Sustaining Flourishing in Times of Stress: The Impact of a Positive_x000D_ Affect Intervention on University Students (2010)

Undergraduates: Sarah Edwards, none none none

Faculty Advisor: Barbara Fredrickson
Department: Psychology & Neuroscience

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Seventy-Seven Psychology 101 students participated in a study examining the role positive emotions play in the psychological, emotional, and social well-being of college students. The goal of the study was to determine how improved or sustained well-being impacts a person’s work behavior. At the beginning of the fall 2009 semester participants were categorized as either flourishing, displaying a presence of mental health, or languishing, having an absence of mental health. Participants were randomly assigned to either a positive affect intervention or an organizational intervention. In these interventions participants would choose new tasks to complete each week that were designed to either increase their positive affect or improve their organization. The intervention lasted throughout the fall semester. It has been found that participants who received the positive affect intervention were better able to overcome the stressors of school and sustain flourishing status and positive functioning in different aspects of their lives better than those participants who completed the organizational intervention. Further results of this study as well as their future impact on college students and workers will be discussed in the presentation.