Microinterventions targeting regulatory focus and regulatory fit selectively reduce dysphoric and anxious mood.
Abstract
Depression and generalized anxiety, separately and as comorbid states, continue to
represent a significant public health challenge. Current cognitive-behavioral treatments
are clearly beneficial but there remains a need for continued development of complementary
interventions. This manuscript presents two proof-of-concept studies, in analog samples,
of "microinterventions" derived from regulatory focus and regulatory fit theories
and targeting dysphoric and anxious symptoms. In Study 1, participants with varying
levels of dysphoric and/or anxious mood were exposed to a brief intervention either
to increase or to reduce engagement in personal goal pursuit, under the hypothesis
that dysphoria indicates under-engagement of the promotion system whereas anxiety
indicates over-engagement of the prevention system. In Study 2, participants with
varying levels of dysphoric and/or anxious mood received brief training in counterfactual
thinking, under the hypothesis that inducing individuals in a state of promotion failure
to generate subtractive counterfactuals for past failures (a non-fit) will lessen
their dejection/depression-related symptoms, whereas inducing individuals in a state
of prevention failure to generate additive counterfactuals for past failures (a non-fit)
will lessen their agitation/anxiety-related symptoms. In both studies, we observed
discriminant patterns of reduction in distress consistent with the hypothesized links
between dysfunctional states of the two motivational systems and dysphoric versus
anxious symptoms.
Type
Journal articleSubject
AnxietyCognitive-behavioral therapy
Depression
Regulatory fit theory
Regulatory focus theory
Self-regulation
Anxiety
Cognitive Therapy
Depression
Humans
Motivation
Self-Control
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https://hdl.handle.net/10161/13840Published Version (Please cite this version)
10.1016/j.brat.2015.06.003Publication Info
Strauman, Timothy J; Socolar, Yvonne; Kwapil, Lori; Cornwell, James FM; Franks, Becca;
Sehnert, Steen; & Higgins, E Tory (2015). Microinterventions targeting regulatory focus and regulatory fit selectively reduce
dysphoric and anxious mood. Behav Res Ther, 72. pp. 18-29. 10.1016/j.brat.2015.06.003. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/13840.This is constructed from limited available data and may be imprecise. To cite this
article, please review & use the official citation provided by the journal.
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Show full item recordScholars@Duke
Timothy J. Strauman
Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience
Professor Strauman's research focuses on the psychological and neurobiological processes
that enable self-regulation, conceptualized in terms of a cognitive/motivational perspective,
as well as the relation between self-regulation and affect. Particular areas of emphasis
include: (1) conceptualizing self-regulation in terms of brain/behavior motivational
systems; (2) the role of self-regulatory cognitive processes in vulnerability to depression
and other disorders; (3) the impact of tre

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