Layous et al., 2013: Reflecting about their best possible selves increased social connectedness among college students over 4 weeks
Reference:
Layous, K., Nelson, S. K., & Lyubomirsky, S. (2013). What is the optimal way to deliver a positive activity intervention? The case of writing about one’s best possible selves. Journal of Happiness Studies, 14(2), 635-654.
Download PDFSummary:
College students wrote 15-minutes once a week for 4 weeks about their “best possible selves”—one week about academic experiences, one about social experiences, one about career experiences, and one about health experiences—and specific goals that would help them attain each ideal. As compared to a control condition, this increased positive affect and marginally increased feelings of social connectedness. The benefits were similar whether the task was completed in person or online. However, they were greatest when people read a testimonial from a peer who said the activity helped them.
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
Do I think and feel positively about myself?Do I think and feel positively about myself?Psychological Question Addressed
Do I think and feel positively about myself?Psychological Process 2:
Psychological Process 3:
Social Area:
Well-Being
Intervention Technique:
Active reflection, on a positive aspect of self; Prompting with information