Storms & Nisbett, 1970: Attributing arousal to inert pill decreased time to fall asleep among insomniacs
Reference:
Storms, M. D., & Nisbett, R. E. (1970). Insomnia and the attribution process. Journal of personality and social psychology, 16(2), 319.
Download PDFSummary:
Insomniacs were given a pill to take at bedtime over two nights. The pill was inert but participants were told either that it would increase physiological arousal (e.g., heart rate, temperature), encouraging them to attribute arousal to the pill rather than to other emotional sources, or that it would decrease it arousal. As compared to participants told the pill would decrease arousal, participants told that the pill would increase arousal reported falling asleep more quickly over the two nights. A no-pill control group fell in between the two pill groups.
Psychological Process:
What Desired Meaning is At Stake?
What is the Person Trying to Understand?
Selves (My Own and Others')Approach to Desired Meaning
What about it?
Changing beliefs about emotions, states, and the valence of the self-conceptHow?
Psychological Question Addressed
Are current or upcoming emotions, states, and experiences negative and undermining?Are current or upcoming emotions, states, and experiences negative and undermining?Psychological Question Addressed
Are current or upcoming emotions, states, and experiences negative and undermining?Psychological Process 2:
Psychological Process 3:
Social Area:
Health
Intervention Technique:
Prompting by altering situations