Perceived Control Alters the Effect of Acute Stress on Persistence
Perceived Control Alters the Effect of Acute Stress on Persistence
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DOI：
10.1037/xge0000137
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发表时间：
2016-03-01
影响因子：
4.1
通讯作者：
Delgado, Mauricio R.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Bhanji, Jamil P.;Kim, Eunbin S.;Delgado, Mauricio R.
在追求目标的过程中，我们经常会遇到挫折。成功要求我们应对这些消极的结果，并选择坚持下去。例如，如果学习者能控制自己对挫折的情绪反应，更加努力地学习，那么他们在考试失败后可能更有可能继续学习。然而，有效应对这些挫折中固有的负面情绪的能力可能会被日常生活中存在的严重压力（例如，家庭中的斗争）所削弱，这可能会导致坚持目标的问题。本研究考察了增加对挫折的控制感知（例如，相信挫折是由可纠正的错误而不是不可控制的因素引起的）是否可以防止先前的急性压力源对挫折反应的影响。参与者接受了冷水应激或非应激控制程序的社会评估。之后，他们执行了一项行为任务，旨在通过可控和不可控的挫折来衡量毅力。我们观察到，暴露于急性应激源会减少坚持行为，从而对决策产生不利影响。重要的是，我们还观察到控制感可以防止先前存在的压力的影响，并有助于促进持久性。也就是说，压力通过不可控的挫折损害了持久性，但把挫折说成是可控的却减轻了这种损害。研究结果显示了一种潜在的途径，可以改善以行为改变为目标的维持，这可能容易受到压力的影响。
We often encounter setbacks while pursuing our goals. Success requires that we cope with these negative outcomes and choose to persist in spite of them. For example, learners may be more likely to continue a course after failing an assessment if they control their emotional reactions to the setback and study harder. However, the ability to effectively cope with the negative emotion inherent in such setbacks can be compromised by acute stress present in daily life (e.g., struggles in the household), which can subsequently lead to problems with persisting with a goal. The present study examined whether increasing the perception of control over setbacks (e.g., belief that a setback was caused by a correctable mistake rather than uncontrollable factors) can guard against the influence of a prior acute stressor on reactions to setbacks. Participants underwent a socially evaluated cold water stress or a nonstress control procedure. Afterward, they performed a behavioral task designed to measure persistence through controllable and uncontrollable setbacks. We observed that exposure to an acute stressor led to a detrimental effect on decision making by decreasing persistence behavior. Importantly, we also observed that the perception of control protected against the effect of preexisting stress and helped promote persistence. That is, stress impaired persistence through uncontrollable setbacks, but the impairment was alleviated by presenting setbacks as controllable. The findings demonstrate a potential avenue for improving the maintenance of goals aimed at behavior change, which can be susceptible to effects of stress.