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"My Best Self": Efficacy and underlying mechanisms of a Positive Psychology Intervention
Abstract and Figures
Positive Psychology Interventions are valuable resources to promote wellbeing (Bolier et al., 2013). Within this framework, the Best Possible Self (BPS) intervention seems to be a promising approach (Loveday et al., 2016). This is a positive intervention that asks individuals to imagine themselves in the best possible future (King, 2001). Although there are many individual published studies about its efficacy, it is still unknown what the overall efficacy of this intervention is. In addition, research on the mechanisms which lie beneath the efficacy of this positive activity is scarce. Therefore, the aim of this dissertation is twofold: to explore the overall efficacy of the BPS, and to analyze the role of the mechanisms that can influence its efficacy. Concretely, the role of the temporal focus will be examined. Subsequently, this dissertation has the following specific objectives:
1) To review the overall efficacy of the BPS intervention based on the existing evidence, and to explore the role of the possible moderator variables related to the intervention implementation.
2) To contribute to a more accurate measurement of SWB considering the temporal frame.
3) To design and develop two temporal variants of the original BPS (Best Past Self and Best Present Self), applied through ICTs.
4) To analyze the efficacy of the three temporal versions of BPS, applied through ICTs, to increase wellbeing.
5) To analyze the possible underlying mechanisms that lie beneath their effectiveness, through qualitative analyses of the texts.
This dissertation contains five studies (organized in four papers) and two additional chapters aimed at addressing the previously mentioned objectives. Chapter 1 described a general introduction of the main topics of this dissertation, including the main characteristics and effects of PPIs and the BPS intervention. In addition, the role of possible factors that can influence the efficacy of these interventions was briefly exposed, as well as the impact that ICTs can have in the field of PPIs. Chapter 2 consists of a systematic review and meta-analysis on the efficacy of the BPS compared with controls, which include the general efficacy levels of the intervention as well as the analyses of possible moderator variables. Chapter 3 is aimed at describing the Spanish validation of a scale that measures life satisfaction along the lifespan. In addition, exploring the temporal aspects of SWB and its relationship with sociodemographic variables and the affective components of SWB. Chapter 4 includes two randomized controlled trials (Study 1 and Study 2) in which the efficacy of the temporal variations of the BPS implemented through ICTs were compared with a control condition. Chapter 5 includes a mixed method design in which a qualitative analysis of the texts included in Study 1 was carried out and combined with quantitative data about the efficacy of the intervention on positive affect. Finally, Chapter 6 presents a general discussion that includes a summary of the main conclusions outlined by the results obtained in the previous publications, as well as the limitations and future directions of this dissertation.
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... and d = .657) [13]. However, analyses of moderators (i.e., length, dosage, delivery method, etcetera) did not show significant results in this review. ...
... This study is part of a larger project on the mechanisms that underlie the efficacy of the BPS intervention [13], in which the role of temporality was explored. A randomized controlled trial with three experimental conditions (the original BPS and two temporal variations: past best self or BPAS and present best self or BPRES) showed that temporal focus did not affect the ability of the intervention to increase positive affect as no statistically significant differences emerged among conditions. ...
... The initial sample consisted of 84 participants who were part of a larger study [13]. Their age ranged from 18 to 40 years old (M = 20.23, ...
Background
The Best Possible Self is a Positive Psychology Intervention which asks participants to write down about themselves in their best possible future. Previous studies have shown its efficacy to enhance wellbeing, but the mechanisms that underlie its efficacy are still unknown.
Objective
The aim of this study was to analyze the content of the essays of the BPS intervention and to examine how this content was related to the efficacy of the intervention to increase positive affect.
Method
Participants (N = 78) were randomized to either the Best Possible Self condition, or one of two variants of the intervention: one’s best self in the present, and one’s best self in the past. Qualitative analyses of the texts were carried out to explore the main themes and features of the essays. Then, a mixed-methods approach with quantitative and qualitative data was followed, in order to analyze the relationship between the content of the texts and the change in positive affect produced by the interventions.
Results
Significant differences between conditions were found in the content of the compositions. Regression analyses showed that different variables predicted the change in positive affect depending on the condition. Mediation analyses also found differences among conditions.
Conclusions
These findings suggest that these interventions respond to different underlying mechanisms which influence their efficacy. This study contributed to a better understanding of how Positive Psychology Interventions work, and how to increment their efficacy.
... The BPS intervention has demonstrated itself as a valuable positive psychological intervention with increases to positive affect and optimism (Carrillo et al., 2019) and decreasing negative affect (Enrique et al., 2018) across a non-clinical population. It can be considered one of the stronger happiness interventions due to its support in research and the positive experiences people can infer Running Head: Cultural Dimensions and Best Possible Self 6 from the intervention (Vega, 2018). Its application has been adopted by health professions and as it is accessible, can be administered to general and clinical populations and is free from cost of trained professionals. ...
