Psychology
Gratitude and Neuroticism are Predictors of Engagement with an Ecological Momentary Gratitude Intervention
Document Type
Oral Presentation
Location
Indianapolis, IN
Subject Area
Psychology
Start Date
11-4-2014 1:00 PM
End Date
11-4-2014 2:15 PM
Sponsor
Jason Runyan (Indiana Wesleyan University, Marion)
Description
The objective of this study was to analyze potential predictors of engagement with an ecological momentary intervention (EMI) focused on gratitude. This research is important because it may shed light on whether personal factors influence engagement with such interventions, which are becoming more prevalent and show promise for promoting behavioral change (Heron & Smyth, 2010). Undergraduate college students from a Midwestern Christian liberal arts university participated in this 14-day study. Participants were randomly assigned to a full gratitude intervention (N = 53), partial gratitude intervention (N = 48), or control condition (N =51). A dynamic EMI iPhone app platform was utilized to administer prompts at random intervals three times per day, and to administer an end-of-day question. Pretest measures included the Big Five personality inventory and measures for gratitude level and readiness to change. While negatively correlated with one another (r150 = -0.20, p = 0.01), neuroticism and gratitude had moderate, positive correlations with app response rate for participants in the full gratitude condition (r51 = 0.35, p = 0.01 and r51 = .35, p =0.01, respectively). These correlations were not observed amongst the other participants. We will discuss the implications of these findings for the effective use of EMI.
Gratitude and Neuroticism are Predictors of Engagement with an Ecological Momentary Gratitude Intervention
Indianapolis, IN
The objective of this study was to analyze potential predictors of engagement with an ecological momentary intervention (EMI) focused on gratitude. This research is important because it may shed light on whether personal factors influence engagement with such interventions, which are becoming more prevalent and show promise for promoting behavioral change (Heron & Smyth, 2010). Undergraduate college students from a Midwestern Christian liberal arts university participated in this 14-day study. Participants were randomly assigned to a full gratitude intervention (N = 53), partial gratitude intervention (N = 48), or control condition (N =51). A dynamic EMI iPhone app platform was utilized to administer prompts at random intervals three times per day, and to administer an end-of-day question. Pretest measures included the Big Five personality inventory and measures for gratitude level and readiness to change. While negatively correlated with one another (r150 = -0.20, p = 0.01), neuroticism and gratitude had moderate, positive correlations with app response rate for participants in the full gratitude condition (r51 = 0.35, p = 0.01 and r51 = .35, p =0.01, respectively). These correlations were not observed amongst the other participants. We will discuss the implications of these findings for the effective use of EMI.