Exploring the link between self-distancing and “stress is enhancing” mindsets

Authors

Kyle Green, James Madison UniversityFollow

Preferred Name

Kyle Green

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.

ORCID

https://orcid.org/0009-0007-1220-2274

Date of Graduation

5-9-2024

Semester of Graduation

Spring

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Department of Graduate Psychology

Second Advisor

Kenn Barron

Third Advisor

John Hathcoat

Abstract

While stress is generally framed as debilitating, past research has shown that adopting a mindset that focuses on the positive aspects of stress, referred to as a “stress is enhancing” mindset, can improve the ways in which one engages in stressful experiences. Researchers in this area have called for further investigation of the ways in which “stress is enhancing” mindsets are adopted. This study sought to explore the practice of self-distancing as a potential mechanism. It was hypothesized that participants who were instructed to write about a personally relevant future stressor from a distanced, third-person perspective would have more positive mindsets about stress relative to those who wrote about a future stressor from an immersed, first-person perspective and a control group that completed no journaling. Contrary to hypotheses, results from a one-way between subjects ANCOVA revealed no significant differences between any of the groups on scores of “stress is enhancing” mindset at the conclusion of the study. Several potential reasons, both methodological and conceptual, for these insignificant findings are discussed. While the specific hypotheses were not supported, this study emphasizes the importance of distinguishing between acute and chronic stressors in future research on mindsets about stress. Additionally, the current study encourages several lines of future research on shifting focus away from one’s self when facing challenges, which may be helpful for individuals navigating mental health challenges and daily stressors.