The Best Possible Self activity is defined as a future-oriented positive psychological intervention and has been shown to be effective in increasing subjective wellbeing. However, it is not known whether the effectiveness of the Best Possible Self activity varies across cultures, particularly between those with more individualist and collectivist values. This study aimed to explore whether there was a difference in subjective wellbeing between individualist and collectivist samples. A quasi-experimental design was conducted in which participants (N=109) were tasked with writing about their best possible self through an online questionnaire. The main outcome measures were subjective wellbeing, as measured by positive affect, negative affect, optimism, pessimism, and life satisfaction. It was hypothesized that subjective wellbeing would increase for all participants, but greater increases would be observed in individualistic participants, due to self-oriented nature of the activity0. Results exhibited that participants did significantly increase their wellbeing levels across the study, though the effects on components of subjective wellbeing revealed some cultural differences. Individualistic participants reported a statistically significant increase in positive affect. In collectivist participants, reductions in negative affect and pessimism were observed. This provides further insight into the relationship between cultural dimensions and the Best Possible Self activity.
143 undergraduates completed an attributional style scale designed by the authors, the short form of the Beck Depression Inventory, and the Multiple Affect Adjective Check List. Results show that depressed Ss, compared to nondepressed Ss, attributed bad outcomes to internal, stable, and global causes, as measured by the attributional style scale. This attributional style was predicted by the reformulated helplessness model of depression. In addition, relative to nondepressed Ss, depressed Ss attributed good outcomes to external, unstable causes. (8 ref)
The best possible self (BPS), defined as a future-oriented Positive Psychology Intervention (PPI), has shown to be effective to increase wellbeing levels in previous studies. However, it is unknown if the future frame is an essential constituent for the efficacy of this exercise. This work was aimed at exploring the role of the temporal focus in the efficacy of the BPS intervention. Two randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were carried out, in which participants (N = 112 and N = 107) were randomized to writing about their past, present or future best self, or about the activities carried out during the last 24 h (control condition). The main outcome measure was positive affect, and other measures related to wellbeing were also included (satisfaction with life, happiness, optimism, self-efficacy and self-satisfaction). It was hypothesized that all three experimental conditions would be equally effective to increase wellbeing and that they would produce larger benefits than the control condition. Results of both RCTs showed that all conditions significantly increased their wellbeing levels, which could imply that varying the temporality of the BPS does not affect the efficacy of the intervention. However, no statistically significant differences were found between the experimental and control conditions. Implications of these results will be discussed. This study contributes to the research on the mechanisms that influence the effectiveness of a widely used PPI.
The Best Possible Self (BPS) exercise promotes a positive view of oneself in the best possible future, after working hard towards it. Since the first work that attempted to examine the benefits of this intervention in 2001, studies on the BPS have grown exponentially and, currently, this is one of the most widely used Positive Psychology Interventions. However, little is yet known about its overall effectiveness in increasing wellbeing outcomes. Thus, the aim of this meta-analysis is to shed light on this question. A systematic literature search was conducted, and 29 studies (in 26 articles) met the inclusion criteria of empirically testing the intervention and comparing it to a control condition. In addition, BPS was compared to gratitude interventions in some of the included studies. A total of 2,909 participants were involved in the analyses. The outcome measures were wellbeing, optimism, depressive symptoms, and positive and negative affect. Results showed that the BPS is an effective intervention to improve wellbeing (d+ = .325), optimism (d+ = .334) and positive affect (d+ = .511) comparing to controls. Small effect sizes were obtained for negative affect and depressive symptoms. Moderator analyses did not show statistically significant results for wellbeing, except for a trend towards significance in the age of the participants (years) and the magnitude of the intervention (total minutes of practice). In addition, the BPS was found to be more beneficial for positive and negative affect than gratitude interventions (d+ = .326 and d+ = .485, respectively). These results indicate that the BPS can be considered a valuable Positive Psychology Intervention to improve clients’ wellbeing, and it seems that it might be more effective for older participants and with shorter practices (measured as total minutes of practice).
Life satisfaction (LS) is one of the key elements of subjective wellbeing (SWB). The Temporal Satisfaction with Life Scale (TSWLS; Pavot et al. 1998) measures LS including its temporal aspects, and provides scores for past, present, and future LS. The aim of this study was to replicate the three-factor structure found in previous studies in a Spanish-speaking general population, to analyze potential differences in temporal LS on different age groups and gender, and to explore the relationships between past, present, and future LS and the affective components of SWB (positive and negative mood). The sample consisted on 491 participants with an age range of 18 to 80 years old (M = 32.07, SD = 14.59). Confirmatory factor analysis, bivariate Pearson’s correlations, and multiple regression analyses were conducted. Results confirmed the three-factor structure of the scale and its good psychometric properties. All participants showed higher levels of present LS than past LS, and older respondents presented higher levels of present LS than future LS. No gender differences were found, but younger respondents scored higher on future LS than older ones. Significant correlations were found between mood and temporal LS, and happiness emerged as a predictor of present LS, whereas positive affect was a predictor of past and future LS. Negative mood played a minor role as a predictor of temporal LS. These findings shed light on the patterns of past, present, and future LS in different age groups, and contribute to the knowledge about how mood and temporal LS are related.
