responses impacts teammates. In this article, we propose that individual efforts to regulate emotions can impact teammates for the better. We tested hypotheses arising from this claim using a dyadic experiment (N = 266) that assessed in vivo physiological stress responses during collaborative work (a face-to-face product design task) and then individual work (a product pitch to evaluators). Throughout the experiment, the manipulated teammate was randomly assigned to reappraise their stress arousal, suppress their emotional displays, or receive no instructions. The nonmanipulated teammate received no instructions in all experimental conditions. Stress reappraisal benefited both teammates, eliciting challenge-like physiological responses (higher cardiac output, lower total peripheral resistance) relative to the suppression and control conditions. These effects were observed during both collaborative and individual work. A mediation model suggested that face-to-face interpersonal effects of stress reappraisal fed forward to promote nonmanipulated teammates' improved stress responses during individual performance. Moreover, manipulated teammates' displays of positive and negative affect emerged as potential mechanisms for improvements in nonmanipulated teammates' stress responses in moderation analyses. Thus, participants benefited by interacting with a person who reappraised their stress as functional. This work has theoretical implications for the interpersonal dynamics of emotion regulation, and relevance for applied settings is also discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Optimizing stress: An integrated intervention for regulating stress responses.

The dominant cultural valuation of stress is that it is "bad for me." This valuation leads to regulatory goals of reducing or avoiding stress. In this article, we propose an alternative approach-stress optimization-which integrates theory and research on stress mindset (e.g., Crum, Salovey, & Achor, 2013) and stress reappraisal (e.g., Jamieson, Mendes, Blackstock, & Schmader, 2010) interventions. We further integrate these theories with the extended process model of emotion regulation (Gross, 2015). In so doing, we explain how altering second-level valuation systems-shifting the valuation of stress from "is bad for me" to "can be good for me"-fundamentally changes the overarching goal of stress regulation from reducing stress to optimizing stress responses to achieve valued goals. With this optimization goal in mind, individuals are invited to flexibly identify, select, and engage in specific regulation tactics (e.g., situation selection, attentional control, cognitive change, and response modulation) in ways that help them achieve valued ends as opposed to merely reducing or avoiding stressful experiences. We discuss definitions and issues related to key terms including stress, stressors, stress responses, and stress regulation and outline a research agenda for testing this new integrated theory as an intervention. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Stress reappraisal during a mathematics competition: testing effects on cardiovascular approach-oriented states and exploring the moderating role of gender.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Effects of reappraising stress arousal during an interpersonal competition were tested on physiological functioning and performance. Additionally, the moderating role of gender was explored. DESIGN AND METHOD: Participants (N = 279) were randomly assigned to a stress reappraisal, stress-is-debilitating, or a neutral control condition. Reappraisal materials educated participants about the adaptive benefits of stress, whereas stress-is-debilitating materials instructed participants to avoid stress. Control materials did not mention stress. Participants then competed against a gender-matched confederate on a 10-minute math performance task while cardiovascular reactivity was assessed. Participants were instructed to complete math problems as quickly and accurately as they could and were informed that a winner and loser would be determined by the resulting math scores. RESULTS: Reappraising stress arousal led to more adaptive challenge-like cardiovascular responses, but no condition effects were observed on math performance. Exploratory analyses revealed that reappraisal instructions were effective for improving physiological functioning and facilitating performance for men, but women were unaffected by the manipulation. CONCLUSIONS: Reappraising stress arousal can improve physiological functioning during interpersonal competitions, but effects may be limited to men. Implications for future research are discussed.

Income inequality, perceived competitiveness, and approach-avoidance motivation.

OBJECTIVE: Scholars disagree on whether income inequality has incentive or disincentive effects. In the present research, we move beyond such debate and focus on the motivational processes that income inequality predicts. First, income inequality makes economic stratification salient; therefore, it should promote perceived competitiveness. Second, competitiveness can be appraised as both a challenge and a threat; therefore, it should promote both approach and avoidance motivation. METHOD: In three studies (N = 2,543), U.S. residents from various ZIP codes reported the extent to which they perceived competitiveness in their town/city (Studies 1-3), as well as their economic achievement goals, achievement motives, and self-regulatory foci (Studies 2-3). RESULTS: Level of local income inequality was found to be a positive predictor-via increased perceived competitiveness-of other-approach economic goals, need for achievement, and promotion focus, as well as other-avoidance economic goals, fear of failure (specifically, the shame/embarrassment component), and prevention focus. Furthermore, actual and perceived income inequality were positively correlated. CONCLUSIONS: The conceptual and empirical work herein is the first to show how the economic environment predicts individuals' perceptions of competitiveness, influencing personal goals, motives, and orientations. It provides a more nuanced perspective on the implications of income inequality than perspectives currently available.

An Entity Theory of Intelligence Predicts Higher Cortisol Levels When High School Grades Are Declining.

Grades often decline during the high school transition, creating stress. The present research integrates the biopsychosocial model of challenge and threat with the implicit theories model to understand who shows maladaptive stress responses. A diary study measured declines in grades in the first few months of high school: salivary cortisol (N = 360 students, N = 3,045 observations) and daily stress appraisals (N = 499 students, N = 3,854 observations). Students who reported an entity theory of intelligence (i.e., the belief that intelligence is fixed) showed higher cortisol when grades were declining. Moreover, daily academic stressors showed a different lingering effect on the next day's cortisol for those with different implicit theories. Findings support a process model through which beliefs affect biological stress responses during difficult adolescent transitions.

Lay conceptions of norm-based approach and avoidance motivation: Implications for the performance-approach and performance-avoidance goal relation.

OBJECTIVE: Performance-approach goals and performance-avoidance goals are conceptually distinct, but they are often moderately or even highly positively correlated. The present research examines lay conceptions of approach and avoidance motivation as a moderator of this intergoal relation. METHOD: Study 1 (N = 281) assessed whether participants considered norm-based approach motivation as being the same or different from norm-based avoidance motivation and tested these conceptions as a moderator of the performance goal correlation. Study 2 (N = 990) measured and experimentally manipulated lay conceptions. RESULTS: In both studies, individuals who viewed approach and avoidance motivation as different exhibited a smaller performance goal correlation and lower performance-based goal adoption than those who viewed approach and avoidance goals as the same. Findings from experimentally manipulated conceptions provided further clarity regarding the precise nature of the relations and mean differences observed. Specifically, moderation was driven by the different condition (where the differences between approach and avoidance were highlighted). CONCLUSIONS: This research sheds light on the nature and magnitude of the focal performance-based goal correlation and highlights the value of attending to lay conceptions of approach and avoidance motivation as well as lay conceptions of ability.

The Influence of Noise on Autonomic Arousal and Cognitive Performance in Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

This study examined the impact of noise on cognitive performance in autism spectrum disorder (ASD), while concurrently measuring sympathetic responses. Adolescents with and without ASD completed visually presented span tasks in a 2 × 2 experimental manipulation of noise (quiet vs. 75 dB gated broadband noise) and task difficulty (easier vs. harder). Analyses revealed a significant noise × difficulty interaction on performance, and a significant group × noise × difficulty interaction on sympathetic arousal. Correlational analyses indicated an adaptive effect of noise and increased arousal on performance in the easier condition for the control group and a detrimental effect of noise and increased arousal in the harder condition for the ASD group. Implications for sensory processing research and intervention development are discussed.