Positive interventions have shown promise for fostering hedonic (happiness) and eudaimonic (flourishing) well-being. However, few studies have focused on positive interventions that target hope as a means of increasing well-being, and none have examined the use of smartphone app-based systems for delivering interventions in the moments and contexts of daily life—an approach called ecological momentary intervention (EMI). We conducted a quasi-experimental pilot study using a pretest and posttest design to examine the feasibility and potential impact of a mobile app-based hope EMI. Participants appeared to engage with the intervention and found the experience to be user-friendly, helpful, and enjoyable. Relative to the control group, those receiving the intervention demonstrated significantly greater increases in hope; however, there were no between-group differences in hedonic and eudaimonic well-being. The authors recommend future research to examine the potential of EMI mobile apps to cultivate hope and promote flourishing.
This meta-analysis investigated the impact of interventions focused on using signature character strengths. The meta-analysis consolidated results of studies examining the effect of signature character strength interventions compared to control conditions. Twenty-nine effect sizes reported in fourteen articles allowed examination of several types of outcomes. Across nine studies investigating the impact of these interventions on increases in positive affect or happiness, signature character strength interventions had a significant impact, with a weighted Hedges’ g of 0.32. Across seven studies, interventions had a significant impact on decreases in depression, with a weighted Hedges’ g of 0.21. Across seven study samples, signature strengths had a significant impact on increasing life satisfaction, with a weighted Hedges’ g of 0.42. Only a small number of studies investigated other outcomes, resulting in low meta-analytic power for effect sizes for these outcomes. Of note is a significant effect size of Hedges’ g of 0.55 for increase in use of signature character strengths, based on just two studies, which suggests that signature character strength interventions do impact strengths as intended. The promising effects shown in existing studies indicate that signature strength interventions have the potential to contribute to beneficial outcomes in various areas of life and that more research on the impact of signature character strength interventions is warranted.
Do acts of kindness improve the well-being of the actor? Recent advances in the behavioural sciences have provided a number of explanations of human social, cooperative and altruistic behaviour. These theories predict that people will be ‘happy to help’ family, friends, community members, spouses, and even strangers under some conditions. Here we conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of the experimental evidence that kindness interventions (for example, performing ‘random acts of kindness’) boost subjective well-being. Our initial search of the literature identified 489 articles; of which 24 (27 studies) met the inclusion criteria (total N = 4045). These 27 studies, some of which included multiple control conditions and dependent measures, yielded 52 effect sizes. Multi-level modeling revealed that the overall effect of kindness on the well-being of the actor is small-to- medium (δ = 0.28). The effect was not moderated by sex, age, type of participant, intervention, control con- dition or outcome measure. There was no indication of publication bias. We discuss the limitations of the current literature, and recommend that future research test more specific theories of kindness: taking kindness-specific individual differences into account; distinguishing between the effects of kindness to specific categories of people; and considering a wider range of proximal and distal outcomes. Such research will advance our un- derstanding of the causes and consequences of kindness, and help practitioners to maximise the effectiveness of kindness interventions to improve well-being.
Interventions rarely have a universal effect on all individuals. Reasons ranging from participant characteristics, context and fidelity of intervention completion could cause some people to respond more positively than others. Understanding these individual differences in intervention response may provide clues to the mechanisms behind the intervention, as well as inform future designs to make interventions maximally beneficial for all. Here we focus on an intervention designed to improve adolescent wellbeing, and explore potential moderators using a representative and well-powered sample. 16-year old participants (N = 932) in the Twins Wellbeing Intervention Study logged online once a week to complete control and wellbeing-enhancing activities consecutively. Throughout the study participants also provided information about a range of potential moderators of intervention response including demographics, seasonality, personality, baseline characteristics, activity fit, and effort. As expected, some individuals gained more from the intervention than others; we used multi-level modelling to test for moderation effects that could explain these individual differences. Of the 15 moderators tested, none significantly explained individual differences in intervention response in the intervention and follow-up phases. Self-reported effort and baseline positive affect had a notable effect in moderating response in the control phase, during which there was no overall improvement in wellbeing and mental health. Our results did not replicate the moderation effects that have been suggested by previous literature and future work needs to reconcile these differences. They also show that factors that have previously been shown to influence baseline wellbeing do not also influence an individual’s ability to benefit from a wellbeing intervention. Although future research should continue to explore potential moderators of intervention efficacy, our results suggest that the beneficial effect of positive activities in adolescents were universal across such factors as sex and socioeconomic status, bolstering claims of the scalability of positive activities to increase adolescent wellbeing.